Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story took the baseball world by storm in his rookie season. Known for his towering home runs, Story busted onto the scene as a rookie; however, his sophomore season has not started in the same fairytale manner.
With a batting average of just .143 entering Saturday’s game against San Francisco, Story has struggled immensely out of the gate in 2017. But, in Friday’s series-opening victory over the San Francisco Giants, Story smacked a pivotal grand slam in the fourth inning to help lead the Rockies to a 6-5 victory.
“It feels great,” Story said of the first grand slam of his professional career. “Especially the situation it happened in, to take the lead right there, it was pretty cool.”
The grand slam was a breakthrough for Story, one that could ultimately kick things into gear for him offensively in 2017. It was also the first of his career.
“I feel close,” Story said. “I’ve been working a lot, so I trust and believe in the work that I am putting in. Just making minor adjustments here,”
One of Story’s biggest problems has been his strikeout rate. Story is tied for second in the majors with 27 strikeouts. Currently, his strikeout percentage sits at 40 percent, meaning that 40 percent of his at-bats have resulted in a third strike. Story’s at-bat/strikeout ratio is 2.2.
“It looks like he’s seeing the ball really well. That’s what I like,” Rockies manager Bud Black said of Story’s at-bats this season. “We’ve talked a lot about seeing the ball, taking balls and swinging at strikes. Sort of fundamental, but when guys are anxious and want to hit, get their average up and contribute, a lot of times they end up doing a little bit too much. What happens there is the expansion of the zone, and that’s what Trev was doing for a lot of his at-bats this year.”
While the Rockies offense has sufficed so far, it has yet to produce the big numbers expected of it. The team that ranked second in all of baseball in runs scored last year is averaging just 3.53 per game this season – good for only 24th in the league.
Story is a huge component to Colorado’s lineup. Last season he was a catalyst that added a new dimension to Colorado’s offense. Story looks and feels good at the plate, leading him and the coaching staff to believe that it’s just a matter of time before he finds his stroke.
“Control the zone, take your walks if it’s in there,” Black said of what Story needs to do moving forward. “If he’s seeing the ball we are going to be fine.”
