4 Dodgers players who will maintain their hot starts (and 1 who won't)

Will Smith

Will he maintain his start? Yes.

Will Smith has been one of the better hitters in MLB for a few years now, and his start to the 2023 season is no different. His 1.058 OPS ranks 12th in MLB among qualified hitters, and just like Outman, the advanced metrics favor him keeping up his hot start to the year. Other than a below-average sprint speed ranking, Smith's offensive Statcast metrics are all above league average, with many of them well above the league average marks. Smith is elite in strikeout rate (9.3%, 95th percentile) and whiff rate (12.3%, 96th percentile).

His other hitting stats, however, are where Smith's star really starts to show up. Smith ranks in the 75th percentile or better in Max Exit Velocity (83rd percentile), HardHit % (77th percentile), xwOBA (83rd percentile), xBA (88th percentile), xSLG (79th percentile) and BB% (78th percentile). With all of that in mind, along with his amazing performances throughout the 2022 season, it is hard to envision a reality where Smith is not able to keep up the production he has posted to begin the 2023 season.