Yes, I’m using the term sleeper loosely. And I wrote this post in October and left it in The Dungeon of Forgotten Posts along with the post, Alex Gordon, 2009 Is His Year! Anyone that has a couple of percolating neurotransmitters knows Carlos Gonzalez. So this is for everyone else. Hello, friend. Put down the fork. You don’t need that to read. You read with your eyes. Perfect! Now put on some pants. That’s a sweater… Aw, forget it. Carlos Gonzalez is the doode in the Rockies outfield. He’s also the guy that can go 20/20 with upside in each category. Some supersized brains have compared him to Alex Rios. Before you jump out your window, they meant it as a compliment. Rios wasn’t always a Scarlet Letter. Jump in your DeLorean and go back to 2007, or simply read this next sentence. Rios went 24/17 in ’07. Can Carlos Gonzalez do the same in 2010? Is he a fantasy sleeper (assuming you’ve been asleep for the last few months)?
Yeah, Pony Boy, he is. 24/17 seems to be on the high side for what I’d expect of CarGo. The other day someone asked Carlos Gonzalez vs. Andrew McCutchen? This is a great question. It’s nearly tomato-tomahto. One has 20/20 upside, one has 15/35 upside. I’d side with McCutchen because speed doesn’t evaporate, while power can be tricky for a youngster. (Fiddlesticks, I’m an oldster. I use words like youngster.) Look at Rios’s power for an example of where power can go. Gonzalez still swings at a few too many balls outside the strike zone, so his average of .284 may be the upper reaches over a full season. .270 seems more likely. To continue this hybrid comparison of Rios, McCutchen and CarGo or Alex McCarGo (who’s a lot better than Aaron McCargo), I’d take them in that order, but they’re all really close and it doesn’t mean I don’t like Gonzalez. Rios is only first because he’s a bit more known. CarGo and McCutchen blow him away if you want upside. Carlos Gonzalez is definitely a 2010 fantasy baseball sleeper. Just keep expectations in check.
