RADIO
William Smith 2022 Player Outlook: World Series Ring May Not Cover Up Closer Role Concerns
3 years agoWilliam Smith put paid to any concerns of his role heading into 2021 by notching 37 saves en route to a World Series. He'll start the 2022 season as the closer in Atlanta but there's reason to be a little cautious drafting Smith at his current ADP (~102). Smith is currently the ninth reliever being taken in drafts and question marks still loom over whether Smith can keep the role all year. He posted a moderate 3.44 ERA in 2021 and registered six blown saves. The underlying numbers suggest that ERA matched his actual performance with a 3.39 xERA, 4.06 xFIP and 3.39 SIERA. Smith does possess an elite K% (30.7%) but his 9.9% BB% last year was cause for concern (28th percentile). Although it wasn't a factor last year, being a leftie does leave the door open for Smith to be used in a more matchup dependant role, especially with Tyler Matzek putting up impressive numbers as a setup guy. Smith's arsenal of having an ok fastball but elite slider also leans towards him being a more matchup-dependant reliever. His fastball had a .266 xBA against it last year while his slider had a .124 xBA. There are enough seeds of doubt that Smith will hold on to the closer role all season and it's difficult to justify his current ADP while those doubts linger.
