Rockies’ Baker: A player without a home
| July 5, 2009 | 6:46 PM
More journal entries from Steve Foster »
After the 2004 season, the Colorado Rockies had a dilemma. Vinny Castilla had completed a triumphant hurrah in Denver, but with three third base prospects lined up in the minor leagues, the Rockies had no intention of re-signing Castilla.
Garrett Atkins, after a poor audition in 2003, was ready to take over the starting job after a solid 2004 in the minors and majors.
Ian Stewart, the first high-school position player ever drafted in the first by the Rockies, was destined to be the team’s third baseman of the future.
Between them was Jeff Baker, a rarity in the Rockies’ system: a draft pick given a major league contract right out of college. But years of minor injuries had marred Baker’s prospect status. Still many suspected Baker, who was traded Thursday to the Chicago Cubs for a pitching prospect, might be the real star of the three. Instead, his Rockies career developed just as it looked back them: caught in the middle.
While Atkins settled into the job and Stewart struggled to meet his expectations, Baker arrived on the scene a year later with nowhere to play. He was converted to a utility player, and began seeing time at first base, second base and the outfield. But everywhere he was blocked: in left field by Matt Holliday; in right field by Brad Hawpe; at first base by Todd Helton. Where he had the best shot — second base — he found himself competing with Clint Barmes, another Rockie pushed out of his original position by a prospect, and once again Stewart, who like Baker was having trouble finding a place in the lineup.
The trade of Baker, who has spent much of this season on the disabled list, was long overdue. The Rockies never really had a place for him and may have stunted his development — as well as that of Barmes and Stewart — by trying to squeeze him into roles for which he wasn’t suited. That the Rockies were still dealing with all three parts of the Atkins-Baker-Stewart dilemma five years after it first started reflects a tentativeness of the Rockies’ part to use their occasional wealth of prospects to fill other holes in their lineup.
Journals, Sports, Steve Foster
colorado rockies, garrett atkins, ian stewart, jeff baker
