Jones continues surge at plate, on bases

DENVER -- The Rockies are a team in transition.

The era of Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story and DJ LeMahieu is over. The next discernable identity of the franchise hasn’t yet emerged. That will largely depend on how the club’s young prospects perform -- and how many of them pan out.

In other words, now is the hard part.

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The hard part includes Colorado’s current stretch of nine losses in 11 games, including the past five straight, after the Rockies took a 9-6 loss in their series opener against the Padres on Friday night at Coors Field.

Starter Austin Gomber was ambushed early by San Diego’s hitters, with Manny Machado launching a two-run homer as part of a three-run first inning. Gomber surrendered two more homers in the second, a solo homer by Trent Grisham and a two-run drive by Gary Sánchez. Ha-Seong Kim’s RBI single in the fifth chased the left-hander from the game.

The Padres tacked on two more thanks to solo homers by Fernando Tatis Jr. in the sixth and Brandon Dixon in the seventh.

The Rockies clawed their way back into the game with a run in the third, three in the sixth and two in the eighth on Mike Moustakas’ homer. But it wasn’t enough to avoid a fifth consecutive loss.

When you’re going through the hard part, you look for something to dull the disappointment, especially if it’s something that might provide some hope for the future.

Right now, that silver lining is Nolan Jones, who drew two walks against Padres starter Yu Darvish and stole his fourth base in as many games. With his fifth-inning swipe of second, Jones became the first Rockies player in 12 years to steal a base in at least four consecutive games. (Charlie Blackmon stole a bag in five straight from June 11-15, 2011.)

Since being recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque on May 26, Jones has a slash line of .349/.404/.581. In his last 11 plate appearances, he has walked three times, singled three times, doubled and smashed a 483-foot home run -- the second-longest homer in the Majors this season behind Giancarlo Stanton’s 485-foot shot at Yankee Stadium on April 2.

“Because of no C.J. Cron, no Kris Bryant, no Brendan Rodgers [who are all injured], there are opportunities coming for a lot of guys,” manager Bud Black said. “ … It’s good to see a guy like Nolan take this opportunity and be a contributor.”

Jones is one of those young and unproven players fans get excited about because of his size, strength and speed. Standing a lean 6-foot-4 and 195 pounds, the 25-year-old right fielder/first baseman already owns the third hardest-hit ball Statcast has ever recorded for a Rockies hitter since it began tracking in 2015.

Jones’ mammoth homer Wednesday left his bat with an exit velocity of 114.2 mph, behind only two Carlos González home runs (117.4 mph in 2016, and 114.4 mph in 2018).

Jones also has an average Sprint Speed of 27.9 feet per second, well above the MLB average of 27. He has acquitted himself well in right field in Bryant’s absence, and there’s another tool we haven’t even really seen yet.

“We haven’t seen the arm, but it’s legit,” Black said. “It’s a well-above-average arm. I think that’s a threat there to be a potential deterrent for guys going first to third, guys trying to score where the third-base coach has to make some decisions there.”

Jones had a rough Spring Training, a Cactus League performance he called “horrible.” He said he felt a lot of pressure, trying to prove himself to a new team after being traded to Colorado from Cleveland this past offseason.

But then he got some advice from his parents.

“They told me, ‘Nolan Jones is good enough,’” he said as he stood in front of his locker with a dirt-laden jersey from his baserunning exploits. “My first game at Triple-A, I was kind of shaking and I hit a home run, and it was like, OK, I can do this again. You know, you lose hope sometimes.”

It’s during times like the Rockies are enduring now that hope is essential. While we don’t know whether Jones will become the type of player the Rockies hope he’ll become, now’s the time to find out.

“We’re seeing all aspects of Nolan Jones,” Black said. “We’re getting to know him.”