Colorado Rockies: Charlie Blackmon’s early struggles could be sign of things to come

It is way too early into the season for an “I told you so,” but there is a concerning trend that I pointed out near the end of spring training for one player on the Colorado Rockies that is already starting to come to fruition.

At the end of March, in this article, I voiced my worries that this could be the season in which Colorado Rockies’ perennial All-Star outfielder and fan-favorite, Charlie Blackmon, might begin his slow decline in offensive production as Father Time and a handful of mitigating factors start to catch up to him.

The warning signs have been there for the almost 35-year-old Chuck Nazty. After his blistering start to the shortened 2020 season, where he hit 34-for-68 in the first 17 games, he slumped down the stretch going 33-for-153 (.216) in the final 43 games.

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Those sluggish numbers carried themselves into this spring training as he managed a mere seven hits in 43 at-bats (.163) with only one extra-base hit and a RBI. Of course, spring numbers can be deceiving and don’t always translate to the regular season but so far his numbers haven’t been much better.

In the eight games Blackmon has played in, he has only five hits in 29 at-bats making his slash line an ugly .172/.273/.379 with four strikeouts and only four walks.

On the bright side, all five of his hits has either been for extra bases or has led to a run or RBI. He has a home run and three doubles, and his lone single was inches away from going out, as he scorched a105.5 MPH exit velocity line drive that hit the top of the right field scoreboard against the Diamondbacks on Thursday.

But those moments have been few and far between and some of his early frustrations may have boiled over on Friday afternoon in San Francisco as he was ejected for arguing strikes with the umpire.

I truly hope that Chuck Nazty is going through an early season slump, but his performance is definitely a subject I will be tracking throughout the summer.