Rockies manager Bud Black: Connor Joe has made strong impression on organization

Rockies manager Bud Black said helium expects near fielder Connor Joe backmost sometime this season.

“But I’m not a doctor,” Black quipped earlier Tuesday’s crippled against San Francisco.

Joe, whose dependable manus atop the Rockies’ lineup has buoyed their 2nd half, was placed connected the injured database Saturday with a close hamstring strain. Black said helium received a PRP injection to assistance the betterment process.

If Black’s aboriginal premonition is incorrect, oregon if Joe is constricted erstwhile helium does travel back, the 29-year-old has already made a important content connected the Rockies’ coaching staff.

“I deliberation the coaches and I some consciousness precise powerfully astir what we saw and the performance,” Black said of Joe, who’s slashed .285/.379/.469 this play with 8 location runs successful 63 games. “… What we saw successful outpouring training, what we saw passim this year, what helium did successful the insignificant leagues, leads america to judge that that tin proceed now.”

In July, Joe deed .357 with an on-base percent of .400. In August, his astir productive period of the season, helium deed .284 with an on-base percent of .383. He besides deed six homers and drove successful 20 RBIs successful 88 at-bats.

“You don’t cognize (if it’s sustainable) until you support playing, but he’s got a bully instauration of however helium hits and helium does a truly accordant occupation from at-bat to at-bat, game-to-game, and helium doesn’t waver from that,” Black added. “Are determination going to beryllium immoderate peaks and valleys? Sure, we saw that. We saw a small spot of the valley, but he’s travel backmost and truly done a truly bully occupation offensively. And he’s learning near tract … He’s enactment himself intelligibly connected the radar.”

His dependable attack – .277 against righties, .306 against lefties – adjacent crossed conscionable 63 games this season, bodes good for his chances of being a fixture moving forward. In the leadoff spot this season, Joe has authored a .274 mean with an on-base percent conscionable shy of .400.

Black was cautious, reminding that arsenic teams go much acquainted with the righty, their strategies whitethorn adjust. But helium besides advised determination were respective aspects to Joe’s attack that shouldn’t waver.

“The happening that he’s done successful the past, he’s taken his walks, his pursuit rates, his quality to admit the onslaught zone, onslaught portion discipline, has been beauteous solid,” Black said. “That shouldn’t spell away. Those things don’t spell away. In the insignificant leagues they were there. Walk totals, the on-base percentage, the chase-rates that person been measured implicit the past fewer years, adjacent successful the insignificant leagues. He’s enactment himself successful a presumption to truly beryllium thought of arsenic a feline that tin marque a large league roster.”