Colorado Rockies: Carlos Gonzalez outperforming contract

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Carlos Gonzalez as a Colorado Rockies player /

Just one year off from one of the worst seasons of his career, Carlos Gonzalez is finding a resurgence with the Colorado Rockies. Finding his swing once more, Gonzalez is proving to be a valuable team asset in their push to Rocktober.

A decade ago, the Colorado Rockies shipped off one of their diamond pieces in Matt Holliday, garnering a package which included Carlos Gonzalez. At the time, Rockies fans were genuinely upset at the club for making the trade. Now, years later, Carlos Gonzalez is a household name for the Coors faithful, and an essential staple in team history.

The Rockies signed Gonzalez to a mega-extension after the 2010 season, locking him up for, at the time, the next seven years. The deal paid Gonzalez $80 million, and for a guy who came off the season before having slashed .336/.376/.598 with a wOBA of .413, a wRC+ of 144, and a 5.8 WAR, the deal became a steal.

Over the course of the extension, Gonzalez posted pretty solid numbers. His .284 batting average was respectable. However, it was his .363 wOBA and 113 wRC+ which stands out over the course of over 850 games. Now, coming off a down year in which he severely underperformed, Gonzalez has found his renaissance with the team.

Early struggles

For Rockies fans, the expectation for Carlos Gonzalez hardly existed heading into this season. Many fans, to be honest, expected the team to move on and frankly found themselves frustrated when that failed to seem to be the case. The club brought Gonzalez back on a 1-year/$5 million contract, with the incentive to push it to $8 million total.

Gonzalez struggled out of the gate, which nobody saw as a surprise. Through the first three months of the season, Gonzalez batted a paltry .268 with seven home runs and 29 RBI. He posted a slightly above-average wOBA of .321, but struggled with a porous below-average 84 wRC+.

Gonzalez posted 56 strikeouts to only 17 walks in 232 plate appearances, leading to a strikeout percentage of 24.1%, an increase from this point last season of nearly four percent. Needless to say, as the flow of the game goes, players go with their team. The Rockies finally found their stride once again as Gonzalez finally began to heat up.

DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 26: Carlos Gonzalez #5 of the Colorado Rockies is drenched by a teammate after hitting a walk-off 2-run home run to put the Rockies ahead of the Dodgers 8-6 at Coors Field on September 26, 2015 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

Turning it around

Looking at June by itself, Gonzalez has wholly shifted his season, which by all accounts can be seen as the starting point of his new resurgence as we head into the second half.

Despite posting a strikeout percentage of 23.9%, Gonzalez slashed a respectable .286/.348/.464 with a .347 wOBA and a 102 wRC+. Ten of his 24 hits went for extra bases, including seven doubles.

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Gonzalez has continued it into July in a monster way. Leading up to the All-Star break, he found himself on a tear, slashing a ridiculous .341/.396/.682 with four homers and 12 RBI. What is even more impressive is that Gonzalez is posting a .448 wOBA and an insane 169 wRC+. For the record, July has always been a massive month for Gonzalez as he carries a career .305 average with a .385 wOBA and 129 wRC+ over the span of the month.

Gonzalez finds himself in a sweet spot as the second half of the regular season begins, as the Rockies start on the road versus the Arizona Diamondbacks. Hopefully, Gonzalez can pick up where he left off. In his career, Gonzalez is a .298 hitter versus Arizona. He has also homered against them twice this season.

Expectations moving forward

No doubt about it, the Rockies are playing great baseball right now. The team flew into the All-Star break on a five-game winning streak and sit just two games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the National League West.

As there have been parts of the team, mainly the bullpen, which have struggled, Carlos Gonzalez remains one of the underrated bright spots who hopes to continue his resurgence into the second half. Gonzalez is sitting at a respectable .280/.332/.479 slash line with 11 homers and 41 RBI. Gonzalez has also posted a more than respectable .342 wOBA and is nearly back to the Mendoza line, sitting at a 99 wRC+.

Next: Why a recent roster move could pay big dividends for the Rockies

One major positive of his game has been his value of WAR. Quietly removed from a -0.1 WAR just a season ago, Gonzalez, through the first half of this season, has already posted a 1.2 WAR and is on pace to finish with a 1.9 by season’s end. Keeping this in mind, it is easy to understand why Carlos Gonzalez has been a superb value for the Rockies. Positively, if Gonzalez can keep producing he could be a reason why the team finds themselves back in October for a second straight season.

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Just one year off from one of the worst seasons of his career, Carlos Gonzalez is finding a resurgence with the Colorado Rockies. Finding his swing once more, Gonzalez is proving to be a valuable team asset in their push to Rocktober.

Early struggles

Turning it around

More from Rox Pile

Expectations moving forward

Schedule