Colorado Rockies morning after: Tapia rounding into regular-season form

As spring training enters the final week of action, a vital cog in the Colorado Rockies offensive machinery is rounding into midseason form.

Raimel Tapia, who should open the 2021 campaign as the team’s leadoff hitter just as he finished the season a year ago, has been swinging a big bat recently as the Rockies prepare for their regular-season opener April 1 against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field.

Tapia had a run-scoring single Thursday to extend his Cactus League hitting streak to six games as Colorado rallied from behind on three occasions to capture a 6-5 victory against the Los Angeles Angels before a crowd of 2,432 at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick.

Despite a slow start, Raimel Tapia is heating up this spring for the Colorado Rockies.

Tapia is now batting .261 this spring. After going 2-for-4 with a double and a pair of RBI in Colorado’s 9-8 win Wednesday against Milwaukee, he went 1-for-3 against the Angels and plated a run in the fifth inning to knot the game at 4-4.

Tapia took over as the team’s leadoff hitter midway through last year’s pandemic-shortened season. Once he moved into that role, he flourished.

A native of the Dominican Republic, Tapia ended the 2020 season with a team-high .321 batting average. He saw action in 51 of 60 contests a year ago and finished with a .369 on base percentage, also tops on the club. He struck out only 38 times in 206 plate appearances.

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Tapia, who will be entering his sixth MLB season in 2021, was a model of consistency at the plate last year. Batting from the left side of the plate, he hit .364 against left-handed pitching and .302 against right-handers.

Tapia, who most likely will start the 2021 season in his normal position in left field, batted .349 at Coors Field while hitting at a .296 clip away from home last year.

With runners in scoring position, he hit a scorching .400 (10-for-25 with 13 RBI). With runners in scoring position and two outs, Tapia hit .500 (5-for-10 with five RBI).

His runners in scoring position and RISP with two outs averages led the Rockies a year ago.

So, what did Tapia learn from batting leadoff last year that he can carry forward to this season?

“The two biggest things I learned is just to be a little bit more patient and stay within myself at the plate,” he told media, including Rox Pile, on March 20. “I hate when I take three pitches and then my teammates aren’t able to see what the pitcher is throwing that day. I take pride in taking a lot of pitches and seeing what the pitcher has got.”

Tapia, who had eight stolen bases in 10 attempts in 2020, enjoys being able to help his teammates from the leadoff position.

“For my teammates, I want to be a good leadoff for them so they are able to see the pitcher and go from there,” he said. “Obviously, just be a tough out.”

With Nolan Arenado no longer in the Colorado lineup after his trade to St. Louis in the offseason, it will be important for Tapia to be a tough out for opposing pitchers in 2021. He will be counted on to get on base, hit for average, and drive in runs when the opportunity affords if the Rockies offense is to have success.

Tapia had one of Colorado’s 11 hits on Thursday against the Angels. C.J. Cron and Chris Owings led the way with three hits apiece.

Owings belted a pair of home runs against Los Angeles to become the first Rockies player this spring with a multi-homer game. Cron and Owings slugged solo home runs in the sixth inning Thursday to provide the tying and go-ahead runs in the Rox come-from-behind victory. Cron’s homer added to his impressive spring training exit velocity stats.

Dom Nunez added two hits on a pair of doubles while left-hander Ben Bowden tossed a scoreless inning of relief to lower his earned run average to 1.17 in a team-high nine Cactus League appearances.