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Paul Goldschmidt is gold again

By Christopher Gaine
May 20, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (44) hits a one run single off of St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Dean Kiekhefer (not pictured) during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
May 20, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (44) hits a one run single off of St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Dean Kiekhefer (not pictured) during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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Paul Goldschmidt is great again.

Over his last 21 games, he’s batting .342/.457/.575 with four home runs and 17 RBI. This hot streak comes after a slow month-plus for “Goldy,” who saw his average dip to as low as .220 on May 8. Today, it’s at .269, so he’s improved his overall stats immensely over the last three weeks.

Goldschmidt, along with A.J. Pollock and David Peralta, carried the team offensively last season. With the two latter players out, Goldschmidt bears an immense burden to step up and pick up some of the lost production. Michael Bourn isn’t going to hit 20 homers and steal 40 bases like Pollock did, so there’s a lot less support around him.

The two-time MVP runner-up is also getting on base at an elite level. His .426 on-base percentage is currently fourth in the league right now. Even when his average was towards the lower end of .200, he was still getting on base at a near-.400 clip. This is continuing to happen, while Goldy gets even more base hits.

The Diamondbacks are going to need Goldschmidt in prime form for the rest of the season, especially considering their difficult June schedule and lackluster positioning in the standings. The team is currently ten games out of first in the West and 7.5 games behind the Pirates for the second Wild Card spot in the National League. It’s going to be an uphill battle if the Diamondbacks want to contend this year, and there’s nobody better to take the team uphill than Goldschmidt.

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