Rockies 3B Nolan Arenado heating up

Nolan Arenado probably doesn't read Purple Row, nor does anything he does or doesn't do on the field have anything to do with what anyone -- let alone a guy who lives in his mother's basement -- writes about the star third baseman on the Internet or in print.

But the timing of his performance over the last week is at least an amusing coincidence.

In this very space a week ago, I attempted to break down why Arenado was struggling since the All-Star break, and how his performance affected the team. The Rockies weren't very good at that point -- NEWSFLASH: they still aren't -- and Arenado was the owner of a rather depressing second-half batting line.

At least one of those things has started to shift.

Arenado, after homering for the sixth consecutive game, is now hitting .280/.313/.548 since July 17. Just a week ago, that line sat at .238/.283/.435. It's now very close to his line -- .288/.323/.580 -- for the entire season. Mainly, this should prove as a lesson in never trusting a small-ish sample size, particularly for a player like Arenado whom we know is going to get back on track eventually (for the record, I stated that at the end of last week's piece).

But deep down within all of this nonsense lies a small-yet-valuable nugget of truth. Arenado hasn't walked once since Aug. 28. During that nine-game stretch, he's 17-for-39 with six homers, three doubles and 10 runs scored. Last week, one of the conclusions I came to was that Arenado is at his best when he's aggressive, particularly early in counts. Sure enough, Arenado is swinging at pitches at a 60.8 percent clip over his last 10 games, compared to just 53.1 percent from July 17 through Aug. 27.

Some food for thought: the Rockies as a whole could use more discipline and patience at the plate, a subject I tackled multiple times at the start of the season, but it appears a more aggressive Arenado is a better Arenado. That's obviously the case in the field, as well, where his all-out style allows him to make plays no other third baseman in the world can even think about making.

It goes to show that different players have different strengths, and that there's no use in pigeonholing them. This will undoubtedly lead to a separate conversation about pitchers, and more specifically, the way the Rockies appear to develop them. But for now, enjoy Nolan, for he has a pretty good chance to become the first National League player since Jason Bay in 2006 to homer in seven consecutive games.