Thursday Rockpile: Wilin Rosario, future first baseman?

Wilin Rosario's inability to block the plate keeps him from playing everyday and may eventually force him off the catching position or back to the minors. I originally pointed out the issue while he was in Casper in 2008, and have mentioned it periodically since. The spike in wild pitches and passed balls with Rosario behind the plate has been something that's glaringly noticeable with pitchers he's caught on every level, so I wonder why it's taken the Rockies so long to address this, or alternatively if they have been addressing it, whether a fix is possible given that this has hampered Rosario for so long without improvement. Of course, the issue with Rosario moving off catcher would be that he needs much better plate discipline to be an asset anywhere else he might play. If he improves either his pitch blocking or his plate discipline, he'll be very valuable, but one step or the other still has to take place.

The good news from last night and the series against the Dodgers would be the strong performance of Eric Young Jr. in left field, both on offense and defense. Young's lack of defensive versatility makes him a tricky player to fit onto a 25 man roster, despite being a fairly clear offensive asset. He's sort of like Jason Giambi in that respect, only more valuable. Hint hint, know what I'm saying, Rockies? Wink wink. There remains an issue that the Rockies have several defensive joke-of-all-trades types on the roster in Young, Jordan Pacheco, Chris Nelson and Michael Cuddyer that don't really fit in the one slot, third base, the team really needs the most help with going into 2013. Pacheco remains a square peg being tried to ram into a round hole there.

The question I guess I would have, though, is whether a Cargo/Fowler/Young OF might be the best starting outfield alignment, if Young's defensive gains prove real. Regardless, with Todd Helton's steep decline, Cuddyer and Tyler Colvin should see more time at first base next season, which would leave more innings for Young in the OF rotation.

In part because of the work Rosario needs to accomplish, the Rockies have some interest in bringing Yorvit Torrealba back..

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