Colorado Rockies: Trevor Story pre- and post-injury

Since returning from injury, Trevor Story of the Colorado Rockies is a new player this season.

The Colorado Rockies shortstop is a curious case for the team, being the true successor to Troy Tulowitzki at the position. Although, how long will that last? With Brendan Rodgers, the Rockies top prospect developing as a shortstop, Story must keep producing to stay at his position for more than just the short term. The pressure on Story could’ve led to the early season struggles, but those struggles have seemed to disappear.

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Trevor Story caught many eyes in his rookie campaign last year. In the month of April to start his career, Story hit 10 home runs, including two in his Major League debut. Only Jose Abreu in 2014 and 2017’s star Aaron Judge have matched the start Story had. He kept hitting home runs, reaching past Tulowitzki’s shortstop Rockies rookie record he set in 2007. Story got up to 27 home runs before a thumb injury ended his rookie season in August. 

He returned to the Rockies at full strength to start the 2017 season but he hasn’t repeated last year’s performance. Before Thursday’s series opener against the Chicago Cubs, he was hitting .208 with eight home runs on the season. After landing on the 10 day DL in May with a left shoulder injury, his numbers have risen. 

Pre-injury, his numbers from before May 9 were bad. He only had an average of .180, with six home runs and six doubles. Story was striking out a lot as he had 48 Ks in 111 at bats. That gave him a strikeout percentage of 37.5 percentage. To give a perspective of how high that is, Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles led the league with 219 strikeouts last year. Davis had a strikeout rate of 32.9 percent in 2016.

Story returned on May 24 and has flourished ever since. With an average of .258 and eight singles, it seems Story has found his groove. Since going on the DL, Story has seemingly rediscovered his timing and swing, slowly but surely.

Let’s look at some numbers through the Cleveland series. Before injury, Story’s batting average balls in play was .246, post injury that number has been .361. Putting the ball in play has helped Story’s average rise but why is he putting it in play more now? His approach at the plate is obviously different from it was. According to Fangraphs, since May 24th, 39.5 percent of the balls he has hit have gone to the opposite field.

Next: Rockies at Cubs: How The Series Will Play Out

Before the injury, Story was trying to pull the ball way more. Pre-injury, he pulled 41.3 percent of the balls he hit. Story’s home run totals may not be as high but letting the ball travel more toward him seems to be helping his average. Story getting on base more often like he has will help the team more than striking out nearly 40 percent of the time. The shortstop must continue these numbers to avoid the pressure from the oncoming youngster Rodgers in the coming years.