Last night’s lone bright spot was Dexter Fowler.  In an effort to remain positive, I’m going to focus on him this morning.  Dexter reached base in three of his four plate appearances.  If not for a Helton walk and Tulo getting on via a Gaby Sanchez error, Fowler would have been the only Rockie to reach base.  And, of course, it was Fowler that broke up the no-hitter in the ninth.

Clearly, Dexter is a better hitter this year, but many wonder if he can maintain his early success.  At this point, it’s hard to tell.  In some aspects of his game, Fowler has made dramatic improvements, but he has regressed in other areas.  It could be that Dex has taken the next step as a professional baseball player, but it’s also possible that he is just hot right now.

The first thing that stands out about Fowler’s season thus far is his walk rate — 13.5%.  That’s outstanding.  If he is able to maintain his current base-on-balls ratio and assuming he stays healthy enough to accumulate 700 plate appearances, Dex is going to have around 100 walks this season.  I’m going to venture out on a limb here and say that if Fowler draws 100 free passes, the Rockies’ offense will rank among the best in baseball.
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Last year, according to WAR, the top three position players in baseball were Evan Longoria, Shin Choo-Choo, and Albert Pujols. You might be surprised to see Choo in that group, but he had a terrific 2010 season offensively and defensively. League MVPs Josh Hamilton and Joey Votto ranked in the top 10. Ubaldo was the most valuable pitcher last season, with Roy Halladay, Adam Wainwright, and Josh Johnson finishing just behind. Ubaldo’s WAR received an enormous boost because he pitched so effectively in Coors Field.

While studying last year’s WAR rankings, I noticed something interesting. For the most part, the game’s highest paid players were not the most valuable. Of MLB’s top 25 earners of 2010, very few actually earned their keep. It’s proof that big spending in baseball doesn’t pay.
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