The one thing David Dahl must do to earn more playing time

DENVER – For Colorado Rockies outfielder David Dahl, the goalposts just keep moving. Which is how it should be if you want to be more than a role player in baseball.

Since his exhilarating finish to the 2016 season, he has struggled to stay on the field, making his health and longevity the primary focus of his career.

Now, just a few weeks into his second call-up to the highest level of baseball, he hasn’t found the success he did early on and finds himself in an outfield rotation that includes veterans Carlos Gonzalez and Gerardo Parra.

While the younger player’s ceiling suggests he should be getting the lion’s share of the playing time, it hasn’t worked out that way, and manager Bud Black says there is one specific thing he would like to see Dahl do to cement himself into a more regular role.

“One thing that’s been a little bit alarming to me is the number of strikeouts for David,” he said. “If you look at the number of strikeouts per at-bat, that will have to come down, for me. That shouldn’t happen for David’s type of hitter.”

Dahl, who has hovered around a low-20s strikeout percentage for most of his pro career, including a 24.9 percent rate over his first 63 games in MLB, is currently striking out a whopping 37 percent of the time. While he has still managed to bat .300/.352/.480 in 17 games so far this season, the swing-and-miss he has displayed, especially for the role he is expected to play and before his power has really shown up, has meant more opportunities for the veterans to get their chances.

Ultimately, this could just end up having the effect of making sure all the Rockies outfielders are fresh in the later parts of the season. And with both Gonzalez and Parra hitting better over the last week, the Rockies can afford to keep the revolving door moving.

When he does play, Dahl has been inserted right into the heart of the order, proving that the Rockies still have confidence in his abilities, even if they aren’t prepared to cement him into the lineup each and every game.

But if Dahl cuts down on the Ks and takes a tick up in the power? We could be looking at an everyday player very soon.

“The thing is, he’s going to continue to play, continue to get back hopefully into a rhythm after missing the whole season last year,” says Black. He’s contributing. He’s done some things to help us. And he continues to grow.”