Dahl call up signals Rockies belief in competing this year

The timing of the Colorado Rockies call-up of outfield prospect David Dahl is odd. Just a week before the MLB Non-Waiver Trade Deadline, the club has added another left-handed hitting outfielder to what is already a vast arsenal of them. If they were going to trade either Carlos Gonzalez or Charlie Blackmon, wouldn’t they wait a week and have Dahl replace them at that time?

Instead, the timing of the Dahl call-up comes as the Rockies are now just four games back of .500, and six games out of a Wildcard spot with a hole in left field vacated by the injury to Gerardo Parra, who has missed a lot of time. Dahl is the perfect piece to provide consistency there. Certainly more than the trio of Daniel Descalso, Ryan Raburn and Brandon Branes that has filled that spot for weeks. Now, the Rockies have a highly talented bat and glove to complete an outfield that already includes Blackmon and Gonzalez.

With the club slated to play three in Baltimore this week, there was no good option at designated hitter because the team keeps rotating bench pieces. Now with Dahl, the team has an obvious choice in the outfield and only needs to worry about one lineup spot on Monday.

The Rockies find themselves close to .500, a mark that they have struggled to get back to since May 18 when they were last above it. However, the club has a lousy 7-12 record in one-run affairs and their Pythagorean record says they’re under-performing what they’re actual record is. Both of these are reasons why there is some logic behind the Rockies thought that they can compete in 2016.

Looking back on the year thus far, a depleted bullpen caused by a few horrible starts have affected the team, often for several days at a time. A couple of losses have been so ugly in nature, they have bled into the next handful of days. With great teams — playoffs teams — this does not happen.

But looking at the timing of this call-up gives one even more information. This is the time of year teams call up their most readied prospects. The Houston Astros did it today with Alex Bregman, the White Sox with Carson Fullmer just days ago. Last year, the Cubs called up Kyle Schwarber for good on July, 17.

Teams that are out of the running normally wait a week or two until after the trade deadline to make moves of this magnitude. Think about these same Colorado Rockies with Jon Gray on August, 4, of last year.

It’s also a bit strange when you consider Dahl has only played 16 games in Triple-A. Do the Rockies feel like his .484 batting average over that stretch was sufficient for promotion? Probably not. But the Rockies most likely do think he is MLB-ready because he has spent so much time in Double-A over the past two seasons and the consistency he has shown since returning from a collision that cost him his spleen.

At this deadline where everyone is asking if the Rockies are buyers or sellers, they have just answered that question by calling up David Dahl. They’re competing. They’ll continue to call up MLB-ready prospects in hopes of bolstering a roster that looks better and better every single day. Jeff Hoffman better wait by his phone.

The pitching has been there for the Rockies this season. The lineup has been the question. Adding the slick-hitting Dahl should take care of that and give Colorado the belief in themselves that they’re competitors, whether or not anyone else thinks they are.