The Colorado Rockies are just over one fifth of the way through the season. In true Rockies tradition, the team was plagued by injuries early in this season. The need for replacements has brought several Albuquerque Isotopes up to the majors. The results are mixed, but here is a review of the three Isotopes and one veteran trade that occupy the Rockies roster going into this series of home games.
First off, Jordan Beck came to the Rockies roster on April 30th when it was announced that Nolan Jones would go on the injured list for lower back tightness. There are not many statistics on Beck at this point because he has been in the majors for just over a week. In 21 at bats, he has had three hits and 11 strikeouts. That gives him a slash of .143/.143/.143 and an OPS of .286 because there is not much data to be gleaned from six games worth of batting. Unless his numbers at the plate pick up, he probably will be returned to Alburquerque when Jones is fit for full duty.
Beck’s performance in the field has included some definite highlights though. On May 4th, Beck made a diving catch in shallow left then came up to a partial leg-split position to make a throw to the cutoff man in time to trap the runner at second and prevent the Pirates from advancing to better scoring position. That kind of playing adds credit to the belief in Beck’s readiness for the majors.
Another recent addition to the roster was Hunter Goodman, who came from the Isotopes on April 24th because he was on a 7-homer hitting streak. Goodman’s bat was on fire, and the Rockies were hoping to exchange Michael Toglia’s slump for Goodman’s streak. In his first game against the San Diego Padres, Goodman delivered a home run at his second at bat and went 1-for-4 on the day. Unfortunately, that is the only hit he has had in his 11 at bats thus far. Goodman has struck out six times, and it looks like most of those happened because he was swinging for the fence and chasing not-great pitches. He seems to have cooled at the plate, and unfortunately right field is not a position this team is hurting to fill, so it looks like Goodman might be more likely to go down when Jones or Kris Bryant return.
The one most likely to stay is Sean Bouchard who came up from the Isotopes on April 17th when Bryant went on the injured list after sliding into the right field fence. Bouchard has a 0.0 WAR, but even is better than negative. After 31 at bats, Bouchard is slashing .258/.378/.452. Those numbers come from eight hits, including one homerun, and 10 strikeouts. Bouchard’s fielding has been good, landing him at .960, which consists of 22 put outs off 24 chances. Overall, Bouchard seems to be providing some dependability worth noting especially since he was already in the Rockies’ farm system.
Bouchard not being brought up at the start of the season when the Rockies instead decided to draft Jake Cave for cash was a bit of a head scratcher. The talk at that time seemed to point to Cave being brought in to support the platoon strategy for right field and first base, since Cave does have major league experience at first. However, after 23 games and zero appearances at first, fans must wonder if the Rockies are experiencing some buyer’s remorse.
At the start of the season, many speculators were puzzled by the probable ROI for a 31-year-old right fielder joining a team that already had a veteran right fielder as their poster child. Now, Cave’s .206/.263/.294 performance has lost its newness and left only confusion in its place, but that is par for the course this season as fans are still left to wonder if anyone driving this bus and do they have any idea where to go?
