Dodgers' Bench Coach Praises Will Smith For Not Staying Stale With His Game

The All-Star catcher figures to be a key cog in the Dodgers' lineup this upcoming season

Will Smith quietly goes about his business without much in the way of fanfare. 

The Louisville, Kentucky native has a thankless job. He's playing arguably the toughest position in baseball, where you're beat up daily by foul balls, hand calluses, bruises, and creaky knees. 

All the while, the homegrown Dodger has developed into one of the most reliable catchers in professional baseball. At 28 years old, the All-Star is just about to hit his prime. 

The ultimate glue guy. @Dodgers | #Dodgers pic.twitter.com/X72zbNHv0H

— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) December 20, 2023

When speaking with SiriusXM MLB Radio, Dodgers bench coach Danny Lehmann delved into what makes Smith a great ballplayer. 

A former catcher himself, Lehmann gushed over Smith — his work ethic, desire to be great, and dedication to his craft. 

The coach also illustrated Smith's hope to have continual improvement within his game, both catching and hitting: 

"He’s super conscious of what he wants to work on and when he wants to do it. Catching every single day in the big leagues is brutal, brutal on your body to stay strong throughout the year. But I think he does a really nice job of isolating his time on what he needs to do on a day-in, day-out basis. To his credit, he’s super open to continue to get better and not really being stale in what he’s at or where he’s at right now."

-- Los Angeles Dodgers coach Danny Lehmann on Will Smith

Now entering his sixth year in the big leagues, Smith has been a rock-solid performer. 

The 2023 All-Star has hit at least 19 home runs and driven in 76 runs in each of the last three seasons. He rarely strikes out, has a terrific eye at the plate, is a plus runner, and is a very good contact hitter, particularly on fastballs. 

Smith's ability to stay healthy will be even more key this year. As it currently stands, the Dodgers have a very left-handed-centric lineup. As a hitter from the right side, he should be given the chance to face plenty of left-handed pitching this year. 

Additionally, he projects to be the cleanup hitter behind either Shohei Ohtani or Freddie Freeman. As such, Smith should be in line to get plenty of opportunities to drive runners in.