Paul Goldschmidt
If there was ever a year that Goldschmidt deserved recognition for how great of a player he is and how crucial of a component he is for the Diamondbacks, this would be the year.
He should be considered as the most underrated player in the game, solely because he doesn’t receive the publicity he deserves. His numbers from the past five seasons speak for themselves.
2012: .286/.359/.490, 20 HR, 82 RBI, 18 SB, 3.4 WAR
2013: .302/.401/.551, 36 HR, 125 RBI, 15 SB, 7.1 WAR
2014 (in 109 games): .300/.396/.542, 19 HR, 69 RBI, 9 SB, 4.5 WAR
2015: .321/.435/.570, 33 HR, 110 RBI, 21 SB, 8.8 WAR
2016: .297/.411/.489, 24 HR, 95 RBI, 32 SB, 4.8 WAR
He’s been just as good, if not better, this year.
Goldschmidt is one of the main reasons why Arizona has reemerged as a playoff contender. Through 115 games, he sports a .318 batting average with a .432 on-base percentage and a .592 slugging percentage – his 1.024 OPS would be a career-high.
He’s become a major threat not only at the dish, but on the bases as well. Through he might not reach 30 swiped bags this year, he still has 16 thus far, more than any other first baseman in the entire MLB.
There are two main reasons why Goldschmidt leads the MVP race at this point.
First, he leads the league in WAR, and as noted earlier, that gives a player a notch above the rest of the field. Second, he truly is the most valuable player for the D-Backs, and has been since his first full season on the club. Fans and analysts could argue that players like Bellinger and Harper aren’t their team’s most valuable stars – Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer may ring a bell.
But for Goldschmidt, that isn’t the case. At only 29 years old, the first baseman already ranks second in the all-time Arizona record books for career home runs, hits, RBI and extra-base hits. If he stays in the desert for a few more seasons, he’ll sit atop all of those categories.
Nearly six years after his lone postseason appearance, Goldschmidt could return to the playoffs this season. And he might be carrying an MVP award with him by year’s end.