DENVER – The Colorado Rockies have promoted their top prospect, outfielder David Dahl, from Triple-A to MLB, the club announced on Sunday.
He has been immediately inserted into the lineup, will bat sixth and play left field.
Dahl famously began his career by tying the Major League record with a 17-game hit streak in 2016. He finished that season strong—hitting .315 with seven home runs in 63 games—but missed all of 2017 with back and rib issues and then experienced another setback to begin 2018, needing a brief DL stint with a stomach virus.
But with Carlos Gonzalez now on the DL and Gerardo Parra beginning to serve his suspension for his actions in the altercation with the San Diego Padres, the time ended up being now for Dahl to make his return to the Bigs.
Manager Bud Black says that the biggest key for him is to stay on the field.
“The big thing is the durability that proven big leaguers have,” he says. “That’s the thing that we talked about in spring training and that’s one of the reasons why we wanted to send him down to Triple-A without necessarily putting big league expectations on him.”
As far as what fans, the manager, or Dahl himself can expect out on the field once he actually is there?
“The expectation is for him to play his game,” said Black. “And that is generally a quality at-bat, good defense, there’s a run tool in there, there’s a power tool in there, and let’s see how it develops. Hopefully, over the course of time, he can do what he’s capable of doing.”
He is capable of doing quite a lot.
Dahl is a legitimate five-tool player who could provide a huge boost to the Rockies if he can stay healthy. While is seems most likely that he will be sent back to Triple-A when CarGo and Parra return, he has a chance to earn a roster spot if he can show both the durability and the hitting ability that fans are hoping for, this call-up out of necessity may end up being a light-the-fire moment for the team.
Colorado also announced the promotion of right-handed outfielder Noel Cuevas who is set to make his MLB debut this afternoon. Mike Tauchman has been optioned back to Triple-A.
