Paul Goldschmidt has always defied expectations

Photo by Ralph Freso/Getty ImagesNobody ever saw Paul Goldschmidt coming. Even the people who saw him coming didn’t see THIS Paul Goldschmidt coming. Once upon a time, he was a little regarded 1B-only prospect whose only sure thing was that he would have power and would probably strike out too much to be anything more than average. Goldschmidt was never a top 100 prospect or even remotely close to being one.

When looking at the trade for Goldschmidt, it’s easy to say he’s not that big of an upgrade. ZiPS 2019 projection for Goldschmidt is “only” 3.7 WAR. Jedd Gyorko has been a 2.8 WAR player per 600 PAs with the Cardinals. While he has never got that many plate appearances with the Cards,…