BSN Exclusive: David Dahl is ready, but will he get the chances down the stretch?

It was clear from the beginning of the 2018 campaign that the Colorado Rockies were unsure what they were going to get out of their promising young outfield prospects.

This is at least part of why they brought back Carlos Gonzalez on a one-year deal.

And whether it be Raimel Tapia’s rough edges or David Dahl’s history with injuries, the club even found themselves in need of another outfield bat nearing the end of the season, picking up Matt Holliday it was has turned out to be a sneaky good move in the National League race.

But as Holliday rightfully gobbles up opportunities, Dahl has emerged once more, returning from yet another injury that cost him valuable time and taking his spot as a regular in the lineup.

For many, Dahl should have become a fixture much sooner, but whatever your feelings on the timing, he is getting his chances now and he is making the most of them.

“Feels good,” he told BSN Denver after starting for a fourth day in a row against a lefty. “I feel like I’m getting in a rhythm. I’m playing pretty well. Just trying to help the team no matter where I hit in the lineup. Just trying to have good at at-bats. I feel like I was doing that. Chuck was rolling in the leadoff, so I was just trying to keep it going, trying to hit some balls hard. Feel good.”

Stepping in for an afternoon and spelling Blackmon both in center field and at the top of the lineup, Dahl took pride in setting the tone in a game his club touched home plate 10 times.

“I led off in the minor leagues,” he says. “You want to get it going and I felt like if a pitch was there, try to hit something hard and keep it going. (In the first) DJ hit the ball hard, just right at second. Then Nolan hit the home run. We had some good at-bats in the first. As the leadoff, you just want to have a good at-bat to start the day.”

He also has been handed the mantle of hitting cleanup a few times but says that doesn’t affect his approach.

“I’m an aggressive hitter,” he says. “I was aggressive today, swinging at the first pitch. I just wanted to swing at strikes and thought I did a pretty good job of that. Just trying to keep it going. Big series coming up.”

And, Dahl says, the team is playing with supreme confidence in these most important games of the season.

“I think we know we’re a good team,” he says. “We know we’ve got some really good hitters, top to bottom. We’ve got a good staff. Our bullpen did great. So, we’re confident right now.”

The starting staff has been excellent, and in the month of September, so has the bullpen.

This leaves it up to Dahl and the rest of the lineup to find enough runs to win the division.

Given his talent, the makeup of the roster, and the nature of the National League, Dahl is likely to get one of the most important at-bats of the season.

And he will probably come through with one of the most memorable moments from an already historic Colorado Rockies’ season.

It’s been a long journey for David Dahl, littered with pitfalls and frustrations. But his insane talent level demands that he plays despite what some may believe about the organization’s loyalty to veterans.

It is clear now that as long as Dahl is healthy, he will be playing a vital role for a team in search of their first division title.