The time is now...to call up Nolan Arenado to the Majors
It’s not even tax day yet and I have already had enough….enough garbage play at 3rd base for the Colorado Rockies. I thought when Ian Stewart was traded, the headaches at the hot corner were a thing of the past. Nope. The Rockies lost today, 3-2 to the Astros, as Houston won 2 out of 3 to open the season. This is a Houston team who lost over 100 games last year, and trust me, won’t be much better this year. 3rd baseman Jordan Pacheco made a critical throwing error in the 8th inning that allowed Houston to tie the game, then take the lead in their very next at bat. I could be overreacting slightly, but these are the types of games that kill you later in the year. Colorado is not a team that can surrender games that they should have won, and today was one of those. Whether its Pacheco playing third, or Chris Nelson, I don’t really care…..Neither guy is the future, and neither is going to make us better this year anyway. Why not roll the dice and call up the Rockies future at 3rd base, Nolan Arenado…..Now.
Who is Nolan Arenado? Well, he is young, that’s for sure. He will turn 21 on April 16th, and was the Rockies 2nd round draft pick in 2009. Can you say “sweet swing”? In the Minors in 2010, he hit .308 with 12 HR and 65 RBI in 92 games played. Last year, Arenado hit .298 with 20 HR and 122 RBI in 134 games. Following the 2011 season, he then played in the Arizona Fall League, where he hit .388 and was the league MVP. In a recent interview on CBS, Arenado seemed mature beyond his years, and very humble as well. Troy Tulowitzki also remarked how impressed he is about Nolan’s work ethic, and how he doesn’t have the typical cocky rookie attitude he has seen so many times before.
The Rockies probably won’t call Arenado up until sometime this summer, but if it were me, I would just do it now. Let the kid play alongside Tulo and learn on the fly from the best. He will undoubtedly have his struggles at the Major League level, but who hasn’t? The tandem of Pacheco and Nelson are simply keeping 3rd base warm, and both already have the look of not getting it done in 2012. It’s time to call up the kid, and let Rockies fans meet the next star in purple and black.
3 comments
J Simp
April 10, 2012 at 8:18 AM (UTC -6) Link to this comment
If a guy cant handle a slow roller and make a throw to 1st, send him down to the Minors…..Pacheco should have made that play….easily…..and as far as never winning in Houston, I am tired of excuses….blah blah blah, we cant win here, we cant win there…how about we man up of of these years and just make it happen? The Rockies get a free pass every year, and I cant figure out why!
Kris Loco
April 9, 2012 at 8:19 AM (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Slow your roll there J Simp – Although he received a ringing endorsement from Tulo, Arenado showed in spring training he is not ready for the big show! Nelson and Pacheco may not be the solution either. That’s why they initially signed Casey Blake but that experiment failed.
Bottom line – Pacheco should have been subbed out for Nelson’s defense last night — I put that one on Tracey..
Jcanoy3
April 8, 2012 at 5:03 PM (UTC -6) Link to this comment
The Rockies have a hard time winning in Houston no matter the team. Last year they could only manage a .500 record in Houston to a team that lost 106 games with nothing to play for. Even a 11-2 waxing when they still had a playoff chance. Houston is the problem, always has been.