who was Goldy"The 246th pick in the draft is not a spot at which you expect to find major-league talent Nick Wittgren Jersey , let alone a six-time All-Star. Of the 54 players selected there, if you’ve heard of more than three, you’re doing better than me. From those 54 players, 40 signed. The men who didn’t provide one of those recognizable names: pitcher Cliff Lee, who was drafted by the Marlins of high school, but went to college instead. Of those forty, only one-quarter have reached the major leagues, including future Diamondback Brad Halsey, drafted by the Yankees in 2002. The total, career major-league value provided by all 53 non-Goldschmidt players to the teams which drafted them? 5.7 bWAR. Or, as Goldschmidt calls it. a decent season. Looking at it another way, every team (including the Diamondbacks) passed on Paul. Not just once or twice, but at least seven times they looked at him and said, “Nah, we’ll go elsewhere.” The Angels took eleven players before Goldschmidt was drafted - though since they included the one player worth more WAR than Goldy, they’ve probably got over it [though amusingly, Mike Trout wasn’t even the first guy they picked, preferring Randall Grichuk] Prune out Trout, Goldy and the 27 other top players by bWAR. The remaining 217 players to be picked before Goldschmidt have been worth less combined to the franchises who selected them, than Goldschmidt (36.8 bWAR vs. 40.1). The D-backs are not immune from this, of course. They skipped Goldschmidt even more times - twelve - before eventually picking him. In typically low-key fashion, Paul wasn’t even paying attention when they did: “I wasn’t listening to the Draft on the internet, but the Diamondbacks called and said they might take me. My parents were listening, they heard it, so it was pretty cool, I was excited Julio Urias Jersey , obviously. In terms of the bonus [he signed for the princely sum of $95,000], I put as much as I could in the bank... I ended up buying an engagement ring for my wife -- that’s probably the biggest purchase.” Here are the players they chose over Paul, along with their overall spot in the draft. 16: Bobby Borchering17: A.J. Pollock35: Matt Davidson41: Chris Owings45: Mike Belfiore60: Eric Smith64: Marc Krauss95: Keon Broxton126: David Nick156: Ryan Wheeler186: Bradin Hagens216: Matt HelmSave Pollock, it’s an unimpressive list: no-one else has given Arizona even one-tenth of the value Goldschmidt delivered. Keon Broxton currently has the highest other career bWAR, and he was sold to the Pirates before appearing for us. We on the SnakePit were no different in overlooking Paul. Our draft-day coverage made absolutely no mention at all of our eighth-round pick at the time.2009Let the record show that the above is the first mention at all of Goldschmidt I was able to find here (hat-tip to Stephen B for locating it!). More information came in December that year, when Dan Strittmatter covered the top forty prospects in the Arizona system, including Goldschmidt... at number forty. Here’s what he wrote:He had indeed demolished the Pioneer League, batting .334 with a 1.045 OPS and 18 home-runs in 74 games. But there was still a lot of skepticism. In the following year’s Baseball Prospect book, John Sickels of Minor League Ball graded Goldschmidt only as a C-grade, “pending some exposure to better pitching, having been burned by gaudy rookie ball numbers from college hitters before.” He left Goldschmidt off his top 20 list, ranking him behind such names as David Nick, Bryan Augenstein and Wes Roemer. The only place where Paul seems to have been ranked highly at that point, is a Bleacher Report piece which had him at #8, written by someone who cheerfully admits to not being a D-backs fan. 2010The following season, he was promoted to High-A Visalia, where he was younger than average for the league. It didn’t matter, as Goldschmidt continued to rake, batting .314 with 35 home-runs, and being named MVP in the California League. Pundits began to take at least some notice of Paul’s talents, though top 10 rankings for him were still rare. Dan had moved the first-baseman all the way up to #12. As well as the juicy pull-quote at the top of this article, he reported positive words being said about Goldschmidt’s defense, but was still concerned about the strikeout. [Goldy had a K-rate that year of 26.9%, the highest of his career]Bench bat, eh? Why does that sound familiar? :) John Sickels did put him in our top 10 http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-max-muncy-jersey , at #9, calling him a “power monster”, but cautioning about the “strikeout issues that could prevent a good batting average/OBP at higher levels.” Overall, he was bumped up to a B- grade, with Sickels writing that “even as a low batting average with power guy, he should still have value.” There were similar questions about whether Paul was “for real” in a July 2010 thread on Diamondbacks Bullpen: “I have serious doubts (confirmed by the MLE models) that he could translate this power to the majors at his current rate of K/BB in A ball. If he improves his “eye” and continues [to] show power like this in AA - we can talk. Until then...”2011This was the first time I got to see Paul in action, during spring training. He hit a game-tying home-run in the ninth inning of the first game at Salt River Fields - we’ll talk more about that later in the week. He didn’t make the roster on Opening Day, and went to Double-A Mobile, where the hitting continued. Over 103 games for the BayBears, Goldschmidt hit .304 with 30 home-runs and a career-high 1.061 OPS, winning the USA Today Minor League Player of the Year award. But there were still those who doubted. Most infamously around these parts? Keith Law, who in May called Goldschmidt “pretty limited”, then listed him as a “low-ceiling” prospect (alongside future AZ closer, Brad Boxberger!), evaluating him as follows:In Law’s defense, he wasn’t alone. Also in May, ESPN colleague Jason Grey wrote in his scouting report on Paul: “There are also questions about Goldschmidt’s bat speed; as in, some scouts think his swing might be a touch too slow and/or too long to consistently mash major league hurlers... Can he hit that good fastball, or does he have to cheat to do so, which then makes him vulnerable to off-speed stuff?” But Mobile manager Turner Ward had no such doubts, calling Goldschmidt “a big-league player in the making.”The Opening Day starter for Arizona at 1B that year was Juan Miranda, but he was sent down to Reno on July 15 - a few days after Goldschmidt had appeared for Team USA in the Futures Game, as part of the All-Star celebrations at Chase Field. Later that month, the Diamondbacks traded another first-baseman, Brandon Allen, along with Jordan Norberto to the Oakland Athletics for Brad Ziegler. Goldschmidt was called up on August 1st. He never went back down Chris Taylor Jersey , and as they say, the rest is history. What happened?How does an eighth-round pick end up posting a minor-league line, of .317/.407/.620, for an OPS of 1.027, with 83 home-runs in 315 games? How did a player who never made a top 100 list, or even Baseball America’s list of top ten organizational prospects, become the most valuable position player in the National League over the last seven seasons? Simple answer? Hard effort, and a relentless desire to get better. Sickels more or less nails it:Keith Law concurred, eventually coming around - although it took until late in 2013 before he wrote, “What I didn’t see, or know, about Goldschmidt is that he’s one of the highest-aptitude hitters in the game -- boasting an outstanding work ethic, according to several sources I spoke with who know Goldschmidt personally, but also the intelligence to take instruction and make adjustments as needed. He’s among the best in the game at addressing holes or weaknesses, whether in his swing or on defense or on the bases, such as closing the hole he’d showed on the inner half in his first half-season in the majors, where right-handers especially could beat him with velocity.”Speaking in 2011, Goldschmidt’s batting coach in Double-A, Alan Zinter, also noted the great mindset Paul brought to the game, even as a prospect. “He came right in and just wanted to be consistent. He didn’t try to do more than he’s capable of doing. For a young kid, you don’t see a kid that consistent. He had a routine. He knew what his weaknesses were. He wanted to work on his weaknesses, not just his strengths. He wants to be a big-league ballplayer.” Paul Goldschmidt in an object lesson in being everything you can be, and more. If you put your mind to it, the expectations of others are no longer relevant to your own achievements - and the sky truly is the limit. CHICAGO (AP) — Trevor Bauer was sailing along in another dominant start right until he got struck in the right ankle by a line drive.Another bruising blow couldn’t derail the Cleveland Indians.Bauer pitched two-hit ball into the seventh inning and Michael Brantley and Jose Ramirez hit back-to-back home runs to lift the Indians to a 3-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday night.Bauer (12-6) won his fourth straight start. He gave up one run and struck out eight before Jose Abreu’s leadoff liner hit him in the seventh.The ball appeared headed toward the upper portion of his leg before sinking a bit and striking the ankle with his foot in the air. It ricocheted toward first baseman Yonder Alonso, who stepped on the bag for the out.Bauer was slow to rise to his feet and walked around gingerly as manager Terry Francona and an assistant trainer came out to check on him. The Indians brought in Brad Hand http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-max-muncy-jersey , ending another dominant start. Bauer is 5-0 with a 1.72 ERA in his past eight outings.The Indians think he just has a bruise, though he did undergo precautionary X-rays after the game.“He got hit pretty hard, but then again just to cover everything, we’ll get an x-ray,” Francona said.Losing Bauer for an extended time obviously would be a big blow for a team that has been banged up. The Indians are also putting slugger Edwin Encarnacion on the disabled list because of swelling in his left biceps, Francona said.“We’ve got nothing but prayers and hopes that everyone will be back soon,” Brantley said. “But at the same time we’ve got to step up as a unit, as a team, go out there and still get our jobs done to the best of our abilities.”GOING DEEPThe game was tied at 1 before Brantley and Ramirez hit consecutive homers against James Shields in the sixth. Brantley also singled and doubled.Cody Allen worked the ninth for his 22nd save in 25 chances. He gave up a leadoff single to Yolmer Sanchez but struck out Avisail Garcia to end the game after Daniel Palka — who homered in the ninth in Friday’s 1-0 victory — flied to deep center.Shields (4-14) allowed two earned runs and seven hits in seven innings. Yoan Moncada homered in the third , but the White Sox committed three errors.“Yeah, it’s been a frustrating season, no doubt about it,” Shields said. “I’m just going to go out there and try and throw some quality starts and go as deep as I can in the game and give us a chance to win. Flip side, Bauer has been pitching very well this year, he’s a tough one to beat. You can’t really give up two home runs in one inning and expect to win the ballgame like that.”TRAINER’S ROOMIndians: Francona said the swelling in Encarnacion’s bicep is “not bad at all,” and X-rays on his right hand “came back actually really good, really clean.” Encarnacion has struggled since being hit on the right hand by Yankees reliever Chad Green before the All-Star break. He has often been swinging with one hand, putting more stress on his upper arms. … RHP Corey Kluber left the ballpark feeling ill prior to the game, though Francona said he should be ready to make his scheduled start against Cincinnati on Tuesday.White Sox: Manager Rick Renteria said OF Leury Garcia (strained left hamstring) continues to ramp up his activity, though the White Sox are “probably three or four days away” from deciding if he will go on a minor league rehab assignment. Garcia was injured on Sunday at Tampa Bay.UP NEXTIndians: RHP Carlos Carrasco (13-6, 3.69 ERA) looks to bounce back from a loss to Minnesota on Tuesday. He was 5-0 in his previous six starts.White Sox: RHP Dylan Covey (4-8, 5.58 ERA) — 1-7 with an 8.24 ERA in his past nine starts — tries to break his slump. He was charged with four runs in 4 1/3 innings in loss to the New York Yankees on Monday.