What to make of Paul Goldschmidt’s start

Paul Goldschmidt is batting .218 this season.

This would have caused mass hysteria 20 years ago. But now that fans have grown to appreciate the virtues of getting on base, the “slow start” headlines are fewer and farther between. His complete slash is .218/.362/.436 with three homer and ten RBI.

This is about as good a stat line as someone batting .218 through 15 games could have. Goldschmidt is on pace for three homers and ten RBI, with a solid on-base percentage to boot. But he’s still only batting .218– which isn’t a pretty sight any way you cut it.

It’s reasonable to believe that Goldschmidt will snap out of this, considering his caliber of play over the last three seasons and on-base percentage. But Goldschmidt is not typically a slow starter. How he’s historically done, through April 20 of each season:

2013: 17 games, .328/.387/.537, 3 homers 12 RBI

2014: 21 games, .313/.370/.518 3 homers 12 RBI

2015: 13 games, .313/.421/.667 5 homers 15 RBI

2016: 15 games, .218/.362/.436 3 homers 10 RBI

Goldschmidt is hitting for similar power as he has in years past. He’s also getting on base at a similar rate. The only thing missing is the batting average. He hasn’t had an average this low since becoming a top-tier player in 2013.

While a .218 average can look a little scary, don’t panic: 15 games is too small a sample size to conclude just about anything. The fact that Goldy hasn’t stopped hitting homers, driving in runs or getting on base makes this look like nothing more than your average slump.

Oh, and the fact that he’s Paul Goldschmidt doesn’t hurt him much eather.