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Los Angeles Dodgers: 2019 grades for every player

By Jamaal Artis

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 03: Cody Bellinger #35 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts to his walk off solo homerun, for a 5-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, during the tenth inning at Dodger Stadium on July 03, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 03: Cody Bellinger #35 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts to his walk off solo homerun, for a 5-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, during the tenth inning at Dodger Stadium on July 03, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Dodgers
(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Dodgers /

Will Smith: B+

Will Smith was called up early in the season and it looked like the highlight of his year would be a walk-off home run in June. Smith returned to Triple-A just as soon as he became a Dodgers hero, but he was given another chance to make an impact when Austin Barnes couldn’t hit anymore.

Smith was brought back up in late July and never returned to the minor leagues. Smith made an immediate impact, hitting three home runs and 13 runs batted in over his first five games back. Through August, Smith kept slugging to justify his ascension to the big-league club. The bottom then fell out in September.

Over the last month of the season, Smith hit just .188 with two home runs and just eight runs driven in. On top of his hitting slump, questions arose over Smith’s handling of the pitching staff with extended slumps from Hyun-Jin Ryu and Clayton Kershaw and a 3.91 ERA when he caught put doubts on whether pitchers were in sync with the rookie Smith.

Despite his late slump, Smith made the playoff roster but was ineffective like his teammates in the five-game NLDS loss.

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