Denver, CO. The Colorado Rockies are looking to another youth movement in the second half of the 2012 MLB season. This version will not be Todd and the Toddlers but instead will feature the look of the future and opportunities for young players to taste the big show. With likely trades of players such as Marco Scutaro, Rafael Betancourt, Ramon Hernandez and possibly new fan favorite Michael Cuddyer the Rockies will be the youngest team in baseball.
For most of the season we have seen the emergence of Wilin Rosario, Jordan Pacheco, Tyler Colvin and even Dexter Fowler. Rosario is in the hunt for rookie of the year, leading all NL catchers in home runs. Tyler Colvin has turned his career around sitting at a .299 batting average with 40 RBI and 13 home runs he is a far distance from last year with the Chicago Cubs where he hovered around a .150 batting average. Jordan Pacheco is honing his skills at third base, still a work in progress, and currently sits at .306 anchoring the bottom of the lineup. Dexter Fowler is finally performing to a Major League level hitting .300 and finally showing he can be the leadoff hitter everyone expected him to be.
Now we look at the true youth movement upcoming. Newcomer Josh Rutledge had a breakout game Friday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Rutledge got his first hit, first RBI and first stolen base all in one game. Playing in Carlos Gonzalez’s cleats and using Jordan Pacheco’s glove, the rookie showed he is ready for the Major Leagues – at least with the current MLB Colorado Rockies. Rutledge will likely move to second base when Troy Tulowitzki returns to the lineup some time in August. Drew Pomeranz looked like a Cy Young candidate until Sunday against the Phillies. Spending much of the first half in AAA, Pomeranz was able to hone in on locating his fastball and working in off speed pitches to confuse both left hand batters as well as right handed hitters. Along side young pitchers Juan Nicasio, Tyler Chatwood, and Christian Friedrich the Rockies rotation may have a bright future, just not this year.
Patience must be the theme for the rest of the 2012 season not only for Rockies fans, but for veterans on the team that must trudge through the rest of the painful 2012 season. Trades must be initiated to move some large contracts and make room for the youngsters to make an impact. It is time to bring up Nolan Arenado to make spot starts at third. His power will explode at Coors Field and make an anchor for the future. Todd Helton should be allowed to play when he feels healthy and see if he can push to get to a .300 batting average then let him retire into the Colorado sunset and potentially into a coaching role in the future with the Rockies.
Many losses are still in the Colorado Rockies future this year, but we will be witnessing the future of the Rockies at the same time.
Denver Sports Chat – Kris Loco
3 comments
J Simp
July 17, 2012 at 10:41 AM (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Kris Loco….Drew Pomeranz was looking like a Cy Young candidate? Please explain that one to me……
J Simp
July 17, 2012 at 10:40 AM (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Shane, I would agree with you about the fact it is important that the team does seem to like eachother. However, this year is done. Realistically, anyone making the playoffs will probably have to win 90 games at least. That means the Rockies can lose less than 20 more times this year. Uh…..not happening……the pitching has more than struggled, they are the worst in baseball.
Shane
July 17, 2012 at 8:43 AM (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Personally, even as bad as things have been this season, I don’t believe the season is over. Does winning 21 out of 22 to finish a season ring a bell with anyone??? There are still 73 games remaining in the year. Yes it is very unlikely but this team has proven it can be done. And I believe the youth movement will be a better run than you would expect. A couple of these kids have come in and already proven they belong at this level. Granted, pitching is where you live and die on the diamond and the Rox rotation has certainly struggled. The key thing I see with this team is the maturity level of these kids and the fact that these guys play for each other. I coached little league baseball for 15 years. Yeah, I know little league is a far cry from MLB. But when you have guys that get along, enjoy each others company, and play for each other and truly love to play, only good things can happen. I believe attitude and comaraderie have everybit as much to do with success as actual skill. And these guys like each other. This is a marathon, not a sprint!!!