Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
The 2013 season is almost over and the playoffs are starting take their final shape. Soon, talk surrounding baseball will center on who wins the individual awards like the Cy Young and MVP. In the National League there are several worthy candidates but Paul Goldschmidt of the Arizona Diamondbacks deserves a lot of consideration.
Goldschmidt currently is tied for the lead in home runs with Pedro Alvarez at 34. He also leads the NL in RBI, is third in runs scored, third in WAR with a 6.9 mark and has 15 stolen bases for good measure. Goldschmidt has a slash line of .304/.406/.555 this season as well.
While there are plenty of worthy candidates in the NL like Andrew McCutchen, Freddie Freeman, Yadier Molina and even someone like Matt Carpenter, it is Goldschmidt that stands out. He performs night in and night out despite being the only force in a lineup that features Martin Prado as the second leading home run hitter with 13 and a lineup that features only two players, Goldschmidt and Prado, with more than 50 RBI.
Voters for the MVP will look at guys who led their teams to the playoffs. However, if voters could award Felix Hernandez a Cy Young Award in 2010. Goldschmidt is just a valuable as Hernandez was and is performing under similar circumstances.
While the award will most likely go to McCutchen for helping lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to their first winning season since 1992, Goldschmidt should have a lot of consideration. Imagine taking him out of the Diamondbacks’ lineup. Would the Diamondbacks still have a winning record at this point in the season? The answer is a resounding no. Goldschmidt is the offense for the Diamondbacks. Without him, the Diamondbacks are more like the San Diego Padres offensively.
While Goldschmidt might not win the award he is certainly one of the most deserving.
Chris is a Senior Writer as well as the Hiring and Recruiting Manager for Rant sports. Follow Chris on Twitter and “Like” his page on Facebook.
