Carlos Gomez homered and stole a base yesterday against the Reds but that isn’t why his stock is on the rise.
Analysis: Carlos Gomez spent most of last year either leading off or hitting in the eight spot, this year is a different story. Gomez hit second in front of one of the most complete hitters in the game today, Ryan Braun. The protection in the lineup should ensure a better chance for a successful season for the ever inconsistent Gomez. Gomez does strikeout entirely too much, nearly 24% of the time for his career but hitting behind Braun should improve that number slightly. Teams won’t be throwing junk at Gomez to hack at like in seasons past because they cannot afford to take the risk of putting runners on base with Ryan Braun at the plate. This may be the perfect “post hype” time to buy in to Gomez’s stock. If he can stick at the two spot in that Brewers batting order you can expect more consistency from the young center fielder.
Projection: It’s hard to project a guy that has had such an up and down, but mostly down career like Carlos Gomez. You should expect his career batting average of .246 to come up at least ten points this year and with it a few more stolen bags due to the Ryan Braun effect. Gomez is still very raw but his double digit power potential with his speed is likely to surface sooner than later.