Colorado Rockies Rundown: Dickerson, Diaz, Arenado, CarGo, And Matzek

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Apr 23, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies left fielder C. Dickerson (6) hits a home run during the fifth inning against the San Diego Padres at Coors Field. The Rockies won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Your morning rundown — news, notes, analysis, and more — on the biggest stories surrounding the Colorado Rockies for this Sunday, September 6, 2015.

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The Colorado Rockies are wrapping up a four-game series with the San Francisco Giants later today, before they head out on the road to San Diego for four more games, and then Seattle for three more against the Mariners (no rest for the weary!).

Before all that happens though — oh, and by the way, Happy early Labor Day! — we’ve got your usual morning dose of Colorado Rockies news. This time, it’s actually quite a bit about minor league happenings. (And yes, that’s partly because I was at the Albuquerque Isotopes’ game in Sacramento against the River Cats on Saturday night!)

Here’s what’s going down in today’s edition of the rundown:

  • Corey Dickerson homered for Albuquerque Saturday night, and is getting close to a return to Denver.
  • Another day, another crazy stat about Carlos Gonzalez.
  • Nolan Arenado has hit six home runs in six days. We take a look at what that all means historically.
  • Jairo Diaz is proving he belongs in the big leagues.
  • Tyler Matzek seems to be settling down with the Isotopes.

Lots to discuss! Let’s cover today’s news and notes around the Colorado Rockies.

Next: Corey Dickerson nears a return

Dickmania returning to Denver soon

(via Twitter)

Corey Dickerson may be returning to the Colorado Rockies very soon, after hitting a home run and a double and playing seven full innings for AAA Albuquerque on Saturday night in Sacramento against the Giants’ AAA affiliate River Cats.

Dickerson is recovering from a broken rib he sustained while diving for a ball several months ago, which is the second significant injury he’s had this year. He missed time with the Colorado Rockies earlier this year after suffering through plantar fasciitis in his foot.

[ Related: The Colorado Rockies lost a full season with Dickerson ]

It’s been a completely lost season for Dickerson due to injuries, but getting right and getting some more big league at-bats in the last several weeks of the year before coming into 2016 strong would greatly benefit him, and the team.

And, in a weird way, it’s likely a good thing that Dickerson missed time with the rib injury, if only for the fact that it kept him off his feet to allow his heel to recover more fully than if he had been pushing it hard to return earlier this year.

Next: More ridiculous CarGo stats

Sep 4, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies right fielder C. Gonzalez (5) and third baseman N. Arenado (28) celebrate after the game against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field. The Rockies won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

CarGo status: still really good at baseball

(via Twitter)

This stat about Carlos Gonzalez’s hot two months with the Colorado Rockies is absurd:

Seriously, though. How do you even…???

[ Related: What do you even say about CarGo at this point? ]

I will say this: it’s fun to watch CarGo hit with people who (a) never watch the Colorado Rockies, and/or (b) never watch baseball. Even they immediately pick up on how beautiful of a swing he has, and how fun it is to watch him bat. (And, of course, that’s without them knowing the streak CarGo’s enjoyed.)

He’s certainly a special player. It’s a shame the Rockies have to trade him. (Being kind of troll-y to get your anger levels rising; we’ll talk about that this winter.)

Next: Six homers in six days for Nolan

`Sep 4, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies third baseman N. Arenado (28) hits a single during the sixth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field. The Rockies won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Holy Noly! Six homers in six days

(via Twitter, Twitter, Twitter, Twitter, Twitter)

I’m going to drop a few tweets in here from the Colorado Rockies about Nolan Arenado:

Had enough yet?

[ Related: Here’s one more thing Nolan Arenado does really well ]

No? Ok. Here are some more:

What do you even say at this point? It’s Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris going down to the wire challenging each other in the home run race.

(And yes, joy-killers, I know; Mantle and Maris did it for a good team in a pennant race, and the Colorado Rockies are playing for nothing. Thanks for that. Here’s a thought: enjoy baseball.)

Next: Jairo Diaz finds a role in Denver

Aug 28, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Colorado Rockies relief pitcher J. Diaz (47) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the seventh inning at PNC Park. The Pirates won 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Diaz dominates out of the bullpen

(via MLB.com)

There’s a very nice write-up on MLB.com about Jairo Diaz, and how he’s figured out things for the Colorado Rockies over the last few months (in the big leagues and in AAA) after a tough start to the season — his first with a new organization after being traded from the Los Angeles Angels over the winter.

The most telling quote in the piece is from Walt Weiss, who said of Diaz’s very good fastball and slider:

“I think the hitters were getting a good look at the ball early on, and he tweaked some things mechanically to try to hide the ball a little longer. A guy throwing that hard with a slider that hard, you shouldn’t get hit hard — and he was early in the season. So I think a lot of it was just due to the fact that hitters were seeing the ball a long time. “He was a guy that kind of spun off, so they tried to get his direction better going to home plate and not spinning off. When you spin off, you open up sooner, and therefore, hitters see the ball longer. So I think it’s all tied together.”

[ Related: Colorado Rockies Tinder… Jairo Diaz is hot! ]

Diaz has insane stuff; a high-80s slider goes along with a fastball that can routinely touch 100 mph. Even in an era of power pitchers, very, very few people can match Diaz’s velocity and hard stuff out of the bullpen. Honestly, I think the Colorado Rockies absolutely stole him from the Angels (they got him in exchange for Josh Rutledge, for goodness’ sake!).

A power pitcher with Diaz’s stuff comes around rarely; if he can figure out how to consistently do what he’s done so far in the month of September, he’ll have a nice little career in Denver.

Next: Tyler Matzek figures it all out

Apr 27, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher T. Matzek (15) throws during the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Matzek starting to figure things out?

(via MiLB.com)

Let’s give Tyler Matzek some credit for figuring out his problems and working some good innings with the Albuquerque Isotopes the last few weeks.

In his eight games back in Albuquerque since returning from a team-imposed mental break due to wildness, Matzek hasn’t been perfect, but he’s vastly improved from where he was just two months ago.

To the stats: 8 games, 9.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 8 BB, 11 K.

[ Related: Colorado Rockies’ Tyler Matzek talks to the guys from PDP ]

A few things stand out about those numbers. First, eight walks in nine innings is obviously way too may, but considering where Matzek came from (his last game with the Isotopes in June saw him walk five batters and hit two more in a third of an inning…), this is a vast improvement. He has a ways to go, but he’s getting there.

Also, just two hits in 9.1 innings tells me (a) his wildness is causing problems for hitters trying to get comfortable in the box, and (b) he’s figuring out how to get outs even with runners on base via walk.

Basically, he’s not all the way back to normal yet — and it’d probably be advisable not to bring him back to Denver this month — but it’s great to see that he’s improving quickly and ought to be in the mix on some level in 2016.

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