David Dahl's lessons from Hartford's permanent road trip

Rockies' David Dahl reflects on no home games | MLB.com

Well this is a fresh insight. Thomas Harding asked David Dahl about the experience of playing every single game on the road for Hartford. Dahl said that doing so prepared him for the major-leagues, where the crowds are larger and louder. He singled out Cubs fans as particularly raucous. In fact, they're loud at Coors Field, too. Dahl also said that the perma-raod trip enhanced team chemistry. They were forced to do everything together. The lesson from all of this is, obviously, that the Rockies should mandate all affiliates exclusively play on the road—a farm system of Port Ruppert Mundys.

Veteran outfielder Ryan Rabrun will see more first-base duties for Rockies – The Denver Post

For a moment there, it looked like the Rockies were poised to compete for a Wild Card berth. And then Mark Reynolds got hurt, and the team's lack of major-league depth became exposed (assuming here that the team believes Jordan Patterson is Kyle Parker 2.0). The exposure appeared in the form of Daniel Descalso and Ryan Raburn and (almost) Gerardo Parra playing first base. None of these players are first basemen. But it looks like Raburn will continue to get reps there. Because we're past the Wild Card possibility moment, it's no longer a big deal. This is something that can't happen in 2017 if the Rockies hope to compete though.

Saunders: Soft-spoken DJ LeMahieu’s not just underrated, he’s become elite player – The Denver Post

It's hard to argue against the claim that DJ LeMahieu has been one of the best second basemen in baseball. He's hitting at home as well as on the road, is playing excellent defense once again, and has made a strong case that the gap power he's added this season is for real. By observation, he's hitting the ball harder in 2016 than he ever has; by Statcast, he's maintained an exit velocity above league average all season. At 28-years-old and under team control for two more seasons, LeMahieu looks like he'll be an indispensable contributor to the next competitive Rockies team.