Anthony Gruppuso – USA TODAY Sports
April has been an incredible month for the Colorado Rockies, especially for their center fielder Dexter Fowler.
Coming into the season, the Rockies were written off before they even took the field. I mean, how could a team that lost nearly 100 games last season be a contender in 2013? After all, they still had absolutely no pitching to speak of (supposedly), and their lineup was weak outside of Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez (supposedly). But those two players – albeit having good seasons – are not leading the team and the entire MLB in fWAR. That honor belongs to Dexter Fowler, who is on top of the rankings with a 2.0 fWAR.
Ever since Fowler made his official debut in 2009, he has been teasing fans with greatness. He always earned a good amount of walks, hit for power, and could steal a base for two, but Fowler didn’t show his true potential until last season where he had a slashline of .300/.389/.474 and a 2.6 fWAR. The reason why Fowler’s fWAR was so low with that slashline has to do with playing in Coors Field and having a -13.6 UZR. I could write an essay on why I hate UZR, so I’m just going to say that you could probably chalk up another win for Fowler’s 2012 fWAR figure. This season, however, Fowler has a positive UZR, which is why he is leading the sabermetric world.
I don’t think the Rockies have a legitimate chance in the NL West, but they are definitely surprising a lot of people. And if Fowler can keep up his level of play, anything is possible with this squad, especially with Nolan Arenado becoming the team’s everyday third baseman.
Alas, cheers to you, Dexter. You can now tell everyone that you are loved by people who live in their mom’s basement.
