Dexter Fowler Update

Several people have asked me for a current opinion on Colorado Rockies outfielder Dexter Fowler. I did a "Not a Rookie" piece for Dexter Fowler back in February,  As I wrote back then, I expected his bat to be about the same this year and next year, maybe improve a little, but then take off in 2012.

In reality, he got off to a slow start with the Rockies, hitting just .204/.320/.299 in 49 games, 147 at-bats.  However, although the batting average was too low, he did have a good walk rate with 25 free passes, and his strikeouts (while higher than ideal at 39) were not that bad.  Sent down to Triple-A on May 31st, he hit .340/.435/.566 in 27 games for Colorado Springs. Much of his damage came in the friendly home park (.379/.478/.655 against .292/.382/.458 on the road),  but overall he played quite well. The main negative was just one stolen base in one attempt. The Rockies called him back up a couple of days ago, although given their outfield situation, playing time may be spotty unless he gets hot fast.

Several readers have asked me if my opinion about Fowler has changed. It hasn't, I still like him, he just needs to play. Keep in mind that the month he just spent in Triple-A was his only experience at that level:  he had one season of Double-A under his belt before spending last year in the majors. Despite his slow start this year, I still think he'll be a good player, he just needs more experience in my view. His BABIP for the Rockies this year was quite low at .271, and I think bad luck likely played a large factor in his slow start. It was .351 last year, which was in line with his minor league BABIP numbers.

As for the poor UZR rating with his defense last year, this year it's been much better, with 5.4 UZR/150 so far. . .yes, sample size, etc., but it is still good to see. Overall, I don't think there is anything wrong with Fowler that playing time won't fix.