Gold in Arizona

In one of the more minor trades of this trading season, the A’s and D-backs reached an agreement to send Brad Ziegler to the desert in exchange for the jilted Brandon Allen and a lefty reliever. More interesting than the opportunity this presents to Mr. Allen, who once again was sent to the minors, is the opportunity this trade creates for the recently called-to-the-majors Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona’s new primary first baseman.

Currently Goldschmidt is making smithereens of Double-A pitching, cranking out an unparalleled .306/.435/.626 line. His 30 home runs are ten more than the next highest bidder in the Southern league. And maybe most impressively, he’s showed great improvement in his plate discipline, cutting his strikeout rate to an acceptable 20 percent for a player with his power.

Even though Goldschmidt has relatively little minor league experience for a prospect reaching the majors, it is important to keep in mind that he did his time in college and is currently a month shy of turning 24—making him mature compared to the likes of Eric Hosmer and Freddie Freeman. So although its easy to perceive him as a raw, unproven talent, I think to do so underrates his maturity and potential readiness to face big-league pitching.

Scouts are not gushing over Goldschmidt the same way they do other top prospects due to his lack of athleticism. And with his lack of a first-round pedigree he’s been mostly proving doubters wrong as opposed to believers right for most of his minor league career. Still, for me Goldschmidt is likely the most exciting prospect to be called up till the end of the season. In pretty much any league I’m using my waiver claim, or my FAAB dollars, or my whatever to get him on my team for the final two months of the year.

In his first at-bat Goldschmidt just got a hit. Now it’s your move.