Colorado Rockies: It has been a difficult June for Nolan Arenado

Through 71 games of the season, Colorado Rockies’ All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado is hitting .321 with 17 home runs, 57 RBI, and 52 runs scored with a .956 OPS. Most fans would be ecstatic with those types of numbers … but I am not your typical fan. There is an underlying issue that is hindering those numbers … Arenado is struggling in the month of June.

It is hard to imagine a game where the Colorado Rockies scored 13 runs on 19 hits and Nolan Arenado did not contribute but that is exactly what happened in Sunday’s 14-13 loss to the San Diego Padres. He went 0-for-5 with a walk and a run scored, including striking out to end the game.

In the month of June, the Rockies are second in the majors with 97 runs scored (6.47 runs per game) and are first with a .296 batting average but Arenado has surprisingly dragged those numbers down. After an unbelievable May, where Arenado was robbed of the Player of the Month award by the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Josh Bell, Arenado’s stats have dipped this month to .226/.311/.340 with 2 home runs, 7 RBI, and 7 runs scored in 53 at-bats.

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Obviously, the Rockies have a lot bigger issues to deal with other than Arenado’s struggles, such as their pitching staff that has given up 93 runs and has a 5.98 ERA this month. However, if they are going to overcome the poor pitching performances, all hands must be on deck and that includes Arenado.

With a critical nine-game road trip against the NL West, where the Rockies will likely see starters Zack Greinke, Robbie Ray, Hyun-jin Ryu, Clayton Kershaw and Madison Bumgarner, Arenado has to break out of this mild slump for the Rockies to have a fighting chance. Unfortunately, he has a combined .266 career average (163-for-612) in 159 games at Arizona, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

Of course, I am nitpicking over a below-average two-week span for Arenado. However, with how bad the Rockies’ pitching has been, they need “Nolan being Nolan” in the worst of ways.