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Will the legend of Dom Smith exceed that of Pablo Sandoval?
TL;DR
Dominic Smith is currently excelling with a high wOBA and WPA, ranking among the top players in MLB. His performance has drawn comparisons to Pablo Sandoval's impressive start in 2021, though Sandoval's early success did not sustain throughout the season.
ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 14: Dominic Smith #8 of the Atlanta Braves celebrates after the game against the Miami Marlins at Truist Park on April 14, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Dominic Smith is on quite a run. Through April 14, he has both a wOBA and xwOBA well in excess of .400ā¦ but letās not kid ourselves, what I really mean here is that he is currently third among position players, and fifth in MLB, in WPA. When he hit that walkoff grand slam, it was a really cool moment, but it actually didnāt really matter WPA-wise given that there were none out and the walkoff run was on third. But last night, he amassed an insane 0.75 WPA, with 0.63 of that coming on his game-winning double into the left-field gap that turned a 5-3 deficit into a 6-5 victory a few minutes later. Combine those heroics with him hitting basically everything from a right-hander, and, yeah. Quite a run.
Amazingly, through mid-April of 2021, appearing exclusively as a pinch-hitter, Pablo Sandoval also had quite a run for the Braves. He had a 371 wRC+ in ten PAs, with basically two gigantic hits ā a game-winning homer in a tie game late in one, and then a seventh-inning game-turnaround homer (from a 3-2 deficit to a 5-3 lead) eight days later. His WPA through those first few weeks was above 1.00, basically the same as Smith has through the same place on the calendar.
And then, well, those early heroics kind of faded into obscurity. He finished April with a 199 wRC+ (still great, but not exactly the insane start he had), and then never rose above 100 for any subsequent month. He also got a lot less playing (pinch-hitting) time in June and July, and was basically an afterthought by the time the Braves traded him to Cleveland for eventual postseason hero Eddie Rosario. Whatever stories we tell ourselves about the 2021 season, whether about the playoff run, the Trade Deadline acquisitions, the way Ronald AcuƱaĀ Jr. carried the team before going down with injury and not being on the field as things righted themselves down the stretch ā they seem to have overridden Sandovalās torrid start. The baseball season is long, so it makes senseā¦
ā¦but you see where Iām going with this.
So, what do you think? Different role (main DH against right-handers versus main pinch-hitter in a ruleset that didnāt yet have the DH in the National League) taken into account, or not ā do you think the legend of Dominic Smith, Braves Hero will only grow, or will it fade like Sandovalās early-2021 start, in a way where he literally did not factor into the teamās eventual turnaround and postseason success?
Q&A
What are Dominic Smith's current statistics in the MLB?
As of April 14, 2026, Dominic Smith has a wOBA and xwOBA exceeding .400 and ranks third among position players in WPA.
How does Dominic Smith's performance compare to Pablo Sandoval's in 2021?
Both players had strong starts; Sandoval had a 371 wRC+ and a WPA above 1.00 through mid-April 2021, similar to Smith's current performance.
What happened to Pablo Sandoval's performance after his strong start in 2021?
After his impressive early games, Sandoval's performance declined, finishing April with a 199 wRC+ and eventually becoming less impactful for the Braves.
