They're back: Desi and Cargo Are Stars of Rockies July Show

In the opening weeks of the season, when the Rockies were struggling through an inconsistent time, Ian Desmond and Carlos Gonzalez drew the brunt of the criticism from certain segments of the media and the fan base. 

Rockies manager Bud Black preached patience.

There is, as the late-Jim Fregosi would often say, a reason the back of their baseball cards were cluttered with numbers -- because they had a track record for producing runs.

And there were issues both players had to deal with. Desmond had made some adjustements in his approach at the plate in search of increasing his power, and Gonzalez was among the free agents sitting at home without a contract when spring training started, finally coming to agreement with the Rockies but not until the exhibition season was underway.

There were two reasons for a belief that both Desmond and Gonzalez would be just fine.

For one, they both remained strong factors in the clubhouse. They weren't feeling sorry for themselves. They were making sure their teammates kept a focus on the job at hand.

The other, is they both had a history of being big-time performers.

History has become reality.

The Rockies are enjoying the best July in the National League, they find themselves just two games back of the NL West-leading Dodgers, and a half-game back of the Diamondbacks in the bid for the second NL wild-card spot.

And while they have been overshadowed by Nolan Arenado taking over the NL lead in home runs, and a pitching staff that has the second lowest ERA in MLB for the month of July, Desmond and Gonzalez have played critical parts in the Rockies resurgence.

It's been a step-by-step ascension, but both have shown steady improvement each month of the season.

On the Upswing

Gonzalez
Monthly	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
Mar/Apr	21	73	69	8	17	2	1	3	11	3	17	.246
May	19	67	60	4	16	2	0	2	8	6	17	.267
June	24	92	84	18	24	7	1	2	10	8	22	.286
July	19	77	73	19	26	9	0	5	16	3	14	.356
Desmond
Monthly	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
Mar/Apr	29	109	101	10	18	4	0	4	13	5	27	.154
May	25	101	93	14	20	4	1	5	15	6	27	.215
June	27	106	88	20	23	1	1	8	19	17	32	.261
July	20	82	78	11	26	3	3	2	12	4	15	.333

With the revival of Gonzalez and Desomond, the Rockies have six players hitting better than .290 in the month of July -- leaving one outfield position and catcher as the only missing ingredients in the staring lineup. Recent call up. Tom Murphy leads catchers at .240.Gerardo Parra, the third starting outfielder, has hit .216 in July.

Celebrate the 4th

Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	AVG
Charlie Blackmon	20	80	18	29	8	0	6	12	.363
Carlos Gonzalez	19	73	19	26	9	0	5	16	.356
Trevor Story	19	72	7	25	6	1	4	10	.347
Ian Desmond	20	78	11	26	3	3	2	12	.333
Nolan Arenado	20	75	15	24	4	0	7	18	.320
DJ LeMahieu	13	55	10	16	6	0	0	4	.291
Tom Murphy	12	25	2	6	2	1	1	3	.240
Pat Valaika	9	21	3	5	0	0	1	2	.238
Garrett Hampson	6	17	1	4	1	1	0	2	.235
Raimel Tapia	14	18	4	4	2	0	1	5	.222
Gerardo Parra	19	51	8	11	2	0	0	5	.216
Tony Wolters	7	21	4	4	0	3	0	7	.190
Noel Cuevas	12	27	3	5	0	0	1	3	.185
Chris Iannetta	12	33	2	4	0	0	1	2	.121

Five of the Rockies are among the top 23 in the NL in batting average for July. Charlie Blackmon is seventh in the NL, but leads the team. Carlos Gonzalez is ninth in the NL, Trevor Story 11th, and Desmond is 14th, and Arenado is 23nd.

Player	Team	AVG
Jesse Winker	Cin	.442
Christian Yelich	Mil	.402
Corey Dickerson	Pit	.400
Yasmani Grandal	LAD	.390
Jose Peraza	Cin	.368
Starling Marte	Pit	.364
Charlie Blackmon	Col	.363
David Freese	Pit	.362
Carlos Gonzalez	Col	.356
Yadier Molina	StL	.355
Trevor Story	Col	.347
Lorenzo Cain	Mil	.338
Daniel Murphy	Was	.338
Ian Desmond	Col	.333
Javier Baez	ChC	.330
J.T. Realmuto	Mia	.329
Josh Bell	Pit	.329
Adam Eaton	Was	.329
Yairo Munoz	StL	.327
Daniel Descalso	Ari	.324
Paul Goldschmidt	Ari	.322
Austin Hedges	SD	.321
Nolan Arenado	Col	.320

As a team, the Rockies lead the NL -- and are tied with the Yankees for the MLB lead -- in average during July. They have hit .283 while the Dodgers, second among NL West teams, are hitting .266 followed by the Diamondbacks (.261) and and the Padres (.225) are 14th among the 15 NL teams.

Swing of Things

Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	AVG
Rockies	20	683	109	193	43	9	30	104	.283
Pirates	24	813	122	227	44	8	34	118	.279
Cardinals	23	798	121	215	42	3	28	118	.269
Cubs	23	791	113	212	43	2	22	107	.268
Dodgers	23	804	123	214	44	4	32	114	.266
Nationals	23	807	115	213	28	5	30	112	.264
D-backs	23	808	115	211	48	6	18	108	.261
Reds	22	757	114	197	40	2	24	108	.260
Marlins	22	780	96	201	24	3	20	89	.258
Brewers	25	850	107	210	33	7	26	103	.247
Braves	20	682	78	167	40	3	17	76	.245
Phillies	23	810	110	192	30	4	32	108	.237
Giants	22	757	77	174	39	2	12	69	.23
Padres	22	756	80	170	30	3	22	74	.225
Mets	22	711	92	156	34	4	20	84	.219

Given the Rockies not only lead the NL with a 15-5 record in July, but they have a 3.19 ERA (second lowesst in the NL) it's no surprise they have a chance to be a critical part of the NL West race down the stretch. 

Armed and Ready

Team	W	L	Pct	SvOP	ERA
Rockies	15	5	.75o	8-10	3.19
Dodgers	16	7	.696	12-13	2.96
Pirates	16	8	.667	8-9	4.37
Cubs	14	9	.609	9-11	4.63
Phillies	14	9	.609	7-8	3.41
Reds	12	10	.545	7-12	4.90
Brewers	13	12	.520	8-12	3.79
Marlins	11	11	.500	4-9	5.11
Yankees	11	11	.500	6-7	4.13
D-backs	11	12	.478	5-11	4.34
Cardinals	11	12	.478	6-9	4.57
Nationals	10	13	.435	3-4	4.41
Giants	8	14	.364	3-8	4.05
Braves	7	13	.350	3-3	4.94
Padres	5	17	.227	2-3	5.73