10 Most Potent Lineups in MLB Today | Sportsnaut
It’s a funny thing. Those who casually notice the Rockies wouldn’t be surprised that they have a good offense. Those who follow them closely are probably still adjusting to the idea. Given all the offensive struggles last season, I wouldn’t have believed you if you had told me they’d have a highly ranked offense this summer.
The difference is alluded to in this write-up from Michael Dixon. We were pretty sure that Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story and Charlie Blackmon would be very good again. The Rockies needed the other players to step up and give the lineup some length. David Dahl, Daniel Murphy, and Ian Desmond are among the guys providing exactly that.
So is Tony Wolters. Speaking of Wolters - be sure to check out the new Wolters shirt from BreakingT if you haven’t already.
With the lineup producing so consistently, it seems like they always have a rally going. There’s production up and down the lineup. It’s not the top-heavy group that it was last year, and so it stands to reason that there’s better protection for the star hitters.
An obvious example seems to be Daniel Murphy protecting Nolan Arenado. But, as Drew Creasman found out when he discussed the topic with Murphy, their new first baseman sees it differently. There’s a form of protection for him because of how pitchers approach him because guys are on base so often. It’s an interesting idea and this article has some interesting thoughts from the Rockies on how they view their current lineup.
So you want to know how incredible Blackmon’s current stretch is? It’s totally reasonable to talk about it in the same conversation as stuff Ty Cobb once accomplished. It also gave Nick Groke a chance to call Cobb an “inveterate goon.” Blackmon has reached base in 28 straight games.
Real or Not? Twins’ walk-off win in 17 one of 2019’s best games | ESPN
More on Blackmon here from Dave Schoenfield. He has raised his batting average for the season from .295 to .341. And as for that mark for consecutive games with three hits, Blackmon has placed himself among the ranks of George Brett, Jose Altuve and Rod Carew for players in the last 50 years. Those are big names too, even if they aren’t Ty Cobb.
The Five Most Disappointing Players In Major League Baseball This Season | Forbes
Welp, I guess we know that Kyle Freeland has made it if he’s a Rockies pitcher deemed worthy of a list like this. That’s hardly comforting, of course, especially considering the hiccups in his tune-up since he went down to Triple-A. Hopefully he can bounce back and be on a good list of names with prominent players in the future.
On the farm
Double-A: Bowie Baysox 10, Hartford Yard Goats 8
Short Season-A: Boise Hawks 11, Everett AquaSox 0
Rookie: Grand Junction Rockies 13, Rocky Mountain Vibes 6
DSL 1: DSL Orioles2 10, DSL Rockies 2
DSL 2: DSL Rockies 3, DSL Tigers2 1