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The Dodgers selected Louisville catcher Will Smith with their second pick in the 2016 MLB Draft, No. 32 overall.
This was the pick the Dodgers received as compensation for free agent pitcher Zack Greinke signing with the Diamondbacks.
Smith hit .380/.476/.573 with seven home runs as a junior for Louisville, who hosts UC Santa Barbara in a best-of-three super regional starting on Friday for the right to advance to the College World Series in Omaha.
Smith was not listed on the top 200 draft prospects by our own David Hood, was No. 74 on the Baseball America Top 500, and ranked 110th on the MLB Pipeline top 200 draft prospects. But Hood did address Smith specifically earlier Thursday:
Finding enough information to evaluate Smith's tools has proven difficult enough that I did not put him on my big board. Smith has a good reputation as both a receiver and in controlling the run game. He's more athletic than most catchers, with some considering his run tool a plus, and he's stolen nine bags in ten attempts.
I'm a little skeptical of his overall power potential. Smith's swing looks relatively flat with no load, and he's not overly projectable physically. His low load and swing plane has allowed him to hit for average this season despite no previous college average higher than .240, but that might be attributable to some physical maturity.
The No. 32 overall pick has an allotted slot value of $1,940,700.
"I always knew defensively that I could get somewhere near (the early rounds of the draft), but my offense has added to that and pushed my draft stock up a little bit, I guess," Smith told Steve Jones of the Louisville Courier-Journal. "But I'm not really focused on the draft. It's just about this team and playing well."
White was scouted by Dodgers scout Marty Lamb.
Twitter: @will_smith30