Paul Goldschmidt has been one of the premier sluggers in the National League this season, putting up numbers that are more than MVP-worthy for the NL West division leading Arizona Diamondbacks.
In just five games this month, Goldschmidt has batted .391 (9-for-22) with two home runs and 12 RBI, driving in at least one run in each June contest. On the season, Goldschmidt ranks amongst the league leaders in multiple offensive categories.
The Diamondbacks first baseman leads the NL with 53 RBI and is second in OPS (1.025), fourth in home runs (14), runs (42) and SLG (.608), and fifth in batting average (.336) and walks (31).
Arizona manager Kirk Gibson had this to say on whether Goldschmidt has solidified himself as one of the best sluggers in the league:
“It’s a small sample size,” Gibson said. “We’re just really interested in how he fits on our team. He’s certainly a huge cog for us. He wants to get better. He wants to stay humble and needs to stay humble. We’re happy to have him, certainly.”
Goldschmidt currently trails only Joey Votto and Brandon Belt in All-Star Game voting for NL first basemen, garnering 473,513 votes as of Tuesday. The Arizona slugger is certainly gaining recognition across the baseball world this season, but his offensive prowess still appears to be under-appreciated and underrated for a player of his caliber, which may be due to the low-profile media market of Arizona.
But rest assured, if he continues to perform this well, Goldschmidt will soon be a household name in all regions of the country. But as Diamondback fans already know, Paul Goldschmidt is that good .
