Fantasy Baseball 2018: Is Paul Goldschmidt benchable at home?

Paul Goldschmidt has been strangely bad at home. Is it time to keep him on your bench when he hits in Chase Field?

Paul Goldschmidt is one of the best hitters in the league. He is a five-time All-Star and finished in the top three in the National League MVP voting three times. Any fantasy owners would love to have him on their roster. However, with his poor performance at home, is he a must-start every day?

Goldschmidt is in the middle of the worst season of his career. He is hitting .258 with 12 home runs, 31 RBI, and 45 runs scored. If the season ended today, that would be his lowest average since his rookie season. He is also on pace for a career-high in strikeouts. Goldschmidt is currently at 80 in just 63 games.

But there is a reason for the regression. A humidor. If you are not familiar with what a humidor is, it’s a humidity-controlled box or room. It’s commonly used for storing cigars but in this case, it’s to store the baseballs. That’s right. Just like Coors Field does. It reduces moisture in the baseball, resulting in much fewer home runs.

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The Arizona Diamondbacks wanted to install a humidor last season but the plan was never fully finished. So, they had it installed this offseason. The Diamondbacks pitching staff loves it, as they have the third-best ERA at home.

The hitters, however, are hitting .225 at home, third-worst in the league. Goldschmidt is a big part of that. He has a .175/.338/.281 line with two home runs and seven RBIs at Chase Field. On the road though, Goldschmidt is hitting .333/.400/.706 with 10 homers and 24 RBIs.

Looking at last year’s numbers. Goldschmidt was killing the ball at home. He had a .321/.443/.639 line with 20 home runs and 61 RBIs. He had 16 homers, 59 RBIs and a .275 average on the road.

This isn’t just a Goldschmidt issue, either. Of all the Diamondbacks hitters that played in at least 30 home games, only Daniel Descalso is hitting over .270 and it’s not close.

Goldschmidt earned MLB Player of the Week honors last week, but he played his last six games in San Francisco and Colorado. He hit .640 in 25 at-bats. In the week prior, he hit .250 in 20 at-bats.

If I were a Goldschmidt owner, it would be tough for me to bench him. He can go off at any point and you don’t want that hot streak on the bench. Then again, how much longer can you keep a .250 hitter in your lineup every other week?

If he were to go off, it would be this weekend in the four-game series against the New York Mets. Their rotation for that matchup could be had. After that, however, he has a nice 11-day road trip, putting off the decision to bench him until July.

Next: MLB DFS Lineup for June 13

Goldschmidt and the rest of the Diamondbacks offense should not be trusted in season-long league and DFS when they are home. You can find other hitters with better surroundings.

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