Colorado Rockies: Gerardo Parra’s quiet slump

The Colorado Rockies offense is sizzling, but Gerardo Parra has gone cool for the summer.

For much of the season, the 31-year-old outfielder (and arguably the Rockies’ most fun player) was a bright spot in the middle-to-back end of the lineup. He still sports a .369 batting average with runners in scoring position, fourth best in the National League.

Until June 28 — when the the Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants 9-8 and arguably saved their season — Parra’s slash line was .303/.340/.424. But since then, his line is .224/.333/.259. Of his 13 hits, 11 are singles and the other two are doubles.

Parra has never been a slugger. His career OPS is .731, and he’s never hit more than 15 home runs in a season (2015, with both Baltimore and Milwaukee). His strength at the plate is his ability to reach base. And he’s flourished with the Rockies; last season, Parra posted career-best numbers in batting average (.309) and on-base percentage (.341).

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But lately, Parra is failing to keep up with the torrid pace of the Rockies offense. Pitchers are successfully inducing weak contact; since June 28, Parra has a ground ball rate of 50 percent versus a 23.9 percent fly ball rate. Combine that with a hard-contact rate of just 34 percent, and you have a recipe for a lot of groundouts.

Parra’s return to the Rockies next season is far from guaranteed. His three-year contract ends after 2018 and calls for a club option in 2019 worth $12 million, or a $1.5 million buyout.

The Rockies have a surplus of left-handed outfielders, especially with the imminent return of David Dahl. In 97 plate appearances this year, Dahl is slashing .275/.309/.484 with four home runs. He has more pop in his bat than Parra; he just needs to stop finding ways to get injured.

Of course, it’s important not to overreact to a quiet, month-long slump. As long as the Rockies keep playing the seasoned veteran, he’ll find his groove again soon enough.

But regardless of how 2018 turns out, the Rockies must consider the state of the outfield throughout this team’s theoretical contention window. Who will patrol the corners next to Charlie Blackmon and give this team the best chance to go the distance? Right now, I have a hard time believing Parra is part of the plan.