Colorado Rockies: High-priced Ian Desmond turning into a bust

First and third, nobody out. The Colorado Rockies need a good inning to climb back into the game. They have their highest paid player at the plate. He hits a shallow fly ball to right field and the runner at third is unable to tag up. Two batters later, the Rockies are back in the dugout having scored zero runs.

What was just described was the seventh inning of Tuesday night’s game against the San Diego Padres as the Rockies were down 5-2 (the same score by which they would eventually lose the game). The batter at the plate was no other than $22 million man Ian Desmond.

There is plenty of blame to go around for the Rockies’ rough start to this young season but I am going to single out Desmond. Sorry, but Tuesday night’s game was maddening to watch and when you are the highest paid player on a team, there needs to be some accountability.

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Let’s first start with the positives. He is leading the team with eight RBI and is tied for second in home runs with three. He has also been very adequate on defense, showing off his athleticism as he has been platooning his services between left field and first base.

Now the negatives. Desmond was in the midst of 1-for-24 slump during the last seven games, including an 0-for-2 outing on Wednesday when he stepped into the lineup after a brawl broke out. He is third on the team in strikeouts and is striking out 28% of the time. To go along with the strikeouts, he has only drawn one walk. This has led to a sickening .209/.222/.442 split.

To make matters worse, heading into the finale with the Padres, Desmond was fourth in the National League in groundball/flyout ratio at 3.8. This has led him into grounding out into three double plays, which was tied for second in the National League heading into Wednesday’s game. For someone who will play half of their games in Coors Field, this is unacceptable.

The excuse-makers will say that the season is still early … but how many games need to be played before this no longer an excuse? Looking at Desmond’s career numbers, this is who he is. He was fortunate enough to dupe the Rockies into giving him a five-year, $70 million contract after one good season in Texas in 2016.

Next: Pat Valaika talks about his role with the Rockies

Colorado General Manager Jeff Bridich has made some great moves in his short tenure but as of right now Desmond has been a bust. Unfortunately, due to his contract, Desmond is stuck in Denver for the next four years.