Rockies' Randal Grichuk: Sleeper hitters for Week 11 (June 5-11)
Rotowire
The Rockies are at home this week, where Randal Grichuk hit .307 with an .851 OPS last year, and are facing four lefties, against whom he hit .308 with a .926. He's been delivering regardless of the circumstances so far this year, batting around .350 for the month he's been active.
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Rockies' Randal Grichuk: Heads to bench Sunday
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Grichuk is out of the lineup for Sunday's game at Kansas City.
Grichuk started seven of Colorado's last eight games and will receive a day off after he posted an .870 OPS during that stretch. Nolan Jones will start in right field and bat fifth Sunday.
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Rockies' Randal Grichuk: Not in lineup Thursday
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Grichuk is not in the lineup Thursday against the Diamondbacks.
Jurickson Profar, Brenton Doyle and Nolan Jones will start across the outfield versus the Diamondbacks and right-hander Zach Davies. Charlie Blackmon (bereavement) is back in the DH role. Grichuk has delivered a robust .351/.410/.489 batting line in 25 games since returning April 29 from offseason hernia surgery, though he's slugged only one home run to date.
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Rockies' Randal Grichuk: Keeps bat warm
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Grichuk went 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI in Sunday's 11-10 win over the Mets.
Grichuk has multiple hits in six of his last 11 games, though he's also gone hitless four times in that span. The outfielder has displayed good contact skills with a .366/.424/.512 slash line, 18.5 percent strikeout rate and 8.7 percent walk rate through 92 plate appearances. He's yet to show much over-the-fence power with one home run and nine doubles through 22 contests, and he's added nine RBI, 15 runs scored and a stolen base.
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Rockies' Randal Grichuk: On bench Friday
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Grichuk is absent from the lineup Friday against the Mets.
The left-handed hitting Harold Castro will start in center field and bat sixth versus ace right-hander Max Scherzer. Grichuk gets a breather after going 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored in Thursday's win over the Marlins.
When Grichuk got traded to the Rockies, we were pretty excited. The biggest hole in Grichuk's game has long been batting average, and Coors Field's biggest impact is still the boost it gives to batting average on balls in play. We didn't see it last season, as he hit just .259, but Grichuk has been tremendous in the early going so far, hitting .342 through his first 19 games so far this season. That's come with just one home run, but given his 92.1 mph average exit velocity and 46.3% hard-hit rate – both his best marks since 2015 – and his career-best 19.5% strikeout rate, it's not unreasonable to think he might be on the verge of breaking out. Grichuk isn't going to win a batting title, or anything, but the way he's hitting right now makes him an intriguing add, and a start when the Rockies are at home.
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Rockies' Randal Grichuk: Three more hits in win
Rotowire
Grichuk went 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored in Thursday's victory over the Marlins.
Grichuk has four multi-hit games in his last eight contests. While he hasn't hit for much power yet, the 31-year-old outfielder has been making solid contact, slashing .342/.402/.466 with a homer and seven RBI in 82 plate appearances. While his batting average will almost certainly regress, Grichuk should see an uptick in power while receiving regular at-bats in the middle of Colorado's lineup.
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Rockies' Randal Grichuk: Sitting in favor of Doyle
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Grichuk is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Reds, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.
Grichuk finds himself as the odd man out of a crowded Colorado outfield for the second time in four days, with rookie Brenton Doyle's hot run at the plate having earned the latter a look in a near-everyday role in center field. Manager Bud Black will still likely look to rest Doyle, Charlie Blackmon, Kris Bryant and Jurickson Profar around once per week, so Grichuk should still continue to get a handful of starts per week while rotating between any of the three outfield spots and designated hitter.
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Rockies' Randal Grichuk: Gets breather Sunday
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Grichuk is out of the lineup Sunday against the Phillies.
Grichuk will give way to Brenton Doyle in the outfield for the series finale in what appears to be a routine maintenance day. Since being reinstated from the 10-day injured list April 29, Grichuk has slashed .349/.417/.512 with a home run and a stolen base over his first 11 games of the season.
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Rockies' Randal Grichuk: Taking seat Monday
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Grichuk is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Pirates.
Grichuk will cede his spot in the outfield to hot-hitting rookie Brenton Doyle in the series opener, but the former still looks to be fairly secure in a near-everyday role. Since returning from a season-opening stint on the injured list April 29, Grichuk has posted a 1.077 OPS across 31 plate appearances.
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Rockies' Randal Grichuk: Hits solo blast in first
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Grichuk went 1-for-5 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Sunday's 13-6 win over the Mets.
Since making his season debut in late April, Grichuk has hit safely in seven straight games and smoked his first home run of the year Sunday. Last year, his first with Colorado, Grichuk slashed .259/.299/.425 with 19 homers and 73 RBI across 141 games.
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Rockies' Randal Grichuk: Not in lineup Thursday
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Grichuk is not in the lineup Thursday versus the Brewers.
Grichuk has produced a robust .500/.563/.643 batting line in 16 plate appearances since returning last week from offseason hernia surgery, but he'll grab a day of rest as the Rockies finish out their three-game set with Milwaukee. Jurickson Profar, Brenton Doyle and Kris Bryant are starting across the outfield.
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Rockies' Randal Grichuk: Possible waiver wire pickups
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His start of the season delayed by hernia surgery, Randal Grichuk finally kicked it off with back-to-back two-hit games over the weekend, doubling twice. His first season in Colorado was underwhelming, resulting in numbers not unlike he delivered in Toronto, but he did learn to take advantage of Coors Field, batting .307 with an .851 OPS there. He's in line for plenty of playing time, and the outfield scene is still dire enough that he's worth rostering in five-outfielder leagues. If nothing else, you can use him when the Rockies are at home, and it still wouldn't be surprising, given that favorable environment, if he delivered career-best numbers at age 31.
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Rockies' Randal Grichuk: Pair of hits in season debut
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Grichuk went 2-for-4 Saturday against the Diamondbacks.
Grichuk made his season debut after returning from sports hernia surgery. He batted sixth in the lineup while playing left field, and he should maintain an everyday role in the Rockies' outfield. Grichuk struggled in his first full season in Colorado in 2022, as he managed just an 88 wRC+ and .315 wOBA across 538 plate appearances.
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Rockies' Randal Grichuk: Returns Saturday
Rotowire
Grichuk (groin) was activated from the 10-day injured list Saturday.
The initial timetable on Grichuk's return from offseason bilateral sports hernia surgery was mid-April, so Grichuk will make his return about a week later than originally expected, but still in the first month of the season. He should assume a near-everyday role in the outfield, which will cut into the playing time of Yonathan Daza (hand) and Charlie Blackmon.
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Rockies' Randal Grichuk: Activation from IL imminent
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Grichuk (groin) said Friday that he is healthy and ready to be activated from the injured list, Danielle Allentuck of The Denver Gazette reports.
It sounds like Grichuk will indeed come off the IL at some point during the Rockies' three-game weekend series against the visiting Diamondbacks, even though his eight-game minor-league rehab assignment has gone quite poorly. He's slashed just .091/.167/.121 across 36 plate appearances during his time with Triple-A Albuquerque. The 31-year-old outfielder has missed the first four weeks of the 2023 major-league season while recovering from February hernia surgery.
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Rockies' Randal Grichuk: More rehab games before evaluation
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Rockies manager Bud Black told reporters Friday that Grichuk (groin) will play in three more rehab games with Triple-A Albuquerque over the weekend before returning to Colorado to be evaluated, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports. "He's feeling good; he's tracking towards a return," Black said.
Grichuk has yet to play in 2023 while recovering from offseason bilateral sports hernia surgery. The outfielder has struggled over his first two games with Triple-A Albuquerque, going 1-for-8, but the stats really don't matter on a rehab assignment like this. Assuming his healthy checks out, there's a good chance Grichuk returns to the Colorado lineup before the end of April.
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Rockies' Randal Grichuk: Begins rehab assignment
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Grichuk (groin) reported to Triple-A Albuquerque on Sunday to start a rehab assignment, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.
Grichuk missed spring training and started the season on the injured list after he underwent bilateral sports hernia surgery in February, The veteran outfielder will require some time to build up in the minors before joining the Rockies, but he could still join the big club by the end of April.
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Rockies' Randal Grichuk: Return not yet imminent
Rotowire
Rockies manager Bud Black said Wednesday that Grichuk (groin) had a couple of hits in an extended spring training game Tuesday and could be 2-to-3 weeks away from returning from the 10-day injured list, Patrick Lyons of TheDNVR.com reports.
Grichuk opened the season on the IL after undergoing bilateral sports hernia surgery in February. The outfielder wasn't able to play in the Cactus League, so he'll likely need a lengthy rehab before he's able to rejoin the Colorado lineup. Based on Black's timeline, that could happen before the end of April.
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Rockies' Randal Grichuk: Taking part in full activities
Rotowire
Rockies manager Bud Black said Saturday that Grichuk (groin) is taking part in hitting, running and fielding work at the team's spring training complex in Arizona without issue, MLB.com reports.
Grichuk has yet to resume playing in simulated games at the complex in Arizona or a minor-league affiliate, however, and until he does, his return from the 10-day injured list shouldn't be viewed as imminent. The 31-year-old opened the season on the shelf after he underwent bilateral sports hernia surgery in February, resulting in him sitting out the Rockies' entire Cactus League slate. He'll likely need multiple simulated games or minor-league rehab games to get his timing back at the plate before Colorado gives him the green light to come off the IL. Once activated, Grichuk could supplant Yonathan Daza as the team's primary center fielder.
