Carlos Gonzalez, right fielder, Colorado Rockies
While Gonzalez is 31 and has a history of injuries, we believe that his stats will be there at season’s end. Still, we’d like to know just what in the heck has gone wrong so far.
Gonzalez is 5-for-28 on the young season with a .179/.200/.250 slash line. He’s struck out eight times, walked only once, driven in a single run, and has failed to hit one home run. Heck, he hasn’t scored a run of any kind.
Now, if Colorado’s early season included trips to Dodger Stadium and AT&T Park to play the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants, those numbers would be more expected. But the Rockies’ actual first week of action has been much different.
Colorado opened the season against the Milwaukee Brewers with four games at Miller Park and has subsequently played four games at Coors Field (of which Cargo has played three). So, Gonzalez has been in the lineup for seven games at two of baseball’s best hitter’s parks. Looking at the early schedule before the year, we wouldn’t have been surprised to see Gonzalez have a few home runs already, while hitting around .400.
Obviously, it has not worked out that way. Instead, Cargo’s production has left him scrambling for the reset button.