Colorado Rockies: Sam Hilliard needs everyday at-bats down the stretch

It is do-or-die time for some of the younger players on the Colorado Rockies. As interim general manager Bill Schmidt or whoever will be named the permanent GM look towards building for the future, decisions need to be made on some of the promising yet underperforming players.

With a little less than 50 games left in the season and completely out of the playoff picture, the Rockies need to give younger players on the roster everyday playing time in order to see if they belong in the major league.

One of those players is Colorado Rockies outfielder Sam Hilliard.

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The 27-year-old has been back and forth between Triple-A Albuquerque and the Majors for much of the season hitting .214/.283/.505 with 8 HR, 16 RBI, 17 runs scored with 41 strikeouts in 103 at-bats over 43 games (heading into Friday).

Those numbers are bad but in his last 15 games he is has played well hitting 15-for-52 (.288) with 5 HR, 11 RBI, and 9 runs scored.

These hot streaks have somewhat become common for Hilliard as he burst onto the scene in the final month of 2019 but struggled most of the shortened 2020 season.

Is he the player of the last few weeks or the player who couldn’t stay out of Albuquerque earlier in the season?

If the Rockies can get Hilliard a combined 120 or more at-bats against both right and left-handed pitching down the stretch, the front office could get a bigger sample size and make a much better-informed decision on what to do with him in the seasons to come.

Next. Three more Rockies with something to prove in the rest of 2021. dark

Could he be another David Dahl-type player who showed a ton of promise but could never put it all together or could he be the next Charlie Blackmon who took a few seasons early on in his career before becoming the star that he is today?

The Rockies need to find out and there is no better time to do it than now, in a season that is going nowhere.

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