Cole Carrigg is the perfect Colorado Rockie.
Of course, Carrigg himself is not perfect. And he has only been a member of the Colorado Rockies MLB roster for 60 games. That’s hardly more than a cup of coffee. He has plenty yet to prove.
But one thing he has shown already is a blueprint. This is who the Colorado Rockies should be. Mind you, Carrigg is also unique. Not everyone can play every position and switch-hit. Still, versatility and athleticism are the name of the game.
Of course, Jake McCarthy led the way this season and leads by example in the clubhouse. With sprint speed in the 99th percentile according to Baseball Savant, he has burned his way to 22 stolen bases so far. But the stat reflecting the true value of his speed might honestly be his slugging percentage.
McCarthy’s average exit velocity is in the bottom three percent of MLB and his barrel rate in the 22nd percentile. Still, he has slugged .485 on the season, a career high by more than 80 points, buoyed by 26 doubles and seven triples. That’s using your legs to take advantage of the outfield at Coors.
Carrig isn’t rated quite as fast. He’s in the 86th percentile. That’s plenty quick to cover ground in the aforementioned expansive outfield and for him to wreak similar havoc on the bases to McCarthy. Savant doesn’t have enough data on Carrigg to solidify the numbers just yet but sees early returns similar to his outfield counterpart. Good contact rates, lower exit velocity, but slugging .470 by making the most of that contact.
Naturally, it would be nice to see Carrigg develop even more over-the-wall power. But even as is, he’s a perfect glue piece to any Rockies lineup. Of course, it helps that he can play everywhere on the diamond.
We’ve even seen in the last few weeks that Carrigg is more than serviceable at shortstop to spell the struggling Ezequiel Tovar. That kind of versatility, again, should not be expected out of every member of your roster. The more guys can do it, though, the better. Paging Willi Castro.
Having a handful of these guys around allows a team like the Rockies to maximize the value of their roster. Unless a great magical wizard delivers us all a perfect CBA this next time around, there will still be massive financial disadvantages for clubs like Colorado.
Lots of people seem to think they have the answer to this problem. Just spend more money. Or just play moneyball. Putting aside that these directions are polar opposites, there is plenty of evidence to show that, at least in the short term, teams can build winners by getting creative.
If you’re looking closely, you can see the identity of the future Rockies, at least on offense, emerging pretty clearly.
Almost every member of the lineup is an above average runner. More importantly, they’ve all got above average base-running instincts. Nowhere was that made clearer than Zac Veen taking home plate in San Francisco on a pitch that bounced no more than a few feet from the catcher.
This offense is quickly becoming one that opposing pitchers don’t necessarily fear… but they don’t want to face. Constant pressure. Constant frustration. Much was rightly made about the boost that Veen’s play gave to the Rockies dugout, but think about the blow to the guy on the mound.
Imagine being one out away from preserving the lead and surrendering the tying run on a ball that spun underneath your catcher. Infuriating. And that’s what these Rockies hitters are going to be for a while.
Unless Charlie Condon and/or Ethan Holliday arrive to join Hunter Goodman in the “masher” department, we aren’t likely to see a return to the days of the Blake Street Bombers. Rather, we are in for a run of super-platoon speedsters who put the ball in play. And then the real fun begins.
Carrigg is not a magical unicorn. Though, he feels like one at times. It has been quite a while since a Rockies prospect arrived on the scene and made such an obvious and immediate impact. T.J. Rumfield wasn’t really a Rockies prospect but a Yankees one. Though, Veen may be entering the chat as well.
His production has even already begun to taper off a bit. Though he remains excellent in the clutch and has more than earned his spot in the middle of the Rockies order. This rookie season, like all rookie seasons, is all about settling in and finding a groove.
So, while he isn’t a mythical creature and isn’t so easily cloneable, he is showing a constant reminder about what his combination of skills can accomplish. Especially at a ballpark where he can truly let them shine.
The more the Rockies can embrace the mindset of high contact rates, speed, athleticism, instincts, and versatility, the more infuriating they will be to pitch to.
If only they had such a clear path to an identity on the mound.
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