Although Colorado’s Pat Valaika is still working his way into being a consistent player for the Rockies, manager Buddy Black decided to give him a shot on Thursday as he takes on the Nationals from left field, a spot he’s never started in before at the Major League level.
But based on Valaika’s skills and work ethic on and off the field, Black said he’s not concerned that he’ll succeed.
“Athlete,” Black said. “These are the things where you’re sort of excited about it. You cross your fingers a little bit because he’s never played it. You feel good about the player—the head, the athlete. We’ve seen the work, even going back to spring training. He’s taken some balls and it’s not like a game, so we’ll see.”
After being called up from Triple-A nine days prior, Valaika’s already putting in the work, appearing in four games and knocking two hits and two runs off of six at-bats.
Last season, the 24-year-old got the call up to the bigs in early September and has since relied on his ability to play a variety of positions to help bolster Colorado’s offense and defense. He appeared in 13 contests last season, contributing five hits, three runs, two RBIs and a homer.
Based on his short-lived success from the previous season the work he’s put in throughout the spring and early 2017 games, Black said he’s comfortable in Valaika’s ability to get the job done.
“I’m not worried at all about him handling this because he’s a confident player,” Black said. “He’s got, I think, a mental approach to how he plays baseball that this doesn’t worry me. If there’s a chance and if the game dictates it in the right spots in the order and those sorts of things in the score, we might defend for him.”
