
Carlos tiene sus tacos aquí.
CarGo’s NL ranks as of Sunday morning:
Avg - 1st (.320)
Triples - T-6th (6)
HR - T-6th (24)
RBI - 6th (74)
SB - 13th (17)
He may have been snubbed by all-star voters and managers, but it is going to be tough for CarGo’s season to go unnoticed when it comes time for MVP voting. Do I think he’ll win? Not likely, but I expect to see his name among those receiving votes. The stats speak for themselves, but they don’t tell the whole story of how good CarGo has been this season.
CarGo has 193 at-bats this season while batting first in the order. That’s 47% of his total at-bats coming from a spot in the order that is guaranteed to come up to the plate at least once per game with nobody on base. The rest of the at-bats in that spot are not incredibly likely to have runners on base, with the bottom of the order and pitcher’s spot hitting in front of him. I suppose this next statement is open for debate, but I believe if CarGo had been hitting in the three-spot all year, he would be leading the league in RBI in addition to his league-leading batting average.
He hits, he runs, but can he field? Carlos has one error in 198 opportunities this season while playing all 3 outfield positions (not at the same time, thought he might just be that good). He’s also had a few opportunities to show off his arm, proving it to be both strong and accurate.
Carlos Gonzalez has proven to be such a great all-around player that it is incredibly easy to forget that this is the 24-year-old’s first full season in the majors. If he continues to get better, which he should, he’s going to have to buy a new house just to store all of his future hardware - the Silver Slugger awards, Gold Gloves, batting titles, homerun crowns, all-star jerseys, an MVP award or two, and hopefully a few shiny rings. He’s got as good a chance as anyone to win the first Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski won it in the AL in 1967.
It wouldn’t be fair to praise CarGo this much without pointing out some areas that could use some improvement (we love constructive criticism here at Rockiescast, just as long as it’s not directed at us). As we’ve seen all too often with great Rockies hitters, the home/road splits leave a lot to be desired, though you’d never know it by watching this series at Pittsburgh. I wouldn’t mind seeing him walk a little more either, but it’s hard to take more pitches when it seems like you crush the ball every time you swing the bat.
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