Colorado Rockies: Recounting the offensive issues in August

For most of the month of August, the Rockies offense has faltered and that is part of the reason that the Rockies have a record of 8-11 in the month.

Our own Kevin Henry wrote this editorial this morning about Nolan Arenado needing to light a fire under the Rockies to regain their offensive form.

Arenado had this to say at during the post-game on AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain:

"“It’s just not good enough. That’s just what it is. You’ve got to shorten up, and you’ve got to change. We can’t be just swinging for the fences the way it looks like we are. We’ve got to find a way to get on. And we’re not doing that.”"

Even with the team’s 17 run outburst last Wednesday, August 16, against the Braves, the Rockies are only hitting .268 for the month of August.

From August 1-15, they average 3.7 runs per game, with a .263 average, a .343 on-base percentage, and a .416 slugging percentage. From August 17 since, the Rockies have scored 4.2 runs per game with a .239 batting average, a .347 on-base percentage, and a .436 slugging percentage.

In the month of July, the Rockies went 12-12 and they scored 6.2 runs per game with a .297 batting average, a .350 on-base percentage, and a .490 slugging percentage.

The team’s OPS+ has seen a 10 point drop between the months of July and August.

The Rockies are now half a game behind the Diamondbacks for the first wild card and the Milwaukee Brewers are just three games back.

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The Rockies would really benefit from Carlos Gonzalez (which he has been one of the bright spots in the lineup as he’s hitting .309/.360/.471 in August).

The Rockies could benefit from is some more power from DJ LeMahieu. He has 144 hits and only 28 are extra base hits (or 19.4 percent). In 2016, he had 192 hits and 51 were extra base hits (or 26.6 percent). His slugging percentage is also more than 100 points lower than 2016 (.390 to .495).

It would also be beneficial if Trevor Story wasn’t hitting .145 for the month of August (excluding his game when the Rockies won 17-2). Even if you do include the game, he is hitting .186 on the month. Excluding that game he has one home run and one RBI on the month. In reality, Story shouldn’t be in the starting lineup (or even the majors right now) but it seems like he will be seeing starting time for the near future.

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Final Thoughts

The Rockies can obviously recover from their spell but the team will have a hard time in September and October, in particular, as they will be facing the Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers in 14 of their last 30 games (seven against each team).

The offense must be going on all cylinders if they have any shot at regaining the first wild card. The Rockies are 11-13 in their previous 24 games with the D’Backs and Dodgers so it is not been an easy task for the Rox this season (nor would you expect it to be).

Colorado Rockies: Recounting the offensive issues in August

For most of the month of August, the Rockies offense has faltered and that is part of the reason that the Rockies have a record of 8-11 in the month.

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