Smith rattles two homers for Quakes

By his own admission, 2016 was a wild ride for Will Smith. Drafted in the first round by the Dodgers in June, the 22-year-old played for three different clubs last summer -- four if you count his time at the University of Louisville -- so a normal offseason was a welcome feeling.
"Last year was a whirlwind," Smith said. "Getting drafted and then playing for three different teams in three different leagues was a lot, but it turned out fine. Getting a taste [of Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga] last season certainly helped me as a preview for this year. It gave me a little bit of knowledge of what to expect and comfort-wise, it certainly helped. Now I can just get myself into a routine, get my work done every day and try my best to perform on the field."

Box score
So far, so good for the Dodgers' No. 14 prospect, who collected the first multi-homer game of his career while driving in a professional-best four runs in the Quakes' 11-5 win over visiting Inland Empire on Sunday afternoon. Smith also walked twice and is hitting .333/.421/.625 with three roundtrippers and 11 RBIs in 14 games. The Kentucky native had four home runs and 24 RBIs in 55 games across three levels in his debut last season.
"I try to keep the same approach every at-bat," Smith said. "Sometimes things can change if you're a little more aggressive early, but it largely depends on who I'm facing and what point of the game we're in. But for the most part, I try and keep things similar from at-bat to at-bat."
Smith and Dodgers No. 18 prospect Drew Jackson went back-to-back to start the bottom of the first inning for the Quakes. The backstop walked in the second and fourth innings and went down swinging in the sixth. 
With his club clinging to a one-run lead in the eighth, Smith provided some key insurance with his second long ball of the game, a three-run blast over the wall in center for Rancho Cucamonga's fifth homer of the day. 
"That second one felt really good," he said. "It just comes down to the work I did in the offseason to gain more power and make more consistent contact with the ball. They had gotten to within a run in the top half of that inning. I came up with some guys on base and I'm just trying to push the run across. Luckily we got three there."
Smith knows the course of the season will bring ups and downs, and he's readying himself for that and the dual responsibilities of serving as a catcher.
"Like all of us, I just want to stay consistent throughout the whole year. The highs and lows are part of the game and right now I'm on a high. It's important to just stay even-keeled as I know there will come a time when I'll go through a rough stretch," he said.

"With catching, there's definitely a lot more info that I need to dissect and handle. It's mostly just talking to the pitchers to know how they're feeling and knowing the opposing hitters and how to attack them. But I've also done a good job of separating my offense and defense. I know that I can impact the game behind the plate just as easy as I can with the bat."
In addition to his second home run in as many days, Jackson walked three times. Brandon Montgomery and Garrett Hope both went deep for the Quakes, who are 6-0 at home.
Dodgers No. 10 prospect Mitchell White got the start and allowed one run on three hits and two walks with four strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. Righty Alex Hermeling improved to 4-0 after allowing a run on two hits in 1 1/3 frames and righty Shea Spitzbarth notched his fourth save after working around two hits and a walk in 1 1/3 innings.
Angels' second-ranked prospectMatt Thaiss homered and finished with a career-high four hits while No. 25 Jared Foster had two hits, including an RBI double.