Can Cuevas be catalyst Colorado sorely needs?
After eight-plus seasons in the minors, Noel Cuevas is intent on making the most of his first bigleague opportunity — even if that means establishing himself as a dependable role player before he can see regular time in the crowded Rockies outfield.
“I’ve always been an everyday guy in the minors and winter ball, so this role is new for me,” Cuevas, 26, said. “But the more I do it and the more I’m successful at pinchhitting and coming off the bench — by success, I mean getting good atbats and feeling like when I come in to pinch-hit, it’s not my first A.B. of the game — the more my confidence builds that I’ll be here to stay.”
Cuevas is swinging like he belongs in the majors since being called-up from Triple-A Albuquerque on April 22, hitting .357 in the small sample size of 28 at-bats.
He’s also riding a five-game hitting streak that was extended with a fist-o-cuffs Texas-leaguer on a 2-2 slider that fell into shallow right field for a pinch hit in the fifth inning of Colorado’s 8-0 loss to the Angels on Wednesday at Coors Field.
In that blowout, Cuevas’ hit was
the lone knock produced by the bottom half of the Colorado lineup — and an anemic, 14-strikeout performance again raises the question of if, and how, Cuevas can step into the much-needed role of dark-horse catalyst for an offense that ranks in the bottom third in the National League with a .228 batting average.
According to manager Bud Black, Cuevas will continue to see time in Colorado’s outfield, which has largely been by committee at the corner spots so far this season.
“We’ll get these guys in there based off a number of factors that make sense for our team,” Black said. “CarGo’s going to play, just like (Gerardo) Parra’s going to play, (Charlie) Blackmon’s going to play, Cuevas is going to play and (David) Dahl is going to play. They’re all going to play.”
The progression of Dahl, also off to a solid start this season with a .304 average in 46 at-bats since being called up from the Isotopes the same day as Cuevas, will likely limit his opportunities to earn a starting job.
But Cuevas, citing his offseason experience for seven years in his native Puerto Rico and this past winter in Mexico, where he played because the Puerto Rican season was canceled due to Hurricane Maria, believes his success will come not from starts, stats or hitting streaks but rather game-altering plays.
“Now that I’m in the big leagues, I understand what I learned in winter ball because the atmosphere is basically the same, just on a much larger scale here,” Cuevas said. “We play to win each day there — it’s not about development. If you go 4-for-4 and you’re happy and your team loses — that happens in the minors. Winter ball and the big leagues are similar, because you can go 0-for-4 and make a diving catch to save the game, and you are the hero.”
While Cuevas’ pinch-hit single didn’t do anything to jump-start Colorado on Wednesday, he’s already established a routine he believes will keep him as a top contributor off the bench for the immediate future.
On days when he’s not in the lineup, Cuevas keeps a watchful eye on who’s warming up in the opposing bullpen, theorizing potential pinch-hit situations. Once those relievers make themselves known, Cuevas makes a bee-line for the film room to scout them before getting his bat warm in the cage.
He stays ready, always, for the next chance to cement himself as a Coors Field regular following a long road to the big leagues.
“(Doubt) crept in many times in my journey,” Cuevas said. “I was a 21st-rounder (by the Dodgers in 2010), so I didn’t necessarily get the opportunities that the first-rounders got. Everything that I have, I had to earn, and that’s something that obviously today I can say helped me value this chance, and appreciate it more.”