Hello again. Remember that last article I posted about Mike
Trout and how he is one of the best statistical players to play the game of
baseball right now? Well he hit the cycle yesterday, so… yeah. Good work,
Trout, keep it up.
Today we look at surprising/potential players for baseball.
I’m going to probably find this section of the blog the most interesting just
to see if I called any players that are now superstars. As of now, I only
remember hyping two players in the past few years: Zack Greinke and Brennan
Boesech. So, depending on how you’re scoring, I’m 1 for 2 on potential players.
Now I usually like to do potential players/surprising
players as guys who are either in their rookie year, just came off of free
agency, was injured, or just completely sucked the year before. Today, I’m
going to look at the Arizona Diamondbacks, who currently a half game out of
first place, with a record of 26-21. I pick them because they have some of the
most underrated young talent in the game right now. So let’s go with a dynamic duo that can carry
the team to the playoffs. The two big players right now are Paul Goldschmidt
and Patrick Corbin.
This duo is literally carrying the team right now. Goldschmidt,
a first baseman, is leading in every category on offense. Corbin, a left-handed
pitcher, is leading in every category for their pitching. If I had to pick one
of the two to be the most successful, I’d probably pick Goldschmidt, but that’s
probably just because he’s a hitter and is less prone for injuries.
Let’s take a look at Goldschmidt for today. Paul Goldschmidt is a
25 year old from Wilmington, Delaware, and played for Texas State University.
He was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year… twice. Although he is
25, he has only had three years of experience in the big leagues. His first
year in 2011 was just a test run for him, playing 48 games but batting .250 and
driving in 26 RBI’s. That’s actually pretty good for a rookie year. In 2012 he
batted .286 and had an OBP of .359. He hit 20 Homers and drove in 82.
He does have one problem, though. He strikes out a lot. Last
year he had 130 strike outs, so every time he went up to the plate, he had a
22% chance of striking out. This year, every time he goes up to the plate, he
has a 22% chance of striking out. He has played one fourth as many games this
year, but the ratio should regress towards the actual mean anyways, which seems
to be around 22%. Nevertheless, he does not strike out as much as Adam Dunn or
Mark Reynolds, and I hope he doesn’t grow into one of them.
Here’s something that could change your mind about comparing
him to last year. Sure, he may not be improving from last year in strike out
ratios, but everything else has significantly improved. Currently he is leading
the league in number of Games Played, Slugging Percentage, On-Base Plus
Slugging Percentage, OPS+ (which is just OPS but adjusted by where they play),
and Total Bases. As of now he has hit 12 homers, 36 RBI’s, and has hit 12
doubles. He is on track to hit 42 homers, 126 RBI’s, and 42 doubles.
Last Friday the guy went four for five, hitting two homers
and driving in four. The next day, he hit three doubles. Not only is he
powerful, but he’s consistent. He kind of reminds me of Richie Sexson, but has
a higher batting average and can play better defense. Speaking of defense, it
has much improved; he might even be able to win a gold glove. Currently,
Goldschmidt’s WAR is 2.8, which is 4th in the NL. Watch out for him
in the future, especially if the D-Backs make the playoffs.
I’m going to hold off on Patrick Corbin for right now, but don’t
be surprised if I write about him next week if he continues to perform as well.
Right now he is 7-0 with a 1.44 ERA. HOLY TOLEDO.
Thanks for reading today’s blog, and I hope you watch out
for the Diamondbacks this year. Be warned, NL West. We might just have a new
team taking the division.
-Evan Boyd
SPOILER ALERT: Instead of doing moments in history, I’m
going to talk about a specific team. I won’t do the D-Backs for sure just
because I did them today, but I will try to do a team in the American League to
start out with.
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions about
the blog, feel free to email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com.
“Baseball was made for kids, and grown-ups only screw it up.”
–Bob Lemon
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