{"id":123983,"date":"2026-06-18T12:00:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T16:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=123983"},"modified":"2026-06-18T12:41:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T16:41:48","slug":"hunter-goodman-all-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/06\/18\/hunter-goodman-all-star\/","title":{"rendered":"Hunter Goodman Keeping up All-Star Pace"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yes, the Colorado Rockies were a franchise-worst 43-119 last year. But one of the few bright spots was Hunter Goodman<\/a> earning the Rockies’ lone All-Star nod<\/a> in just his first season in the Majors as a full-time catcher. No, Goodman was not just a player who had to be selected as part of each team needing to be represented at the Midsummer Classic. Goodman earned the honor. Tying for second league-wide among catchers with 31 home runs and finishing third among catchers with 91 RBI and an .843 OPS. Earning his first career Silver Slugger award<\/a> for his stellar offensive season. It would have been reasonable to expect regression this season<\/a>. But Goodman has only built on his All-Star season.<\/p>\n

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Hunter Goodman Has Avoided Regression<\/h2>\n

Goodman was unequivocally the Rockies’ best player last season. Goodman producing offensively like he was while handling everyday catching duties is truly an impressive feat. But for how great he was offensively, there were concerning underlying metrics. Per Statcast<\/a>, Goodman ranked in the bottom-eighth percentile league-wide with a 32% whiff rate and 36.7% chase rate. Additionally, he struck out at a 26.3% rate.<\/p>\n

But those issues were masked by Goodman leading the Rockies by a wide margin in both home runs and RBI. While not at the strikeout levels of Michael Toglia<\/a>, this pattern did serve as a stark reminder of Toglia’s downfall<\/a>. Toglia was a breakout player for the Rockies in 2024, finishing second on the team with 25 homers. But when his power went away in 2025, his strikeout issues moved to the forefront, and he had a very disappointing season, dealing with several demotions.<\/p>\n

This is not to compare the two players exactly; Toglia was never an All-Star and did not play at the level Goodman did for a full season. But Toglia isn’t the only Rockie that has fallen victim to this pattern of regression. Nolan Jones<\/a> experienced a very similar pattern of events<\/a> following a Rookie-of-the-Year-level season in 2023. Both Toglia and Jones were out of the Rockies organization shortly after their disastrous seasons. Luckily for the Rockies and their fans, Goodman has proven to be more sustainable. Even if there are still concerning metrics.<\/p>\n

\"Colorado
Jun 7, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman (15) celebrates after a home run in the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stats Do lie…kind Of<\/h2>\n

“The stats don’t lie.” A common refrain used often in the sports world to emphasize a player matching what their on-paper stats show. In Goodman’s case, he has actually regressed in his most problematic categories from last season.<\/p>\n

2025 per Statcast:<\/strong><\/p>\n