Will Smith
34-Year-Old
2024 Stats
W-L
0-0
ERA
0.00
WHIP
0.00
K
0
SV
0
Rest-of-Season Projections
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Smith, who made his MLB debut with Kansas City back in 2012, will return to the organization more than a decade later after recently signing a 1-year, $5 million contract with the Royals. The veteran left-hander earned 22 saves for the Rangers last season and has 113 for his career, but really struggled over the final two months (7.45 ERA, 1.50 WHIP), eventually ceding closing duties in mid-August. He now joins a crowded late-inning mix and could be part of a closer committee in 2024 despite having the most experience in the 9th inning. Read Past Outlooks
Light work in spring
Smith struck out two batters over a perfect inning in his lone Cactus League appearance.
ANALYSIS
Smith is seen as the frontrunner for saves in the Royals' heavily remodeled bullpen group. He's topped 20 saves in three of the last five seasons and also has an extensive history in a setup role when he's not closing. The 34-year-old southpaw likely won't need much spring action to be ready for the campaign. Manager Matt Quatraro hasn't officially designated bullpen roles yet, but Smith's experience makes him the logical ninth-inning choice, though there are plenty of other options that could step up if this becomes a committee or performance-based closing situation.
Smith is seen as the frontrunner for saves in the Royals' heavily remodeled bullpen group. He's topped 20 saves in three of the last five seasons and also has an extensive history in a setup role when he's not closing. The 34-year-old southpaw likely won't need much spring action to be ready for the campaign. Manager Matt Quatraro hasn't officially designated bullpen roles yet, but Smith's experience makes him the logical ninth-inning choice, though there are plenty of other options that could step up if this becomes a committee or performance-based closing situation.
Pitching Stats
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2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
Minor League Game Log
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Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2022
-14%
BAA vs LHP
2024
No Stats
BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022vs Left | .210 | 49 | 9 | 34 | 3 | |||
Since 2022vs Right | .245 | 71 | 33 | 68 | 11 | |||
2024vs Left | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
2024vs Right | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
2023vs Left | .177 | 19 | 4 | 11 | 1 | |||
2023vs Right | .224 | 36 | 13 | 33 | 4 | |||
2022vs Left | .230 | 30 | 5 | 23 | 2 | |||
2022vs Right | .267 | 35 | 20 | 35 | 7 | |||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
-6%
ERA at Home
2024
No Stats
ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022Home | 4.06 | 1.31 | 64.1 | 9.2 | 2.4 | ||||
Since 2022Away | 4.33 | 1.15 | 52.0 | 9.3 | 4.3 | ||||
2024Home | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
2024Away | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
2023Home | 4.50 | 1.13 | 30.0 | 7.8 | 2.1 | ||||
2023Away | 4.28 | 0.99 | 27.1 | 9.5 | 3.3 | ||||
2022Home | 3.67 | 1.46 | 34.1 | 10.5 | 2.6 | ||||
2022Away | 4.38 | 1.34 | 24.2 | 9.1 | 5.5 | ||||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Stat Review
How does Will Smith compare to other relievers?
This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
K/BB
3.24K/9
8.6BB/9
2.7HR/9
0.8Fastball
92.4 mphERA
4.40WHIP
1.06BABIP
.268GB/FB
0.71Left On Base
55.6%Exit Velocity
81.5 mphBarrels/BBE
4.4%Spin Rate
2245 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
24.8%Swinging Strike
13.5%Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2010
After coming over in a trade from Atlanta on Aug. 1, Smith proceeded to make 24 relief appearances for Houston during the regular season, compiling a 3.27 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and six holds in 22 innings. Overall he had a 3.97 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and five saves over 65 appearances, though a declining strikeout rate (to 9.92 K/9 - the worst since his rookie season) is a concern. Smith surpassed 30 saves in 2019 and 2021 with San Francisco and Atlanta, respectively, so he could be in the mix to close in Texas despite signing with the Rangers late in the spring.
More Fantasy News
Seen as leading closing candidate
Smith, who signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the Royals in December, is viewed as the leading candidate to serve as the team's closer to begin the season, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
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Returning to Kansas City
Smith agreed to a one-year, $5 million contract with the Royals on Sunday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Makes scoreless appearance
Smith allowed one walk and struck out one over a scoreless eighth inning in Tuesday's 9-3 loss to the Angels.
ANALYSIS
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Takes loss Saturday
Smith (2-6) was tagged with Saturday's loss, allowing two runs on one hit and one walk over two-thirds of an inning against Cleveland.
ANALYSIS
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Gives up winning knock
Smith allowed one run on one hit over one inning in Thursday's 7-5 loss to the Twins.
ANALYSIS
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