Go Upstairs vs. Goldschmidt at Your Own Peril

Last night, Miami pitcher Kevin Slowey discovered that throwing Paul Goldschmidt a high pitch is a good way to test whether the retractable roof at Marlins Park can withstand a meteor strike. Goldschmidt ripped a hanging curveball deep into the Little Havana stands, and then later fended off 12 pitches from Slowey before pummeling an elevated fastball over the fence. The D-Backs' first baseman, who ranks behind only Justin Upton in home runs (12) and Chris Davis in slugging percentage (.656), has emerged as an elite slugger by mauling pitchers who dare to climb the ladder against him.

Goldschmidt's slugging percentage vs. high pitches, 2013

Goldschmidt has blasted eight home runs on high pitches this season, tops in the majors by a wide margin. His closest competitors are Nelson Cruz, Mark Reynolds and Chris Carter, with five. He also boasts the highest slugging percentage versus high stuff among MLB hitters, besting the likes of Davis, Cruz and Ryan Braun:

Highest slugging percentage vs. high pitches, 2013

Goldschmidt was a prodigious high-pitch slugger in both 2011 (.595) and 2012 (.604), but he has taken it to another level this year by improving his pitch recognition. When opponents throw him high stuff, he's swinging at more strikes and chasing fewer pitches off the plate:

Goldschmidt's swing rates vs. high pitches, 2011-13

 

Arizona recently signed Goldschmidt to a five-year, $32 million contract extension with a $14.5 million club option for the 2019 season. That could end up being one of the most team-friendly deals in the majors, considering that Goldy's career OPS+ so far through age 25 (135) is similar to first base luminaries like Eddie Murray (136 OPS+), John Olerud (137 OPS+), Joey Votto (139 OPS+), Orlando Cepeda (139 OPS+), Jeff Bagwell, and Prince Fielder (140 OPS+). Goldschmidt's track record isn't as long as those guys (he's just closing in on 1,000 career plate appearances, while most of the players mentioned above had 2,000-3,000 trips to the dish at the same point; Votto had the fewest, at 1,222). But still, talk about stellar company.

Miguel Cabrera was Too Much with Two-Out

There were many categories in which Triple Crown leader Miguel Cabrera topped the batting world in 2012, but you may not realize that one of those lists was two-outs hits.

Miggy had 79 two-outs in 2012. That is more than Adrian Beltre's 73 two-out hits, David Wright's 72, Ryan Braun's 68, and Torii Hunter's 67. They were the five best in baseball last year.

Before you ask, Mike Trout had 50 two-out hits, the same as Edwin Encarnacion and Paul Goldschmidt.

Check out Cabrera in 2012 with two-out

That's a lot of red when pitchers want to get out of an inning don't you think?

With two-out in 2012, Cabrera hit .346 with 17 homers and 47 RBI. He had a .411 OBP and he slugged .618 giving him an OPS of 1.029.

Overall, Miguel Cabrera had a brilliant 2012 season, it was even great with two-outs. 

Goldschmidt Defines his Strikezone

Paul Goldschmidt of the Arizona Diamondbacks hit down the stretch as he helped the team to the NL West title.  Goldschmidt's strength is his power.  His hits and walks are low enough, however, that is OBP has room for improvement.  Luckily for Goldschmidt, there's a path to improving his ability to get on base.

Goldschmidt likes to swing at inside pitches, which shows up in his ball rate:

Paul Goldschmidt, called ball rate, all pitches, 2011.Where there should be yellows and reds inside, there are only blues and greens.  Look what happens when he takes those pitches:

Paul Goldschmidt, called ball rate, taken pitches, 2011.You can see how he's not getting the calls well off the plate inside.  Those are pitches that should be going his way.  He needs to re-teach umpires by starting to take those pitches rather than swing at them.  That will lead to more favorable counts, and more balls in the strike zone that he can crush.