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I think everyone understood Dexter Fowler would not maintain his unbelievable April (.305/.411/.621), but I for one did not think he would be back to being as bad as he was two years ago by August. While his May (.265/.368/.316) brought his numbers back to earth, Dex had a good June before getting injured (.308/.392/.492).
Unfortunately for him, the Rockies, and us fans, he has fallen off a cliff since returning from the DL just prior to the All-Star break. He is hitting just a .171 average with a .300 OBP since his return. A more disturbing trend that actually plagued him ever since April is his reversion to not hitting well from the left side of the plate. Against right handed pitchers, he started off the season with an average of .309 and OBP of .373, both good number for a lead off hitter and similar to his numbers batting righ handed (.296/.457). Since the 1st of May though, he is .204/.345 as a lefty and is not being the sprak plug to start the lineup off in the right way.
While he is still good against left handers, hitting .338/.393, he may need to start platooning with Blackmon/Dickerson when facing right handers. Until he can get back to his earlier season ways, there is definitely no way he should be leading off against a right handed pitcher and probably shouldn't be in the lineup. His current average on the season against right handers is worse than every hitter currently with the major league team except Charlie Culberson and his OBP vs. righties is fifth, below even Corey Dickerson.
Can Dex turn it around? Certainly, but until he does, hitting leadoff or even being in the starting lineup against right handers may not be the best thing for this club. Here is your other news:
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For those like me who are growing frustrated by the team's play and the new injuries occuring daily, Patrick Saunders recommends adopting the Pirates for the season. Like the Mets, they have several former Rockies, to include Clint Barmes, manager Clint Hurdle, and reliever Jason Grilli. Plus, they will be in Denver on this next homestand so everyone can go see them play.
For those who haven't heard, Tyler Chatwood is going to the DL to join Carlos Gonzalez as injured players that the Rockies could really use right now.
Jeff Sullivan on Fangraphs has a good article about pitch framing. It is not surprising that Willin Rosario is not at the top of the list. As I mentioned earlier this week, he doesn't even place his glove until after the pitcher has started his motion so it would be harder to convince an umpire that where his glove is was in the strike zone. He has done a better job this year of trying to pull his glove back into the strike zone and also freezing it, things Yorvit does well and may be teaching him on.