Only three players saw their power numbers jump more last year than St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter. Two of those were breakout kids -- Bryce Harper and Nolan Arenado -- and one was a comeback veteran (Mark Teixeira). So when it comes to mid-career power bursts, Carpenter was all alone.
How he did it is fairly obvious when you look at his hitting profile. Why he did so is almost irrelevant, considering his general level of quality over the past few years. But what does it mean for his future? That's maybe the most fascinating part of the story. Let's take a closer look: