Colorado Rockies: A look at Nolan Arenado’s month of May

As you probably know, the Colorado Rockies offense has struggled for most of the 2018 but the Rockies have one guy who has been hot: Nolan Arenado.

We are three weeks into May and one week away from Memorial Day so we have a pretty good idea on what the strengths and weakness are for the Rockies. One of the obvious strengths that the Rockies knew that they had was Nolan Arenado.

In March and April, he started off a bit slow (comparative to his normal numbers). He was on pace for a .310/.413/.529 (which are all very good) but he was only on pace for 26 home runs and 85 RBI, as from 2013 through 2017, he averaged 30 homers and 101 RBI and in the past three seasons, he averaged 40 homers and 131 RBI.

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However, he has picked it up a bit in May. In the month of May (17 games), he is 25-for-70 with four doubles, one triple, four home runs, 12 RBI, and a slash line of .357/.423/.614. If he continued on his pace of home runs and RBI that he has in May so far, he would be on pace for 39 home runs and 115 RBI. Overall, he is on pace for 31 home runs and 97 RBI.

Even though some of his offensive numbers are down a bit, his OPS+ is much higher (as offense has been down at Coors Field and in baseball in general). His OPS+ entering Monday is 151. For comparison, in the past three seasons, the same three seasons in which he averaged 40 home runs and 131 RBI, his OPS+ was 128.

Also, surprisingly, on the defensive metrics, overall, Arenado has 0 Defensive Runs Saved, which is league average. For comparison, he has had 16 or more DRS in every single season he has been in Major League Baseball.

Final Thoughts

By the end of the season, I would expect Arenado’s home runs and RBI totals to be a bit lower for a few reasons. First off, as mentioned, offense has been down in baseball as strikeouts are through the roof. The slash line for baseball entering Monday is .245/.318/.406. In 2017, it was .255/.324/.426.

For the Rockies in 2018 thus far, they have a slash of .233/.308/.395 compared to a .273/.338/.444. With the team getting on base less, I would also expect it to be lower.

Next: Charlie Blackmon is mired in a slump

However, Nolan Arenado has still shown he is one of the best players in baseball.