DENVER -- Rookie, the Golden Retriever, also known as @rookiegolden on Instagram, keeps his cult following happy. He doesn’t have nearly as many followers as the 21,000-some who follow his live-in companion, Rockies outfielder David Dahl, but he is at nearly 10,000 and still trying.

As of mid-December, Rookie had 321 posts, to his owner’s 112 on @ddahl21 -- although in fairness Rookie has help from Dahl’s opposable thumbs. In Rookie’s cute posts, Dahl is more part of his supporting cast than a co-star.

But Dahl is about to become a star in his own right. And even though he’s not as social media prolific -- and, animal lovers might say, not as photogenic -- as his dog, he’s blowing up well beyond the world of posts and likes. Dahl made his first All-Star Game in 2019, and if he can find the elusive key to wire-to-wire health he could set himself firmly into the Rockies’ franchise-face category, alongside Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon and Trevor Story.

“I think I can,” Dahl said. “It’s just a matter of staying out there, avoiding some of the freak injuries. When I’m out there, I feel like I play pretty well. I think I can do it. I’ve got to stay out there. That’s the biggest thing, playing games.”

Dahl, who turns 26 on April 1, possesses a swing that will never get old as long as it produces as it did in 2019 -- .302 with a .353 on-base percentage, 15 home runs and 61 RBIs in 413 plate appearances. What does get old is injuries, the latest being a high right ankle sprain that ended his year after 100 games. Health should mean a new level of stardom. (No need to rehash his pain here, but if you want the history of some of his injuries, you can find that here.)

But what if there isn’t the occasional awkward twist, foul ball off a bone or collision with a teammate? Well, according to Baseball Reference, Dahl’s age 25 season (2019) was most similar to former Rockies star Matt Holliday at the same age. That’s not bad.

The Rockies have insisted that health, rebounds from injury and career growth will put them back in line for the postseason, where they went in 2017 and ‘18. Dahl and veteran first baseman Daniel Murphy returning to health and another year of growth from emerging second baseman Ryan McMahon, the Rockies believe, will support Arenado, Blackmon and Story in a championship offense, even without a major addition.

“I would say that David is, just pure talent-wise, one of the most talented players -- bat talent -- that we have on our team,” Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich said. “Him playing a lot and being able to put together a full season, then another season on top of that, he is going to learn.

“I do believe that with his bat talent and with more consistent playing time, he has a chance to become a pretty proficient all-around hitter, somebody that can do a lot of different things at the plate. He’s already shown he can hit for power but be a really tough at-bat -- somebody who’s really consistently dictating the at-bat. But some of that stuff comes with study.”

The work has begun, as Dahl demonstrated in a spate of Twitter posts in November in December, when he began taking swings. Three tweets from him and one from his offseason hitting instructor, Trent Otis, served as video reminders that the sweet swing the Rockies were missing at the end of 2019 will be back in ‘20.

An interesting question is whether playing center field, where Dahl was when the injury happened last year and where he played the most last season (40 games, opposed to 39 in left and 24 in right), is optimal. He is most comfortable in center. But does the amount of running -- especially at Coors Field -- create a fatigue factor for a player with a lengthy injury history? Mileage was a key reason the Rockies moved Blackmon to right and tried the ill-fated experiment of moving Ian Desmond to center before going mostly to Dahl.

“If center field ends up being a time-share situation, that’s OK,” said Bridich, whose team potentially could include Raimel Tapia, Sam Hilliard, Garrett Hampson and Yonathan Daza, all with center-field experience. “That doesn’t give us pause at all. We need multiple people on our club to play that position.”

But Dahl wants not only to play center but be a difference-maker there.

“Wherever they put me I’ll go out there and help the team win, but I definitely feel I can get a lock in center field and it will be mine for a while,” he said. “One thing I’ve talked to them about is working on my speed, get faster, especially if that’s where I’m going to be playing.”

Dahl’s doggie is not the only one in the family with knowledge of how to reach the cheering public. Dahl’s wife, Jacquelyn Dahl, is founder of 1UP Sports Marketing, which works with 2018 NFL Most Valuable Player Patrick Mahomes, last year’s Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Julian Edelman and a host of other players in the NFL, a league in which players have more time to increase their public profile because they don’t play 162 games in 184 regular-season days.

Dahl said he is learning from his wife and her clients and is confident he can handle the fruits of what may come his way.

“My wife is really good at that,” Dahl said. “You see how Patrick Mahomes handles it. It’s very impressive. I’ve met him, actually talked to him. He was MVP of the league, yet so humble. He just wants to play football.

“I want to play baseball. Athletes just want to go out and play. Every athlete growing up wants to be a big name, be recognized. Every person wants that growing up.”

Regardless what could come his way, Dahl hit on the what must happen for that level of acclaim to be a possibility. He has to play.