When one thinks about the best players in Colorado Rockies history, names like Todd Helton, Larry Walker, and Troy Tulowitzki might come to mind first.
Tulowitzki has won a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger award, but Carlos Gonzalez is the most explosive player on the club. CarGo’s start so far this season does not do justice to his true potential. Much like Jose Reyes for the New York Mets, Gonzalez is a multi-faceted player who spark-plugs the entire line-up. While it is true that he does not quite have the range of a Dexter Fowler in center field or the arm necessary to play right field in the spacious confines of Coors Field, the sum of his parts is a premium player.
The twenty-five year old Venezuelan is in the prime of what promises to be a very illustrious career.
The 2010 season was one for the record books because Gonzalez scored one hundred eleven runs, drove in one hundred seventeen, along with stealing twenty-six bases. Manager Jim Tracy is placing the trio consecutively in the batting order-which could equate to some big innings this sseason. Todd Helton is a natural hitter who is a conusumate professional and Troy Tulowitzki is a player who makes all of the necessary plays in the field. The latter, a product of Long Beach State, is reminiscent of Cal Ripken in that he is not a diminutive man, but he still has the range to make spectacular plays.
Some other candidates for the most underrated player include Ryan Braun with the Milwaukee Brewers, and Michael Young in Texas. These two are worthy considerations because they put up numbers consistently that demonstrates their talents over time. The two also bring an intensity to each game and plate appearance that reminds baseball fans of the late great Kirby Puckett. Like Gonzalez, Young is overshadowed on his own team by the most talented position player in the American League-Josh Hamilton. If he and Miguel Cabrera could just stay out of their own way, the sky is the limit for the kinds of numbers that they could put up in a season.
The discussion of the most overrated players has to start with Derek Jeter.
He felt slighted in the antics of General Manager Brian Cashman during the negotiations of his most recent contract when he should name him is best man should he ever marry. Cashman paid Jeter two or three times what he is worth. Jayson Werth has had much success in a Phillies line-up where he faced a lot of fastballs and played in a small ball park. He is expected to be the man this season in Washington D.C. Werth hasn’t even come close to living up to expectations. His batting average is hovering around two and a quarter. This is unacceptable for a man who received one hundred twenty six million dollars to perform for seven years. He could be pressing, but Nationals fans deserve more.
They need reasons to come to the park and Werth isn’t providing any.
–Patrick Herbert