Colorado Rockies: Concern with Charlie Blackmon’s slow spring?

About this time every March, there seems to be a discussion as to how much stock to put into a player’s spring training stats.  Like clockwork, there is always at least one veteran scuffling at the plate early on and this year is no different for the Colorado Rockies.

Opening Day is two weeks away and the Colorado Rockies have a very important player in the middle of the lineup that is in a bit of a slump. In 25 at-bats, Charlie Blackmon has only managed 4 base hits (3 doubles) and a walk while striking out 9 times.

It is only spring training but should we be concerned about Chuck Nazty’s play with the regular season just around the corner?

I know what you are thinking. There are plenty of others who are struggling, why single out the 4-time All-Star? There is David Dahl who is hitting 6-for-32 with 10 strikeouts or Ian Desmond who is 3-for-22, just to name a couple. Why not pick on one of them?

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For starters, I already did do a little grumbling about Desmond in this article last week.  Plus, Desmond playing poorly has practically become the norm.

More importantly, and let’s not forget, Blackmon is starting to get up there in age while Dahl is only 25 years-old.  Blackmon turns 34 in July which is one of the reasons why the Rockies moved him from center field to right last season to keep him fresh and alleviate some defense issues.

He also spent some time last summer on the injured list for the first time since 2016 and played in only 140 games.

Now before anyone gets angry, let me point out a huge counter-argument. Last spring training, Blackmon hit a pathetic 8-for-46 (.174) with only one home run and 10 strikeouts.  He then went on to make another All-Star appearance and hit .314/.364/.576 with 32 HR, 86 RBI, and 112 runs scored.

To sum up, there shouldn’t be too much concern over the proven veteran’s spring training numbers.  However, do not be shocked if you might happen to see an aging Charlie Blackmon’s production slip this season because, eventually, it happens to everyone.