Colorado Rockies: 3 simple ways to improve the offense

There is no other way to put it. The Colorado Rockies are in an offensive funk right now and something has to be done to snap them out of it.

It has been a historically bad month for the Rockies at the plate as was detailed in this article. Entering Monday’s game in Chicago, Colorado was hitting .222 in April. The Rockies went 7-for-33 on Monday night (including a 3-for-4 performance from Noel Cuevas) and it seemed like they were lighting the world on fire with their efforts. That’s how bad it has gotten in recent days.

In the last four games, the Rockies have scored a total of four runs. That’s it. One of those was an RBI double from Antonio Senzatela in a 1-0 win in Miami that started Colorado’s streak of barely being able to push anyone across the plate. In fact, Senzatela has totaled as many RBI in his last seven games as Nolan Arenado, Chris Iannetta and DJ LeMahieu … and one more than Gerardo Parra has been able to push across.

Now some of that can be explained by Parra’s suspension and LeMahieu’s hamstring injury … but some of it is also the fact that the Rockies just aren’t hitting right now. And when they’re not hitting, RBI chances go down as well.

So what can the Rockies do to turn things around? Here are three ideas…

Bench Ian Desmond and bring Ryan McMahon back soon

I know, I know. There are plenty of you out there who believe it’s time to pull the plug on the Ryan McMahon experience and send him back to Triple-A. The Rockies obviously felt that way on Tuesday when they did just that and brought up Daniel Castro to help play infield while DJ LeMahieu is out. I, however, am not one of those people and disagree with the move. I am one of the people who believe that McMahon is only going to get better with regular playing time.

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It’s simple. Bring RyMac back. Put McMahon in as the starting first baseman and bench Ian Desmond. We all know Desmond’s struggles and, despite what he is making, he simply doesn’t deserve to be in the lineup right now. The Rockies have played 30 games, just under 20 percent of their regular season schedule. Now is the time to start noticing who has been underperforming and put those players on the bench.

With McMahon now in Triple-A, he will once again have to prove that he belongs in Major League Baseball. He hit .319 in spring training (I know, it’s spring training) but it was enough to prove he was ready for an Opening Day spot, right? Now the process begins all over again … and here’s hoping it is not a long time before he is back.

There was a reason why McMahon was penciled in to be the starting first baseman in spring training before the team signed Carlos Gonzalez. Give him regular at-bats and you’ll see how he responds.

Play David Dahl

I was at Coors Field and watching what happened when David Dahl was inserted into the lineup. Back-to-back games with triples show not only his potential for power but speed as well. Dahl can bring a solid bat to the lineup and a threat to the plate as well. However, much like McMahon, he has to get regular playing time. The only way to do this is to put him in left field and limit the number of at-bats from Desmond and Gerardo Parra.

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There is nothing wrong with having Parra and Desmond on the bench as veterans and letting the younger players get their chance to prove what they can do.

Flash back to 2016 and when Dahl was making a difference in the Rockies lineup every day. There was a reason why Rockies fans were disappointed when injuries cost him the 2017 season and there is a reason why so many asked us and other media members about his status during spring training. They know there is something special with Dahl and he has the chance to be the difference that can extend the Rockies lineup past the first three or four spots in the order.

Let Dahl play on a regular basis and see what happens to not only his batting average but also Colorado’s offense as a whole.