Will Smith DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith will take the day off in Monday's series opener at Dodger Stadium against the visiting New York Mets. Rookie Dalton Rushing is behind the plate to catch right-hander Dustin May and will hit eighth against Mets right-hander Paul Blackburn, who is coming off the injured list to make his first start of the season. Smith will take a seat after starting each of the team's last four games. The 30-year-old veteran continues to be one of the best hitting catchers in baseball in one of the best lineups in the game. Smith, a former first-rounder, is slashing a strong .333/.444/.503 with a 948 OPS, five home runs, 30 RBI, 25 runs scored and two stolen bases on the year. Rushing hasn't seen a ton of playing time in his first seven games, but has gone 6-for-22 (.273) with a homer and seven RBI. He'll have little DFS upside in the eight-hole on Monday, though.

Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks. Dalton Rushing will get the start behind the plate instead. Smith doesn't get the luxury of starting at DH on his rest days like he used to earlier in his career, and he now is expected to rest a couple of days per week to get Rushing acclimated to the majors. He's still making the most of his playing time, as he's batting .339 on the year.

Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith will take the day off for Thursday's series finale against the visiting Athletics. Top prospect Dalton Rushing will do the catching for right-handed opener Matt Sauer for the first start of his career and will hit seventh against A's right-hander Osvaldo Bido. Fantasy managers that have Smith rostered shouldn't be worried that Rushing is going to steal playing time away from him, as Smith should continue to see the vast majority of playing time behind the dish in L.A. The 30-year-old two-time All-Star has been one of the best fantasy catchers yet again through his first 111 at-bats in 2025, slashing .324/.435/.477 with a .912 OPS, three home runs, 21 RBI, 14 runs scored and two stolen bases in one of the best lineups in baseball. Smith should be back behind the dish for Friday's series opener against the crosstown-rival Los Angeles Angels.