Minnesota Twins outfielder Carlos Gomez hit for the cycle in the team’s 7-0 win over the Chicago White Sox Wednesday night. Gomez led off the game with a homer, then proceeded to strike out, triple, double and single in his next four at-bats. He displayed each of the explosive skills that made him the headliner in a five-player deal for pitcher Johan Santana.

Gomez has, dare I say, Jose Reyes-like abilities in center field. All the way from speed - Gomez was widely considered the fastest player in the Mets clubhouse in 2007 - to the 15-home run power and flair for playing the game. The offensive talents have needed a lot of polish and patience, but his rocket arm and ability to energize the Twins lineup have afforded him the full-time opportunity.

After the Santana trade was completed, early speculation was that Gomez was a fixture in center field for the sake of justifying the deal. He’s proven to be much more than that, hitting .284 with 19 runs, 11 RBIs and American League-leading 13 stolen bases (tie - Ichiro). His 3-to-27 walks-to-strikeouts and .308 on-base percentage are painful reminders of how raw his game is, but the Twins like him in the role of igniter and will let him play through the free swinging.

Gomez has turned out to be a diamond in the rough in fantasy circles. He was anointed Minnesota’s starting center fielder too late in the game to be more than an afterthought in preseason drafts. Those who struck early on the waiver wire were rewarded with big gains, as his production has rivaled the likes of Ichiro, Chone Figgins, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian Roberts and Reyes.

It didn’t take long to miss the boat on Gomez, though; he began the year on a five-game hitting streak and stole two bases in a game twice over that stretch.

More thoughts …
Minnesota Twins Fan talks about Gomez’s steals potential and nickname, “Go-Go.”

Aaron Gleeman puts Gomez’s free-swinging ways into perspective.

Fake Teams came to the conclusion that on-base percentage wouldn’t cost Gomez playing time.

Dustin Hockensmith is editor of ImaginaryDiamond.com. He can be contacted at dhockensmith[at]fantasysports101.net.