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Raimel Tapia struggling as leadoff hitter
When Charlie Blackmon went on the injured list, Tapia rose to the top of the Colorado batting order to take his place. Despite hitting .369 in 263 Triple-A at-bats as the leadoff hitting in 2017 and .292 in 305 leadoff at-bats last season, Tapia has not had that success translate to the Major League level leading off this year.
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Heading into Thursday’s matinee in Chicago, Tapia was slashing .222/.263/.315 from the leadoff spot with 12 strikeouts and three walks. That includes an 0-for-4 night with three strikeouts in Tuesday’s opener against the Cubs. Throw in another 0-for-4 performance on Thursday and Tapia has a slash line of .143/.143/.190 in five June games (21 plate appearances).
It seems that while the Colorado offense has been clicking, the 25-year-old Tapia has hit a slump.
There is no question that Tapia has improved this season, but it’s clear that the Rockies need Blackmon’s bat back at the top of the order. Tapia is hitting .417 in 36 at-bats when batting sixth this season and .333 in 36 at-bats when batting seventh. Blackmon’s return will not only help the top of the order, but will also boost the bottom of the lineup with Tapia sliding back down into a role with which he seems more comfortable.