Jordan

Beck

Moniak takes a seat with lefty Justin Wrobleski toeing the rubber for Los Angeles during Monday’s series opener at Coors Field. Jordan Beck takes over in left field with Tyler Freeman in the opposite corner. The 27-year-old outfielder is up to six round-trippers through 16 games after belting a career-high 24 over 135 games in his Rockies debut last year. He’s unexpectedly morphed into a potent power hitter after arriving in the big leagues a half-decade ago with almost zero over-the-fence pop.

We aren’t quite sure what Beck did to Rockies’ new skipper Warren Schaefer, but he has found himself in the starting lineup in just seven of the team’s first 14 ballgames now. The fact that he’s hitting .080 (2-for-25) obviously doesn’t help, but it’s hard to get into a rhythm at the plate when you’re seeing sporadic at-bats. Tyler Freeman will start in right field and bat second for the Rockies against Padres’ right-hander Walker Buehler on Friday evening.

It was expected that Freeman would start the season as a short-side platoon with either Jordan Beck or Mickey Moniak. Now, Moniak (finger) is also on the injured list, so there is a chance that Freeman could push Beck for playing time in the outfield or perhaps hit well enough to push Edouard Julien out of the DH spot.

Beck will get a night off with Troy Johnston getting the start in right field and hitting sixth. So far, Beck has hit just .182 with a .580 OPS over his 13 plate apperances.

Beck drove in all three runs for the Rockies on a bases-clearing double in the first inning. Colorado would score no more runs, and they fall to 0-3 on the season. Beck did drive in four runs over the weekend, and there’s some long-term upside in his bat.

Beck, who went 1-for-3 with an RBI and was also caught stealing during Thursday’s opener, takes a seat with Troy Johnston getting an opportunity to face his former club. This doesn’t appear to be a matchup-related decision, but it’s possible Beck will be in more of a timeshare than originally envisioned as Colorado tries to work a couple new faces into their early-season mix.

There’s a pathway for Beck to evolve into an upper-echelon fantasy outfielder if he’s able to cut back slightly on the strikeouts while hitting for power and continuing to run at the rate he did last season. Figuring out what the odds of those factors converging at the same time to create a fantasy monster is the proverbial million-dollar question. Beck’s on-field performance has been encouraging to say the least this spring as he’s hitting .350 (14-for-40) with two homers and just 14 strikeouts in 14 games. He’s going outside the top 200 picks, on average, in most fantasy drafts this spring, which makes him a worthwhile gamble in that range.

The 24-year-old outfielder opened the scoring in the ballgame, lining an RBI single off of Jacob Misorowski in the top half of the first inning. He then swiped second base and took third on an error before being stranded there. Beck then tagged Brandon Sproat for a 423-foot (107.8 mph EV) solo shot in the sixth inning that made it 7-3. He has been locked in at the plate this spring, hitting .314 (11-for-35) with a pair of homers, three RBI and a stolen base.

Beck hasn’t proven himself as a quality major leaguer yet, but the Rockies never looked to upgrade over him this winter. That he plays in Coors Field and is a decent basestealer gives him ample fantasy upside if he takes any kind of step forward. Last year’s 30% strikeout rate and 38% hard-hit rate just weren’t very encouraging, though.

Beck opened the scoring in the ballgame with a two-out RBI single off of Dylan Cease in the top half of the first inning. He then swiped second base before being left stranded there. Beck also singled in the eighth inning and scored on a two-run double off the bat of Blaine Crim. With his two-hit night, the 24-year-old outfielder is now slashing .271/.331/.435 with 15 homers, 51 RBI and 17 stolen bases (in 25 attempts) over 541 plate appearances with the Rockies.