David Dahl getting the feel of success back in his bat

He’s heard all the jokes. He’s seen all the memes. He knows what the doubters say. And he started spring training 0-for-15.

But outfielder and longtime top Colorado Rockies prospect David Dahl finally has the feel of success back in his bat.

“It felt really good,” he says with a smile when asked about the solo home run in Friday’s contest against the Arizona Diamondbacks. “It was a change-up that I actually recognized and stayed on it and put a good swing on it. So yeah, I just need to build from there.”

And build is what he did, grabbing another single and then homering again the next game against the Milwaukee Brewers. “I felt like I was going to start to put together some good at-bats and it would start happening,” he says. “Bud [Black] told me to watch some film for the first few innings, just relax up there, pick up some things.”

Dahl’s main priority has been getting back on the field and staying there after rib/back issues cost him the entirety of the 2017 campaign.

“My body feels great so that’s a plus,” he says. “That’s a very good thing, that’s what I wanted to see first and foremost because I hadn’t faced live pitching in so long. But it feels really good and now the timing and pitch recognition is just working back. It’s a long spring training so you just try to get as many at-bats as possible and get back into it.”

Getting some time in both center and left field, Dahl has played in all but one game for the Rockies so far this spring training. And though that physical progress remains the most important development for the uber-talented but oft-injured outfielder, it is certainly not the only thing worth noting from the last few games.

Now that he is physically ready to go, it’s time to get the mental aspect of baseball in order. And after stumbling a bit out of the blocks, Dahl is showing a fortitude and maturity that should serve him very well in the near future.

“I just forgot what happened last week, just start a new week of games,” he says. “Try not to think at all, get ready to hit, and have fun playing.”

This is important for him to remember because so far in his career when Dahl is having fun, the team he is on is winning a lot of baseball games.