Nolan Arenado Back on Hot Streak to Pace Colorado Offense

Lost in much of the angst caused by the late-inning losses endured by the Colorado Rockies during their recent homestand was the fact that Nolan Arenado shook free of his slump in a big and very noticeable way.

Heading into Wednesday night’s action against the Texas Rangers, Colorado’s All-Star third baseman had hit .440 over his last seven games with four homers and 12 RBI. One of those long balls came on Monday against the Rangers at Coors Field when he blasted his 100th career homer off a pitch from Cole Hamels.

In August, Arenado has a .414 average and a slugging percentage of .862. Compare that to July when Arenado’s average for the month dipped to .228. In July, he had five homers and 14 RBI. Already in August, he logged four homers and 12 RBI in the month’s first eight games.

In Colorado’s recent eight-game homestand, Arenado went 12-for-29 with a double, four homers and 12 RBI. He also scored 11 runs and walked seven times while striking out just three times.

“I think he’s past his slump,” Colorado manager Walt Weiss smiled. “It doesn’t surprise you. Nolan doesn’t stay down for too long.”

Breaking out of the slump also comes at an excellent time for the Rockies, who are missing big chunks of offense with Trevor Story out for the season and Carlos Gonzalez in lineup limbo with an ankle injury.

Arenado’s hot streak helped him reach 100 homers faster than any other Rockies player in franchise history. At the age of 25, Arenado became the 11th player in Colorado history to hit the 100-homer milestone. He’s also the first Rockies player since Matt Holliday (2006-07) to hit 30 homers in consecutive seasons.

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Heading into Wednesday night, Arenado paced the National League with 30 homers and 91 RBI. And, before anyone starts in on the Coors Field narrative as a reason for his success, please remember that 12 of Arenado’s 30 homers have come in games played outside Denver.

He’s also turned in some impressive offensive numbers along with the homers. His 82 runs are second in the National League. He’s also second in the National League and tied for third in Major League Baseball with 60 extra-base hits. He’s first in the National League with 247 total bases … and part of that can be attributed to a career-high 48 walks.

Next: Three Opinions on a Painful Colorado Loss

Nolan Lees recently wrote an excellent article about exactly how much Nolan Arenado is worth to the Colorado Rockies. Every game, Arenado seems to prove his worth to the Rockies, at the plate and in the field. While Arenado puts up eye-popping offensive numbers, his defensive prowess and abilities to make the impossible plays seem routine is amazing.

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