Will Smith DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Updating a previous report, Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith (wrist) woke up with a sore left wrist on Wednesday morning after injuring it while tagging out Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ on a play at the plate in the sixth inning of Tuesday's extra-inning loss. Smith isn't too concerned about it, but it's the reason why he's out of Wednesday's series finale at Wrigley Field. With a day off on Thursday, it sounds like there's a good chance that he will be back in action in L.A. for Friday's series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Austin Barnes is catching and batting ninth on Wednesday against Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd. Fantasy managers have to be crossing their fingers that Smith's wrist injury doesn't linger and ruin what has been an excellent start to his 2025 season. Through 20 games, the two-time All-Star is slashing .350/.453/.567 with a 1.02 OPS, three homers and 15 RBI.

Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith will get a rest day on Wednesday versus the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Austin Barnes will do the catching in what will be a bullpen day for the Dodgers' pitching staff and will hit ninth against Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd. Smith had a 2-for-4 day in a wild 11-10 loss to Chicago in 10 innings on Tuesday night and hit his third home run of the season while driving in two runs. The 30-year-old former first-rounder has been on fire at the plate in his first 60 at-bats in 2025, recording 21 hits for a .350 batting average to go along with 15 RBI, a steal, eight runs scored, a .453 on-base percentage, .567 slugging percentage and 1.02 OPS. The two-time All-Star won't keep this pace up, but it's a reminder he is still a high-end offensive threat at the weak catching position. Barnes is a low-upside DFS option on Wednesday and has never faced Boyd in his career.

Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith will start on the bench in Wednesday's series finale against the division-rival Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. Austin Barnes will do the catching for right-hander Bobby Miller and will hit in the nine-hole against Rockies right-hander German Marquez. The 30-year-old Smith remains one of the best hitting catchers in baseball and has been proving it early on in 2025, slashing .367/.475/.551 with a 1.026 OPS, two home runs, 12 RBI, six runs scored and a stolen base in 49 total at-bats. He hit his second homer in Tuesday's 6-2 win. He's been especially hot the last three games, going 6-for-12 with a homer and five runs driven in. Although Barnes has hit .286 with a homer and three RBI in 14 career at-bats against Marquez, he'll have little DFS upside at the bottom of the batting order on Wednesday.