LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Will Smith was not the first Atlantic Coast Conference player selected in the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft.
Smith was the eighth ACC player taken. His name was called after guys from powerhouse programs like Boston College and Pittsburgh.
Smith was also not the first catcher taken in his draft class.
He was third, summoned after two catchers from ACC programs.
Finally, Smith was not the first former University of Louisville player selected on June 9, 2016.
Smith went 32nd, 27 spots behind Cardinals’ outfielder Corey Ray and six spots after U of L relief pitcher Zack Burdi.
Injuries sidelined Ray’s development. He played in one major league game for Milwaukee. Ray transitioned to his current job as the manager of the Cubs’ rookie ball team in the Arizona Complex League
Injuries upended Burdi’s path. He’s pitched in 18 big league games with the White Sox (the team that drafted him), Orioles and Rays, but Burdi is not listed as a minor league baseball player this season.
Then there is Smith, only 29 and in the hot zone of his baseball life. He earned his annual mid-summer headlines this week by being named to the National League All-Star team for the second consecutive season.
According to my (unofficial) research that makes Smith, a graduate of Kentucky Country Day High School, the first player from the Louisville area to make back-to-back major league all-star teams since Pee Wee Reese made his ninth and 10th all-star appearances in 1953 and 1954 for the Dodgers.
“He’s just so consistent,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said earlier this season. “He just doesn’t get the recognition that he deserves, of being one of the top two catchers in the game.
“The guy could hit in the middle of the order. Hit left. Hit right. Driving in runs. Takes the walks. Gets clutch hits. So I still believe he’s the best catcher in baseball. I’m so glad we locked him up (contractually).”
Smith deserves another mention because the 2024 MLB Draft will unfold for three days, beginning Sunday in Arlington, Texas, site of the All-Star game on Tuesday night.
That 2016 Louisville team attracted large pockets of big-league scouts to observe Ray, Burdi, Nick Solak, Kyle Funkhouser, Brendan McKay, Drew Ellis, Lincoln Henzman, Kade McClure and other talented guys. Top scouts and cross-checkers from every team made repeated trips to Patterson Stadium.
Yet the Padres drafted three guys without taking Smith.
The Mets, Nationals and White Sox passed on Smith twice. Give the White Sox an E-2.
First they selected another catcher, Zack Collins of Miami, at 10. Then they took Burdi at pick 26. Neither guy is in the big leagues this season.
They whiffed at Smith’s position and they whiffed at Smith’s school, which might explain Chicago’s franchise-worst 27-69 record this season.
I will make the argument that Will Smith was the best player in the entire 2016 MLB Draft, while noting that Pete Alonso (Mets), Shane Bieber (Indians), Bryan Reynolds (Pirates), Corbin Burnes (Orioles) and Zac Gallen (Diamondbacks) were drafted in later rounds.
WAR is a bit of an esoteric baseball team. It represents a mathematical formula created to measure the overall value of a player compared to his peers.
It stands for Wins Above Replacement (WAR) value. It is intended to project how many additional games a team will win over an entire season with an individual player instead of an average or replacement level player.
Of the 39 players selected in the first round and compensation picks in 2016, Will Smith has earned a total career WAR of 17.7 at Baseball Reference.
One other player in the first 39 picks has earned half that total. Cal Quantrill, a journeyman pitcher from Stanford, has a WAR of 9. Mickey Moniak, the overall No. 1 pick by the Phillies, of 0.2.
The record shows 15 of those players have a WAR of 0 or less. Five others never made the major leagues.
Re-draft the 2016 draft today and Smith would be one of the top picks as evidenced by the 10-year, $140 million contract he signed with the Dodgers prior to this season. No MLB catcher has a more lucrative deal.
If you prefer more traditional baseball numbers, Smith has those, too. Including the four consecutive homers he hit in two games last weekend, Smith has 15, tops among all NL catchers. His 55 runs batted in also lead the league. And Smith gets on base in 34.3% of his at bats.
Smith will be in the All-Star game with five of his Dodgers’ teammates. Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez and Tyler Glasnow posed with Smith for a keepsake picture around home plate at Dodger Stadium.
Translation: Will Smith often bats cleanup in a lineup that features three likely Hall of Famers.
William Contreras of Milwaukee won the vote to be the starting catcher. Smith will be a reserve. But this time Smith is only mistakenly behind one catcher. In the 2016 MLB Draft, he was behind two.
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