It’s his bat that isn’t up to snuff.
At first glance, his .257 batting average and .300 on-base percentage are fine. Adequate. Cromulent, even. Unfortunately when you dig a little deeper, his contributions at the plate are somewhat hollow. Though he himself has crossed the plate 11 times, Cave has only driven in five runs. His .597 OPS is the second lowest figure in his career, he has yet to hit a home run, and hasn’t had an extra base hit since April 7th.
Despite Cave’s apparently lackluster performance, the Rockies are winning games with him in the lineup. Thanks to Rockies MiLB Report, we can see that the Rockies are 16-21 (.423) when Cave plays but just 2-13 (.142) when he doesn’t.
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The Rockies are currently 16 games below .500 with an 18-34 record and are 13.5 games behind in the National League West. After losing over 100 games last season and a rebuild on their hands, the team needs to decide if going for extra wins is worth it or if they are going to fully commit to their youth movement during a season that is more than likely already lost.
The Rockies have—as in many years prior—a glut of young outfielders and decisions to make about their futures. As fun as winning may be, this should take priority over the team’s record in 2024.
Sean Bouchard has already proven in parts of three seasons that he can be at the very least a big league bench bat. Since making his debut in 2022 the UCLA product is hitting .272/.393/.491 with essentially a two-to-one strikeouts to walk ratio and solid pop in his bat.
At 28-years-old, he’s also just three years younger than Jake Cave. Bouchard is unlikely to be the future of the position in either of the outfield corners, but could still fight for a role on the team as a bench bat and backup outfielder. The Rockies could also seek to trade him at some point in order to bring in prospects at other positions of need.
Also on the big league roster is jack-of-all-trades Hunter Goodman. Ranking at no. 16 in our pre-season PuRPs list, Goodman has graduated from prospect status despite only being 24-years-old. In what little time he’s had at the big league level Goodman has proven to be a solid defensive right fielder, first baseman, and even catcher. His extreme positional versatility should be earning him more than enough playing time on this roster, yet he has only appeared in 15 games this season. Where Goodman has struggled to prove himself is at the plate. Due to his lack of big league playing time he has not yet adjusted to big league pitching. However, his bat is beginning to heat up. In his last five games Goodman is 5-for-19 with three doubles and only has multiple strikeouts in one of those appearances. Goodman also has one more total base than Jake Cave since the latter’s last extra base hit on April 7th despite having 22 fewer plate appearances during that time.
Meanwhile, down in Triple-A Albuquerque first baseman and right fielder Michael Toglia is showing that he shouldn’t be in Triple-A Albuquerque with an OPS of .878 with six home runs and 19 RsBI since being optioned on April 30th. It’s true that Toglia struggled on the big league club to start the season, but it’s also true that he appeared in just 15 games and had only 47 at-bats between March 28th and April 29th.
Things are made more complicated by the injury situation. Nolan Jones—who placed fourth in National League Rookie of the Year Voting in 2023—has been on the injured list since the end of April for a back issue that had been nagging him since opening day. He recently had his rehab assignment shut down after sustaining a knee injury on May 17th while with the Albuquerque Isotopes. There is currently no timetable for his return and as of May 25th he has yet to participate in drills necessary to gauge back and knee recovery. Making matters worse is Jordan Beck’s broken hand. Beck (no. 6 PuRP) broke his left hand on a diving catch in left field on May 25th and there is no timetable for his return. The Rockies should be given credit for being clearly dedicated to providing Beck playing time in the outfield, as he started all but one game since making his debut on April 30th.
The Rockies will have to decide who the odd men out are in the outfield, especially if/when Nolan Jones and Jordan Beck return. Charlie Blackmon, 37, is still getting regular time in right field in addition to Jake Cave. We also don’t know if the Rockies will ill-advisedly return Kris Bryant to the outfield at any point the rest of the season.
Meanwhile, down on the Rockies’ farm system five of the organization’s top ten prospects per MLB Pipeline—excluding Beck—are outfielders or are capable of playing in the outfield. Four of those prospects, including Zac Veen (no. 2 PuRP) and Yanquiel Fernandez (no. 4 PuRP) are in Double-A with the clock counting down towards their major league debuts.
With Brenton Doyle showing immense growth at the plate in addition to his sterling center field defense, that leaves just two outfield spots to be had with far too many candidates. The Rockies have Veen, Fernandez, Beck, Bouchard, Goodman, Toglia, and Jones all vying for just two spots on future Rockies’ rosters. All the while Jake Cave and Charlie Blackmon are taking reps away from younger players this season. The Colorado Rockies have an outfielder problem. There are too few spots to go around for too many players, and the organization needs to start figuring out who exactly it is they want patrolling the corners at Coors Field in 2025 and beyond.
★ ★ ★
Weekly Pebble Report: Blowing the Amador off it’s Hinges (May 20th-May 26th)
Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes (2-4, 16-35 Overall)
Although they’ve split a few, the Isotopes have yet to win a series in the 2024 season. This trend continued with a 2-4 series loss to the Salt Lake Bees (Los Angeles Angels). On the bright side, each game in the series was fairly competitive without any true blowouts.
Stock Up: Outfielder Trevor Boone had an excellent series against the Bees, recording at least one hit in all but one of the six games he played. Boone went 6-for-20 with two doubles and a triple in his first series since being promoted from High-A Spokane last week.
Stock Up: right-handed pitcher Karl Kauffmann made his second straight start of six or more innings against the Bees. Spinning a Quality Start for the first time in 2024, Kauffmann worked seven complete innings while giving up just three earned runs on three hits and three walks. He struck out four batters. took four wins away from their set against the Visalia Rawhide (Arizona Diamondbacks) and apparently an actor from the show Parks and Recreation showed up?
Stock Up: 20-year-old lefty reliever Welinton Herrera pitched three consecutive scoreless outings against the Rawhide. In three total innings he struck out four batters while giving up just one hit and one walk. His ERA through 21 2⁄3 innings this season is just 2.08 over 15 appearances.
Stock Up: First baseman and 2023 draft pick Aidan Longwell continues to hit well in Fresno, going 8-for-20 with five RsBI against the Rawhide. The Kent State product currently has a batting average of .308 and an on-base percentage of .369 so far this season.
Stock Up: Left-handed pitcher Austin Emener had a much-needed bounce back outing against the Rawhide after giving up seven earned runs last week. Emener dialed up a seven inning quality start on Thursday and kept the Rawhide off the board while allowing just three total hits and striking out eight batters.
Arizona Complex League: ACL Rockies (2-3, 8-8 Overall)
The Complex League is in full swing and the ACL Rockies are tied for third in the East Division with the ACL Cubs.
Stock Up: Former first round pick Ryan Rolison is back on the mound after another surgery ended his 2023 season. His four appearances in 2023 were his first time on the mound since 2021 and now Rolison is working his way back up the ladder while rehabbing. Rolison pitched two total innings over two appearances with the ACL Rockies, giving up one unearned run, one hit, and two walks. I’m extremely happy to see Rolison pitching again and hope to see him ready for starting work soon.
★ ★ ★
Kickass Rockies Prospects to Watch in the Arizona Complex League | Blake Street Banter
The Arizona Complex League (ACL) is fully under way, and our friends over at Blake Street Banter have compiled some Rockies prospects playing at the Complex that you should be looking out for.
Rox claim series as Quantrill extends rotation’s quality month | MLB.com
With an unexpected series win against the Phillies now in the books, the Rockies’ starting pitching continues to be the true MVP for this team. Cal Quantrill especially has been a revelation in the rotation as he turned in his fifth straight quality start.
★ ★ ★
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