Let’s go back to the lowest of lows… May 15th of this year. Matt Carpenter was being thrown around in numerous discussions via social media demanding his release. The 32 year old infielder wasn’t having the best of years. At the time he was batting just .143 on the season which was considerably lower than his career average of .277. Who was this Matt Carpenter? What happened to him?
Fast forward to today. In the span of two and a half months Marp has not only turned his season around, but he has been one of the most productive hitters in the game. His average has risen all the way up to .275 plus he has had a nice power stroke as of late. Hitting home runs in 6 straight games including a 3 home run performance against the Cubs, Carpenter now has 25 home runs on the year. That puts him tied for the NL lead in homers, and he also leads the NL in doubles with 31. The man gets on base. Since May 16th, he’s hit .333 with 22 of his 25 home runs, and 25 of his 31 doubles. You could say he has figured it out.
According to Baseball Reference he trails only Lorenzo Cain of the Brewers in Wins Above Replacement. The top 4 are as follows.
1. Lorenzo Cain – 4.9
2. Matt Carpenter – 4.4
3. Freddie Freeman – 4.2
4. Nolan Arenado – 4.0
In terms of just Offensive WAR, Carpenter is tied with Freeman and Arenado for first with 3.8 oWAR
Carpenter finds himself in very good company. If it wasn’t for a rough month and a half to start, Carpenter could easily be above 6 WAR going into August. As I’ve noted Carpenter ranks first in Home Runs and Doubles, but he also fares well in many other categories in the NL.
On Base Percentage – 10th
Slugging – 4th
OPS – 5th
Runs Scored – 5th
Total Bases – 6th
Walks – 6th
OPS+ – 1st
Runs Created – 2nd
Extra base hits – 1st
The list goes on. He hasn’t been terrible as a defender either. According to Fangraphs, Carpenter is tied for 2nd in the Majors for Defensive Runs saved at 3B this season with 8 behind only Matt Chapman of Oakland.
Carpenter has turned it around in spectacular fashion this season and should be considered an MVP Candidate. The numbers don’t lie. Many people think the Cardinals should trade him while his value is high, but I hope this isn’t the case. He’s been a tremendous player for the Cardinals this season and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season for him.
What are your thoughts?
Thanks for Reading
Aaron M.
