The key player in the Matt Holliday trade will get a chance to see what he can do a mile high.
The Rockies called up Carlos Gonzalez yesterday after he hit .339 with 10 homers, a .638 slugging percentage, 59 RBIs and six steals for their Triple-A farm club in Colorado Springs. Granted, that's a great hitter's environment, but those are still some impressive numbers.
New Rockies manager Jim Tracy immediately addressed how he would work Gonzalez into the lineup, telling the Denver Post, "It's going to be interesting to see how I figure all of that out, but when you have close to 60 RBIs, I'll accept the challenge. We are not bringing him in to be a part-time player, I can tell you that. And we'll leave it at that."
Fantasy Focus
Nate Ravitz and Jonah Keri break down Carlos Gonzalez's fantasy prospects in today's Fantasy Focus. Listen
Seth Smith and Ryan Spilborghs would appear to be the odd men out in this scenario, as it is expected that a lineup featuring Gonzalez in left, Dexter Fowler in center and Brad Hawpe in right will be out there most days, with Smith occasionally seeing some spot starts against southpaws. Another potential scenario, as posited by long-time Rockies beat man Tracy Ringolsby, is that Smith, Fowler and Gonzalez will rotate among the left and center field slots so that each gets roughly five starts per week. The bottom line is Gonzalez is going to play.
The 23-year-old Gonzalez did not fare well in his first exposure to big league pitching last season while with the A's (who acquired him as part of the Dan Haren trade with the Diamondbacks.) Gonzalez hit just .242 in 302 at-bats, with four homers, four steals and a whopping 81 strikeouts against just 13 walks. The biggest issue for him is going to be making sure that strikeout rate improves this time around. He has a tendency to overswing and expand the strike zone a bit too much, but he has very good bat speed and the ball jumps off his bat when he makes contact.
Many scouts have compared Gonzalez's tools to that of the Jays' Alex Rios, with slightly less speed. He's had some maturity issues in the past, but Tracy made a point of mentioning that he did everything the club asked him to do when they sent him down in spring training.
Given his struggles at the big league level last season, you can probably take a "wait-and-see" approach in shallower mixed leagues, although you might want to consider spot-starting him when the Rockies are at home if you can. In deeper mixed leagues, the upside is worth a look if you're struggling to find production out of your last outfield or utility slot.