Paul Goldschmidt is the best baseball player no one is talking about, so let's talk about him...
Here's a question for all you fantasy baseball fanatics out there... Who is the top-ranked 1st-baseman* on ESPN's Player Rater right now? Hint: It's not Prince Fielder (he's #6), or Joey Votto (#11), or Albert Pujols (#26). And it sure as heck isn't Billy Butler -- the 1B I drafted in Round 4 of my 10-team league draft -- who is ranked #33.
Yep, you guessed it, the answer is Goldschmidt. Check out these numbers:
As you can see, Goldschmidt is raking it. All the other guys on that list were taken much earlier on draft day, but he's been more productive than every single one of them.
Prince Fielder is having another one of his typical, hyper-productive seasons; He's on pace for 41 HR and 162 RBI while batting .302. But Goldschmidt can match his power (on pace for 43 HR and 143 RBI) and batting average, plus add a little speed on the basepaths (on pace for 19 SB). Prince has been great, but Goldschmidt's been even better.
Votto has been pretty good, but his counting stats (24 R, 4 HR, 13 RBI) are not what I'd expect from a #3 hitter. His OBP (.451) is amazing, and his slugging percentage (.485) is decent enough, but he's going to have to generate more power and knock in more runs if he wants to remain in the "elite" first-baseman category.
Pujols has been a disaster. Pujols was drafted, on average, #7.3 overall in ESPN leagues. Which means he was pretty much picked in the first round of every draft this year (he went #7 in my draft). Ha! Round 1?! I'm glad I wasn't the sucker that took him with my first pick! His batting average has declined in each of the last 5 years... and so has his on-base percentage... and so has his slugging percentage. And his current OPS (.730) is borderline pine-worthy. He's clearly on the decline, but he's still being drafted like a top 1B. Well, at least, he was. He won't be after this year. He had a great, extended run at the top... but Pujols is done as a premier fantasy baseball stat producer.
And, of course, there's not much to say about Billy Butler... except for the fact that I drafted him in the 4th-round of my fantasy baseball draft and now I'm wondering if I had brain damage that night. What the hell was I thinking? Where are these "safe" and "steady" numbers he supposedly churns out yearly? I see his slugging percentage (.388) is barely out-pacing his on-base percentage (.380). So he's getting on base but he's not scoring any runs while hitting for No power. That's not good. How's this for a tag line... The Butler Didn't Do Anything.
Paul Goldschmidt is not getting the mainstream media coverage on the same level as these other guys, but he's the one they should be talking about. He's having a great season, and he played really well last year, too. He's a virtual lock to be named an All-Star in 2013, and he's on his way to being the best first-baseman in the fantasy baseball world as well. Next year, people won't be talking about taking Pujols #7 overall... they'll be talking about taking Goldschmidt.
* All stats are good through games on 5/8/2013. Player Rater numbers are for 5x5 mixed leagues, standard scoring.
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| Paul Goldschmidt: Hitting Machine. |
Yep, you guessed it, the answer is Goldschmidt. Check out these numbers:
| Player | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | R | HR | RBI | SB |
| Goldschmidt | .320 | .413 | .592 | 1.005 | 22 | 9 | 30 | 4 |
| Fielder | .302 | .428 | .569 | .997 | 18 | 8 | 32 | 0 |
| Votto | .315 | .451 | .485 | .936 | 24 | 4 | 13 | 0 |
| Pujols | .240 | .322 | .408 | .730 | 14 | 5 | 19 | 0 |
| Butler | .245 | .380 | .388 | .768 | 11 | 3 | 19 | 0 |
As you can see, Goldschmidt is raking it. All the other guys on that list were taken much earlier on draft day, but he's been more productive than every single one of them.
Prince Fielder is having another one of his typical, hyper-productive seasons; He's on pace for 41 HR and 162 RBI while batting .302. But Goldschmidt can match his power (on pace for 43 HR and 143 RBI) and batting average, plus add a little speed on the basepaths (on pace for 19 SB). Prince has been great, but Goldschmidt's been even better.
Votto has been pretty good, but his counting stats (24 R, 4 HR, 13 RBI) are not what I'd expect from a #3 hitter. His OBP (.451) is amazing, and his slugging percentage (.485) is decent enough, but he's going to have to generate more power and knock in more runs if he wants to remain in the "elite" first-baseman category.
Pujols has been a disaster. Pujols was drafted, on average, #7.3 overall in ESPN leagues. Which means he was pretty much picked in the first round of every draft this year (he went #7 in my draft). Ha! Round 1?! I'm glad I wasn't the sucker that took him with my first pick! His batting average has declined in each of the last 5 years... and so has his on-base percentage... and so has his slugging percentage. And his current OPS (.730) is borderline pine-worthy. He's clearly on the decline, but he's still being drafted like a top 1B. Well, at least, he was. He won't be after this year. He had a great, extended run at the top... but Pujols is done as a premier fantasy baseball stat producer.
And, of course, there's not much to say about Billy Butler... except for the fact that I drafted him in the 4th-round of my fantasy baseball draft and now I'm wondering if I had brain damage that night. What the hell was I thinking? Where are these "safe" and "steady" numbers he supposedly churns out yearly? I see his slugging percentage (.388) is barely out-pacing his on-base percentage (.380). So he's getting on base but he's not scoring any runs while hitting for No power. That's not good. How's this for a tag line... The Butler Didn't Do Anything.
Paul Goldschmidt is not getting the mainstream media coverage on the same level as these other guys, but he's the one they should be talking about. He's having a great season, and he played really well last year, too. He's a virtual lock to be named an All-Star in 2013, and he's on his way to being the best first-baseman in the fantasy baseball world as well. Next year, people won't be talking about taking Pujols #7 overall... they'll be talking about taking Goldschmidt.
* All stats are good through games on 5/8/2013. Player Rater numbers are for 5x5 mixed leagues, standard scoring.
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