ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Paul Goldschmidt’s no-good stretch: By the numbers

May 11, 2018, 9:25 AM

Arizona Diamondbacks' Paul Goldschmidt breaks his bat on a swing against the Houston Astros during ...

Arizona Diamondbacks' Paul Goldschmidt breaks his bat on a swing against the Houston Astros during the eighth inning of a baseball game Sunday, May 6, 2018, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Paul Goldschmidt has yet to get going.

It took the Arizona Diamondbacks’ five-time All-Star 11 games just to record a multi-hit game this year and the same amount of time to hit his first home run. Mid-April looked like it could be a turning point, and by the end of last month, he had batted .297 with four homers and 11 RBIs over the 30 days.

But the last seven games of April and first nine of May have been no good.

Here’s a look at his last few weeks at the plate and how it’s sunk his overall numbers.

1

Goldschmidt has just one RBI in his last 17 games since April 22.

.059

That’s the first baseman’s batting average in May as he’s hit 2-for-34.

.187

For the year, that’s Goldschmidt’s average against right-handed pitchers in 91 at-bats. He’s doing quite well in 42 at-bats against lefties, hitting .286 with three of his four homers against southpaws.

.138

Chase Field hasn’t been kind to Goldschmidt, who is hitting .138 at home versus .294 on the road. His OPS is .572 at home to .910 away from home.

.200

While Goldschmidt began the season struggling at the plate, he at least was getting on board by taking a lot of walks. That’s not so true anymore. He’s walked seven times in the last 16 games. In the first nine games of May, that has coupled with his poor hitting to produce an on-base percentage of .200.

30.2

Goldschmidt is striking out 30.2 percent of the time, up from 22.1 percent last season. Nearly half of Goldschmidt’s games this season have included more than one strikeout, as he has compiled 18 multi-strikeout outings in 37 total games.

10

This season, Goldschmidt has the 10th-best batting average on the Diamondbacks at .218. He’s seventh in OPS at .744.

68.6

Per FanGraphs, most of Goldschmidt’s plate discipline statistics line up to last year’s numbers and those for his career. One outlier is his first-pitch strike percentage. Goldschmidt is falling behind on the first pitch 68.6 percent of the time. That’s well above last year’s percentage of 59, which was already the second-highest of his career.

74.3

The first baseman’s contact percentage of pitches thrown in the strike zone are also down. He’s making contact on 74.3 percent of in-the-zone pitches and hasn’t been below 80.2 percent since his rookie year.

24

Despite all the woes, Goldschmidt still leads the D-backs with 24 runs scored this year thanks to the trusty A.J. Pollock — who has very early MVP-type buzz — batting behind him at No. 4 in the order.

Comments

Comment guidelines: No name-calling, personal attacks, profanity, or insults. Please keep the conversation civil and help us moderate comments by reporting abuse.
comments powered by Disqus

Arizona Diamondbacks

Lourdes Gurriel Jr....

Alex Weiner

Diamondbacks keep good times rolling with 14-run inning, Opening Day rout of Rockies

What the Diamondbacks accomplished in the third inning against the Rockies on Thursday night was completely new for those in the ballpark. 

9 hours ago

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. flips his bat during Arizona Diamondbacks' 2024 Opening Day...

Arizona Sports

Diamondbacks score 14 runs in a single inning to beat Rockies on Opening Day

The Arizona Diamondbacks set franchise marks with 13 hits and 14 runs in the third inning of their 2024 Opening Day game against the Rockies.

12 hours ago

Blaze Alexander...

Alex Weiner

Blaze Alexander did all he could to make Diamondbacks’ Opening Day roster

Diamondbacks infielder Blaze Alexander put together a spring that made it too difficult for the team to send him back to the minor leagues.

16 hours ago

Ketel Marte celebrates...

Tyler Drake

Ketel Marte to lead off Arizona Diamondbacks’ Opening Day lineup

The Arizona Diamondbacks' Opening Day lineup is set ahead of their matchup against the Colorado Rockies on Thursday.

19 hours ago

Jordan Montgomery throws a pitch...

Tyler Drake

Hall: Diamondbacks’ addition of Jordan Montgomery ‘made a lot of sense’

The Diamondbacks' addition of Jordan Montgomery puts a bow on a rotation that should be in the conversation for the top spot across MLB.

21 hours ago

Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno...

Arizona Sports

Roundtable picks: One Diamondbacks young player to watch in 2024

Which Arizona Diamondbacks player should continue an upward trend in 2024? Gabriel Moreno, Brandon Pfaadt and Alek Thomas are possibilities.

21 hours ago

Paul Goldschmidt’s no-good stretch: By the numbers