
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+.
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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.