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Colorado Rockies: A path to taking that “next step” and winning the division

By Nick Bunney

DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 30: Charlie Blackmon #19 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates in the lockerroom at Coors Field on September 30, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. Although losing 5-3 to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Rockies celebrated clinching a wild card spot in the post season. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 30: Charlie Blackmon #19 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates in the lockerroom at Coors Field on September 30, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. Although losing 5-3 to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Rockies celebrated clinching a wild card spot in the post season. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
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SCOTTSDALE, AZ – MARCH 12: Gerardo Parra #8 of the Colorado Rockies takes a lead from second base as Nick Ahmed #13 of the Arizona Diamondbacks gets ready to make a play during the fifth inning of a spring training game at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on March 12, 2018 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
SCOTTSDALE, AZ – MARCH 12: Gerardo Parra #8 of the Colorado Rockies takes a lead from second base as Nick Ahmed #13 of the Arizona Diamondbacks gets ready to make a play during the fifth inning of a spring training game at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on March 12, 2018 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /

The last thing I’ll do here is take a quick look to see if the Rockies are addressing any of these issues during the spring. I know, I know. Spring stats don’t matter, but its all we have to go on right now so let’s see if the Rockies are working on it. Spoiler: they are.

This spring, the Rockies LEAD THE MAJORS in stolen bases. You read that correctly. They lead both the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues in stolen bags, and they lead the category by a lot. Their 28 steals lead all of spring baseball with the next closest team being the Cubs with 22. They are also seventh in the NL in strikeouts, which isn’t ideal, but hey, middle of the pack is an improvement over bottom five.

I could not find any source that tracked GIDPs during Spring Training, so the jury will remain out on that one, but I think the vastly improved stolen base numbers and lessened number of strikeouts is extremely encouraging.

Next: Potential lineups now that CarGo is back in the dugout

It’s the little things like these that can make a huge difference when two or three runs is the winning number, and the little things is what the Rockies need to work on if they are looking to take that next step and contend anywhere and everywhere, most importantly in late October.

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