Treat others as you would like to be treatedking for contributions to a Paul Goldschmidt series Roger Maris Jersey , I knew it would be all too routine to draft an analytics driven article about him. You have seen, and will continue to read, plenty of opines that feature statistics to show you how he is an elite player. We knew that in Arizona just by watching him daily, so I wanted to take a different direction and discuss Paul Goldschmidt outside the baselines. I wanted to give my appreciation of him a different type of justice. Less publicized were his charitable contributions to the Phoenix community and personal, fan experiences with him. I reached out the the fanbase asking for interactions with Goldy, and the overwhelming consensus is that his character off the field far outshines the player. Not an easy feat considering the caliber of player he is.What separates Goldschmidt from others is that his acts of benevolence went largely unnoticed by those outside of Arizona, and he never sought attention for his kindness. It’s just the type of person he is. Every interaction with him never left you feeling as if you were a burden to his day. Cameras on or not he was always going to treat others with respect.Goldy’s Fund 4 Kids & Goldy’s Bowling BashTogether with his wife, Amy, Paul has focused efforts towards the Phoenix Children’s Hospital. They began volunteering there even before his first full season in a Diamondbacks uniform, and his rise to stardom aided their charitable efforts towards the organization significantly. In 2014, Paul and Amy designed a “bleacher creature” stuffed doll of Goldy’s likeness. They were sold for $44 apiece with proceeds donated to the Phoenix Children’s Hospital. The first time he sought the aid of the media, strictly to boost fundraising efforts, was before his first Goldy’s Bowling Bash at Lucky Strike in Downtown Phoenix in 2016. The event wasn’t isolated to local athletes and teammates only. Division rivals Clayton Kershaw, Nolan Arenado, and Buster Posey have participated in the event, as well as former Arizona Diamondbacks such as Justin Upton. In 2017, his charity donated $186,121.94 to the Phoenix Children’s Hospital from funds raised during the event, and obvious indicator of the program’s success.GoldysFund4Kids.orgFan InteractionsI’m going steal a page out of Makakilo’s book and reference a quote which I feel describes Goldy perfectly, and the above came to mind instantly. I solicited your personal interactions with Paul Goldschmidt. I had no intentions on censoring the responses to craft the story that I wanted to tell about him, but your replies quickly indicated that wouldn’t be necessary. It turns out that you all felt the same way about Paul as I do had you the fortune to interact with him personally. Quite simply Matt Carpenter Jersey , you walked away from your meeting with him feeling more important than before you had met him.A few years into Paul’s career, the D’backs had a Paul Goldschmidt bobblehead day. Nothing unique or substantial about that as many players well below his caliber have their own bobblehead days. But what made this day unique for me and my family is that it just so happened to be my mother’s birthday. It was also the case that a select few of the bobbleheads were issued in limited edition gold, so it was naturally fitting that when my mom opened her box she found one of the few all gold editions. Pretty fricking sweet, and as any perfect son would do I decided to have it autographed for her by Paul. It’s hardly left the packaging at all until I took it down to Salt River Fields during Spring Training in 2017 for his John Hancock.The signature on the baseball is not Paul’s, but from a nearly 7 foot Hall of Fame pitcher obtained the same day.I was extremely nervous that day considering how important the item was to my mother. I nearly dropped it pulling it out of the box! In my moment of anxiety driven awkwardness, I sheepishly wished him luck during the upcoming season not expecting a response. He paused in the middle of signing, looked me dead in the eye, smiled and said, “Thank you for all of your support.” Some of you reading this might be saying big whoop, and it was probably reflexive for him, but it was meaningful to me. His response made me feel that my fandom surrounding him fueled his play. Your stories demonstrate to me that I was not alone in this feeling.It’s because of the generosity of ISH and his family that I can share this sentiment. I had the privilege to join ISH and his family in the aforementioned dugout suite during the 2018 season, and it was before that game where Goldy signed two jerseys for my girlfriend and I. It’s one of my most prized possessions and is framed in my office with other D’backs memorabilia. This is also where the infamous #SkepticalGoldy meme was born. Mrs. SnakePit snapped the picture of Goldy while he was signing for us. Despite what the picture suggests, he did not appear to be remotely bothered by our requests, but rather he was caught with an awkward facial expression! The next story comes from my good friend Frank Benavidez. You might be familiar with his Instagram page, dbackdays. Frank is an Air Force Veteran who is known by D’backs fans for his generosity and random giveaways of autographed memorabilia. In a sense, Paul Goldschmidt was the perfect player for Frank to interact with because of his willingness to sign autographs and the similarities between the two men and their selfless acts of kindness.The Perfect TeammateThe high standard he set unsurprisingly carried over into the clubhouse with his teammates. He never laid blame on a teammate or coach after a tough loss, and there were plenty of opportunities to do so as the D’backs were 537-555 (.491 win percentage) in games he appeared in. In postgame interviews, it was always a collective team effort that was the deciding factor in Paul’s eyes. The D’backs won and lost as a team in his responses, and he was always quick to put the most recent game in the past to remain focused on one game at a time. Sure, there were a few times some of us would have liked to see him get upset and vocal, but it’s just not the type of leader he was. Looking back on his time in the desert http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-marcell-ozuna-jersey , it’s refreshing that a player of his caliber did not command the spotlight towards himself. Paul quietly went about his business as best he could.Lest We ForgetThe comments above indicate the true reason it’s so painful watching Paul Goldschmidt leave the Valley. Goldy was a foundational player that a relatively young organization could build an identity around. He was the perfect role model for younger generations of fans, a person for parents and coaches to use as an example for children. His values almost certainly will not change because he puts on a new uniform next season, but rather it is Arizona that will feel the impact of his absence. It’s in this capacity where he differentiates himself from the two men who already have their numbers retired by the franchise. Paul lacks a World Series clinching blooper, and his case for the Hall of Fame will take another decade of strong performance to build, but he immortalized himself in our hearts in ways different than Luis Gonzalez and Randy Johnson. The smiles he brought to our faces with his own will never be forgotten. We will forever be able to share the stories of our personal interactions with him in a positive light. His acts of selflessness have undeniably left an impression on many young people to treat others how we ourselves would like to be treated. After an underwhelming year, Soto has to find a way to channel the successes he had in 2017."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Detroit Tigers AnalysisDetroit Tigers Prospect NotebookDetroit Tigers Game ThreadsDetroit Tigers NewsDetroit Tigers PodcastsMLB prospects & minor leaguesDetroit Tigers Prospect NotebookScouting Reports2019 BYB Tigers Prospect #23: LHP Gregory Soto needs to perform in 2019New,12commentsAfter an underwhelming year, Soto has to find a way to channel the successes he had in 2017.ESTShareTweetShareShare2019 BYB Tigers Prospect #23: LHP Gregory Soto needs to perform in 2019Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY SportsIf we evaluated players based solely on their best night, lefthander Gregory Soto would surely be rated as one of the top 10 prospects in the Detroit Tigers’ system, if not the top five. His combination of big raw stuff, left-handedness, and arm strength creates a potent package when he is able to cobble together enough command to pull it all together. However, his placement in the 20s is a refection of how rarely all the pieces come together at once.Because he was signed all the way back in 2012, Soto was put on the 40-man roster after the 2017 season. That puts a lot of pressure on him to perform well in 2019, as his poor numbers in 2018 put his status in question. If he fails, he could be jettisoned from the 40-man in favor of a more successful prospect needing protection from the next Rule 5 draft.BackgroundA native of the Dominican Republic, Soto joined the Tigers organization eight years ago, taking five to make his full-season debut with the West Michigan Whitecaps in 2017. That first test went swimmingly, and he posted gaudy strikeout numbers and a shiny 2.25 ERA. A late-season stint in High-A went well, as he continued to blow away hitters in five starts. He was in a very good spot opening the 2018 season, but things didn’t go nearly as well.Walks are the bane of Soto’s story Lou Brock Jersey , a trend that came to a head last season. His ERA nearly doubled, reaching a 4.45 mark. An ugly 4.05 FIP doesn’t inspire much more confidence. The biggest ding on his r茅sum茅 was command; he walked 5.56 batters per nine innings. That’s an unacceptably high mark.Strengths As mentioned, Soto’s strength is his high-octane raw stuff. His fastball is an easy plus, sitting in the low-90s but with the ability to dial it up to the high-90s. The liveliness of the offering leads to plenty of weak contact and ground balls. He posted a huge 45.6 percent ground ball rate in 2018. He also stifled opposing batters’ power, with a 3.5 percent home run-to-fly ball rate (HR/FB%). Those are excellent traits to have, especially coupled with the number of hitters he strikes out.His breaking ball is also a strength, reaching plus status when he is able to spin it well. It’s a true strikeout pitch at its best, with big 11-to-5 motion. It can be dropped into the zone for an early strike if the hitter is sitting on a fastball, or dip below the zone in a two-strike count to put him away.On the strength of these two offerings alone, Soto could easily carve out a role in a major league bullpen if he is able to use them correctly on a regular basis. His ultimate ceiling is that of a mid-rotation starter, but that will take a lot of work to achieve.Long story short, the building blocks are there for Soto to be a real weapon if he can harness them.WeaknessesAnyone who has followed the minor leagues for a little while has seen Soto’s type before, as there are a few in every system. His raw stuff is tantalizing, and he’s a force when facing young, raw hitters. That changes when he reaches higher levels, though, because his command is nothing short of abysmal. Once the ball leaves his hand, Soto often has little idea of where it will end up.That’s a harsh evaluation, but it’s a well-deserved one. Soto has 30-grade command, according to FanGraphs. For those of you unfamiliar with the 20-80 scouting scale, that’s near the bottom of the barrel. It looked like Soto’s command had taken a step forward in 2017. That improvement Ken Boyer Jersey , along with improving athleticism, could have vaulted him to succees in the high minors. His improvements were a house of cards, though, and collapsed when put against more polished hitters who were willing to work counts and take walks.What’s more, Soto’s curveball that shows flashes of brilliance often fails to show up every night. Without a viable changeup, he needs that breaking ball to be consistently well above average to continue his march up the organizational ladder.The problems that plague Soto are frustrating. When he is able to get all the pieces together, he’s a force to be reckoned with. Minor leaguers can’t hit him because his stuff is so good. He doesn’t get bombed out — even this past year, he only gave up four home runs. Instead, his starts are a death by a thousand paper cuts. He will determine his own fate, becoming either a nasty strikeout monster or another in a long line of prospect washouts.Projected Team: High-A Lakeland Flying TigersSoto will begin the season by serving a 20-game suspension for “conduct detrimental to baseball.” That’s a mysterious term, but as reported by MLive’s Evan Woodberry, the suspension was not handed down for domestic violence, an arrest, drugs, or gambling. Both Low-A West Michigan and Double-A Erie will have starting rotations bursting at the seams with talent, so coming back strong with the Flying Tigers will be Soto’s last chance to prove he can kick it as a stater. If that works out, the Tigers will likely be aggressive in promoting him. He will turn 24 years old during spring training — far too old for his current level. If it doesn’t work out, he is likely to see considerable time in relief during the second half of 2019 and going forward into future years.