Paul Goldschmidt, the Best All-Around Hitter in MLB
Trailing 4-2 in the bottom of the 10th inning in a late-May ballgame, with a four-game winning streak on the line, Paul Goldschmidt stepped into the batter’s box with a runner on second and two outs with one thing on his mind: Tie the game.
Goldschmidt did just that.
May 22, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (44) celebrates with center fielder A.J. Pollock (11) after hitting a two run home run in the tenth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
With a 2-2 count, Chicago Cubs closer Hector Rondon, 38-for-45 in save opportunities in his career, fired a 97 MPH fastball and Goldschmidt smacked it 407 feet to tie the game at 4-4.
In that game Goldschmidt was 3-for-5 from the plate (with an additional walk) with three RBIs and two stolen bases. A typical game for Goldschmidt.
Through 41 games in the 2015 season he carries a .331 average, eight in the majors, a .429 on-base percentage, fifth in the majors, a .623 slugging percentage, fourth in the majors, and an eye-opening 1.052 on-base plus slugging percentage, good for fourth in the majors as well.
He is tied for sixth in the major leagues in home runs, 11, and is fourth in the major leagues in RBIs, 35. He also ranks fifth in the big leagues in runs, 31, and Wins Above Replacement, 2.6.
As if what he did at the dish wasn’t enough, Goldschmidt is 17th in the major leagues in steals with eight thus far, while only getting caught stealing just once.
On the sabermetric side of things, Goldschmidt is still equally as dominant as he is third in the MLB in runs created (39.8) as he just trails Bryce Harper and Nelson Cruz.
Goldschmidt also sits in third, behind Harper and Cruz, in Off. Off communicates a player’s batting performance on a per plate appearance basis, but also includes base running value to show how good the player’s entire offensive game is.
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Goldschmidt also has a 6.0 Spd score which, according to it’s creator Bill James, considers to be in the “great” category. Spd rates a player on their speed and base running ability.
The 27-year-old may just be scratching the surface of what he will be able to do in his career as is just 503 games into his great career thus far.
Although it’s a small sample, Goldschmidt turns it on in a big way in the playoffs. In four career playoff games he has a .438/.526/.813 (1.339 OPS) slash line with two HRs and six RBIs.
Goldschmidt’ 162 game averages are as follows: 174-for-589 (.295), 30 HRs, 109 RBIs, 17-for-22 on stolen base attempts, a .385 OBP, a .531 SLG, and a .916 OPS.
We could be in for a great show over the next decade as the Diamondbacks continue to slot decent pieces around Goldschmidt in the line-up and it is paying off big-time as the Diamondbacks rank 4th in the major leagues in runs with 194.
Goldschmidt could very well test Luis Gonzalez as the best hitter in Diamondbacks’ history before everything is said-and-done.