TJ Rumfield gave the Rockies exactly the kind of jolt they needed in a 10-3 matinee win over the Reds, and he did it with the sort of day that can carry a box score all by itself.
Colorado piled up 14 hits and turned the game into an offensive showcase, while Cincinnati managed nine hits and three runs. Rumfield was right in the middle of it, going 4-for-5 with four runs driven in and launching one of his hits for a long homer.
For a Rockies club that has been scuffling and could be headed toward selling at the trade deadline, it was a welcome burst of production. And for Rumfield, it was another reminder that he has been one of the few steady bright spots in a season that has otherwise been part of a rebuild.
The first baseman has put together a strong year at the plate, carrying a .302/.384/.485 slash line with an .869 OPS. That kind of consistency has made him one of Colorado’s most reliable hitters, and manager Warren Schaeffer has to like what he’s getting from his slugging first baseman.
Colorado’s deadline picture looks pretty familiar: move what it can, add to the rebuild, and keep building toward the future. Most of the names expected to draw interest appear to be in the bullpen, with Antonio Senzatela, Brennan Bernardino, and others mentioned as possible trade chips.
Rumfield, though, should not be part of that conversation.
The Rockies got him from the Yankees in the offseason, and he looks like someone they should be planning around, not shopping. He’s the kind of player Schaeffer and the front office ought to keep in place for the next competitive Rockies team.
His first season in Colorado has already shown why. Rumfield is part of an offense that also includes Cole Carigg, Hunter Goodman, and Mickey Moniak, and he looks like a bat the Rockies can lean on now and later. He can help them down the road, and he can also serve as a model for the hitters they draft and sign in the years ahead.
In Other News...
Hunter Goodman Just Entered Rare Rockies Territory At The Worst Time
Hunter Goodmans power surge has put him in some rare Rockies company at a time when the club is still sorting through its long-term picture. On July 19, he launched three home runs to push his season total to 30, giving him consecutive 30-plus homer seasons and putting him alongside the kind of middle-of-the-order production Colorado has not seen often in recent years.
For a franchise that has spent plenty of time searching for reliable bats, that kind of production naturally draws attention beyond Denver. Goodmans name is already surfacing in trade chatter with the deadline approaching, and the tension now is whether the Rockies treat a breakout like this as a building block or as one of the more valuable chips on the market. [Read more 🡒]
T.J. Rumfield Is Forcing His Way Into Rockies Rookie History
Colorado has seen a few rookie seasons that still stand out in franchise memory, from Andres Galarraga announcing himself as a force to Jason Jennings winning National League Rookie of the Year in 2002. Troy Tulowitzkis debut also belongs in that conversation, even if the award went elsewhere in 2007, because the shortstops impact was immediate and lasting enough to become part of the Rockies standard for what a first-year player can mean.
T.J. Rumfield is now pushing into that same discussion as the Rockies first baseman makes a case for NL Rookie of the Year and puts himself in position to join a select group of Colorado newcomers. What makes the stretch especially interesting is the historical weight behind it, since Rumfield could accomplish something the Rockies have not done in 24 years, with the race itself still carrying a familiar layer of competition. [Read more 🡒]
Another Rockies Loss Wasted Hunter Goodman's Monster Night
A night that should have belonged to Hunter Goodman instead turned into another frustrating loss for the Rockies, who fell 9-6 to the Reds in Denver. Cincinnati jumped on Ryan Feltner early and never really let Colorado fully recover, with Tyler Stephenson and Nathaniel Lowe supplying the kind of power that put the visitors in control before the game had settled in.
Goodman kept the home crowd engaged with a huge performance of his own, but the Rockies could not turn it into a win and dropped the rubber match. Colorado has now lost four of its last five, while the Reds continue to have the upper hand in this matchup, leaving the Rockies with another reminder that one big night at the plate is not enough when the other side answers even louder. [Read more 🡒]