
Matt Carpenter, 2B, 2013 – 717 PA, .318/.392/.481, 55 doubles, 11 HR, 199 hits, 126 runs, 140 OPS+
Matt Carpenter has almost a two-part section here. His progression as a hitter from when he first came up to the present day paints a picture of a drastically different hitter.
As some say, “doubles Carp” broke out the season prior in limited at bats, but 2013 he really showed what he was capable of. He led the league in doubles, hits, and runs, cementing himself as one of the elite hitters in baseball. The key cog to the lineup on the 2013 pennant-winning team, he helped fill the void left by a certain superstar, who (probably) will come up later.
Matt Carpenter, 3B, 2018 – 677 PA, .257/.374/.523, 42 doubles, 36 HR, 15.1 BB%, 143 OPS+
As a beneficiary to the “launch angle revolution”, Carpenter turned some of that doubles power into long balls. For some odd reason, many fans remember his brutal stretches in April and September, and not the good times. He was one of, if not the, best hitter in baseball from May 1st until August 31st, posting an MVP-like 1.051 OPS over that stretch, while also hitting 33 of his 36 homers that year in that time.