Arenado hits third homer, adds to RBI lead
Nolan Arenado was 2-for-4 with solo home run in a 4-3 Salt River win Tuesday. It was the third home run and league-leading 21st RBI for Arenado, who is hitting .377 and has failed to produce a hit in just one of his 14 games.
Tim Wheeler was the only other Colorado Rockies prospect to play in the game. He was 1-for-4 and is hitting .246 with two home runs and 17 RBI.
How other Rockies are faring this fall:
- Ben Paulsen is hitting .227 with three RBI.
- Parker Frazier is 1-0 with a 4.63 ERA in seven games.
- Joe Gardner is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in three starts.
- Casey Weathers is 1-0 with a 7.20 ERA in five appearances.
- Rob Scahill is 0-0 with 2.25 ERA in four appearances.
Atta boy Noli.
And he hit another one today, Wednesday (that’s #4).
Nolan Arenado makes me happy.
Sure you don’t want to rush a prospect especially when they are as young as Arenado, however the logic in me says that there is no way he could hit worse at the MLB level than Stewart did in 2011.
If he continues this on through the spring, then I am all for letting the kid play third base regularly at Coors Field. Is it better for this kid to mash AA and AAA in 2012 or does it make sense to get some experience at the MLB level in a year that I don’t think the Rockies are going anywhere anyway?
That would be something if the kid went directly from high A to the majors. But, when is the last time (if ever) that that has happened? So, I assume that Arenado will start at AA. From there, if he continues to hit well, he could progress to AAA and then he could be a Sept. call up. If nothing else, I assume that the Rockies will want to keep him in the minors long enough to delay his free agency by a year, the way the Giants did with Posey two years ago.
My take away from the performance of Arenado is that the Rockies should not over invest in another third baseman, particularly with their need for starting pitchers and a 2B if they can’t retain Ellis. They are looking for a guy who can play 3B, or platoon with Pacheco, for a year to a year and a half. So, that eliminates taking on more than two years of salary for a third baseman.
If the Rockies can find a third great player to complement Tulo and Cargo, then fine, keep him down another year or 2. But personally the attitude I get from the O’Dowd and Monfort group during that phone conferance was “wait until Arenado is up then we’ll be great”. Well as a fan I’m not really interested in waiting 2 years for another good player just to make his initial appearance and then have to wait 2 more years for him to actually become a prime contributor. We’re talking 2014 until we have a 3 cog machine working? No thanks.
The sooner they bring him up, the sooner he gets his big boy pants and the sooner we pass through the sophmore slump and finally get to the point of having the requisite 3 star offense it takes to compete.
See Texas
See St Louis
See Philly
See NY
See Boston
See Milwaukee
Julian,
Albert Pujols played at single A Peoria in 2000 and was in the majors to stay in ’01. So it has happened before.
That’s my initial point Julian, that Arenado’s hitting tool is so advanced (elite even) that the Rockies can afford to do some OJT with his defense at third in a year that the Rockies starting pitching is going to be a work in progress anyway.
Prog’s point I think is that recent prospects have only gone to AAA to languish and wait for an opening on the MLB roster, as for whatever reason real player development for the Rockies at AAA doesn’t seem to happen very often – see Pacheco, Nelson, EY2, Fowler and to a lesser extent even Blackmon.
If the patience and plate dicipline are there, and by the stats that definitely seems to be the case, then why not. This is exactly the reason that Arenado may already be MLB ready, while even with higher level experience Wheeler doesn’t seem to be just yet.
The other issue is that any team can overwhelm a young talented player’s head with the likely stretches of failure that come along with being a first and second year player in the MLB. But from all reports this kid has the mental toughness to work through that.
If he was just very good – then sure send him to AA, but if he is truly an elite hitter then go for it, as the Rockies did with Tulo. Tulo sure didn’t spend a year at every minor league level just because that was the expected development path. If Arenado can work a walk, keep the Ks down, and hit the MLB curveball, then he is ready to play in the MLB.
Prog says the Rockies need three boppers however I say they really need four feared hitters in the everyday lineup. Are Wheeler, Matthes or Parker the long term answer to that question – I’m not as sure about those guys as I am about Arenado.
Cisco, I would love for nothing more than to be able to put Arenado and Pujols in the same sentence; that’s great company. So, let’s hope that he continues to develop at a quick pace, and we see him as a Rockie at some point next year.
I’m with Prog and Rich M on this one. Get the kid to the big club and get his career and learning curve started. As Rich M said he couldn’t be worse than 2011 Stewart. And as prog said, give him his big boy pants and lets speed up the process of getting through the ups and downs. Can’t wait to see him in Denver.
I’d rather have him at least pit-stop in Tulsa/Springs for a couple months. If nothing else, that buys an extra year before he hits free agency on the back end. For better or worse, that sort of thing matters for mid-market teams. I can live with a Wiggy/Pacheco/Stewart platoon for a couple months if need be.
I thought this was a balanced write up:
http://baseballinstinct.com/2011/10/18/prospect-instinct-nolan-arenado-3b-colorado-rockies/
We need to remember that these are high A numbers. Granted the AFL numbers are great but it’s not like the pitchers know you and they’re working on stuff also. I wonder if a hitter generally has inflated or deflated AFL numbers?
It’s interesting I read somewhere his defense was drawing raves yet this review says average at best and another review from last year said he moved like he was using a walker. which was pretty funny I thought.
It would be pretty surprising to me if we see him in the majors next year.
The AFL is WAY tilted to offense. Something to note along those lines: Arenado, as good as he’s been – and I’m not for a second saying that he’s not an elite prospect – has only the 10th best OPS in the leauge. The Pirates have a prospect there that’s hit more homeruns AND gone for a higher batting average than Arenado.
He’s awesome, and we need him badly, so maybe the Rockies will rush him into the openning day line-up next year. But that doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do.
Yeah but he leads the league in RBI. That’s all I really care about.
I think spring training will give us a better feel for what’s gonna happen to Arenado. If Stewart comes out firing on all cylinders, as doubtful as that may seem, Arenado starts at Tulsa and moves according to his performance and the Rox need at the time.
What’s interesting about any defensive history is that it can be improved upon. George Brett was a barely serviceable 3Bman when he landed his starting spot. His hard work eventually got him a gold glove. That’s what will have to happen with Arenado.
I’d love to see him in the lineup but the major league curveball can humble the best minor leaguers even stall their development.
And while we’re talkin’ temporary 3Bmen, let’s not go out and hand a pile of cash to some guy on the back end of his career.
Has Michael Young cemented his place with Texas? Does anyone think he could be a two year infielder here? Would he even sign that short a contract? I think he still has several good hitting years left and could spell Helton, and the other IF positions. But Youkilis? Wright?
They’re not even in the same batting cage.
You want a free agent pitcher? Like I’ve said before, the Rox could do worse than get C.J. Wilson, the lefty they need.
One more time quality free agent starting pitchers will not be coming to Coors Field any time soon: 1. Because as free agents they have other options and as such will choose a pitchers park, and 2. The Monforts will never pay the salaries necessary to acquire a free agent who is also a top end starting pitcher.