DENVER -- He lacks the beard length, but Jake McCarthy has the dark hair flowing from beneath his batting helmet and the run of production that can offer a reasonable imitation of the Rockies’ last leadoff threat, Charlie Blackmon.
That McCarthy -- who went 3-for-5 with two runs scored during Tuesday night’s 9-7, 11-inning loss to the Rays at Coors Field -- still has the chance to be like Blackmon in Colorado is a signal that the front office believes the makings of a strong offense are in place.
The only trade to disturb the group was center fielder Brenton Doyle to the White Sox for two prospects. Instead of trading outfielder Mickey Moniak, the Rockies signed him to a two-year, $16.25 million contract extension. The lineup was uncertain at season’s start, but the Rockies are second in the Majors in extra-base hits (363), third in slugging (.423), fourth in batting average (.256), fifth in OPS (.747) and sixth in runs scored (554), after not ranking above 23rd in any of those categories -- plus finishing last in on-base percentage.
In looking at the reasons that the Rockies’ rebuild is closer to fruition than one would have expected less than a year removed from last year’s 43-119 mess, start at the top.
McCarthy, 29, has a speed game built for reaching base and enough gap power to take advantage if the bottom of the order is productive. Those are classic leadoff skills, but the opportunity wasn’t often there with the Diamondbacks. Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer initially used him throughout the lineup, but as the season progressed, McCarthy showed production against right-handed (.280) and left-handed (.333) pitching, and is batting .293 while carrying an .825 OPS.
“I love hitting leadoff,” McCarthy said. “And I feel the bottom of the order does a good job getting on base for me, too, so it’s the best of both worlds. I get to get the game started, try to get on base and wreak some havoc, but I also get a lot of opportunities with runners in scoring position.”
Settling the leadoff spot has allowed Schaeffer to test rookie Cole Carrigg and second-year player Kyle Karros in the No. 2 or (in Carrigg’s case) No. 3 spots. Two-time All-Star catcher Hunter Goodman, rookie first baseman TJ Rumfield and Moniak have responded in run-producing positions, and utility man Willi Castro has shown a professional at-bat and, recently, power.
The two major question marks -- shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, who has languished all season, and outfielder Jordan Beck, who returned from Triple-A Albuquerque on Monday and is looking for a reset -- have had solid streaks in the past.
The potential of these players -- who are all under club control for next season -- meant president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta had no problem maintaining high asking prices in trade talks.
“We had a set price in mind on what it would take to acquire any of our players,” DePodesta said. “We have a lot of good players here. We think we have the foundation of something that has a chance to be pretty good.
“On any given night, I don’t think a lot of pitchers want to face our lineup from top to bottom.”
Before the Deadline, McCarthy said he was going to avoid jinxing himself by not checking his phone. But when the Deadline passed, he was happy to call Denver home.