:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63664991/usa_today_12550186.0.jpg)
Brian Goodwin is now starting against lefties.
Brian Goodwin has an OPS over 1.000
Brian Goodwin leads the team in batting average.
Do we deserve him? Probably not. It’s hard to carry the Angels on your back and walk a mile in Brian Goodwin’s shoes. Goodwin has had the task of coming to this Angels team late in spring. So late that the Angels claimed him off waivers from the Royals just one day before the season started. This chain of events happened because Justin Upton smashed his big toe against an outfield wall. Sometimes good CAN come from bad.
But the Angels aren’t putting a winning lineup around Brian Goodwin. Despite his early season tear, the Angels have the 4th worst record in all of baseball. Good for the 2020 draft, but not good for a win. Sorry (not sorry) for that joke. The Angels are 9-15 in the Brian Goodwin era. Six games back in the AL West and already 4.5 game back in the wild card before the month of April is even over.
Goodwin is slashing .361/.437/.623 and is the only player on the team who has a single, double, triple, and home run. All this for a guy the Royals didn’t want and Fangraphs lists as having a 35 hit tool. Excuse me Fangraphs??? Goodwin being a lefty makes him a great candidate for a platoon split (if you are Brad Ausmus), but he has a .455 average against lefties with a .538 OBP. Take that, stats nerds in the front office!
The plate discipline Goodwin has shown this year has been a huge improvement as well. He’s swinging at only 25.2% of pitches out of the zone (career best) and 62% of pitches in the zone, the later of which is up 12% from 2018.
Goodwin has been clutch as well with a .438 average when he bats with two outs and a .500 OBP with runners in scoring position. Two out AND runners in scoring position? Goodwin is your guy for that and has a .571 average when he bats in those situations.
In short, Goodwin is helping carry this team, but what has this team done for him? It’s time for the Angels to get serious and build a contender around this super star. Get to it Eppler!!!