Arenado finally swinging bat well again

Third base prospect Nolan Arenado looking strong at plate

Rockies' top hitting prospect (following the 2011 season) Nolan Arenado has had to accept more failure in the batter's box this season than ever before in his pro career but it appears he's learning from mistakes.

Arenado is hitting .270 on the season and his RBI production and home run output are significantly less than 2011 in the hitter-friendly, High-A California League playing for Modesto. In July, Arenado was drowning, recording a .165 average.

However, the Double-A Tulsa third baseman is swinging a dangerous bat again and on a 17-for-36 tear (.472) and those hits are not all singles ("not there is anything wrong with that"), as he has six doubles and a home run.

While Arenado has dominated left-handed pitching (.356) he has looked poor against righthanders, hitting .241. His plate defense is acceptable (27 walks, 36 strikeouts) so he's making contact, just not effective contact resulting in hits.

Arenado is not ready for a major-league callup so hopefully the Rockies are smarter than that to make such a decision. 2013 is the optimistic ETA on his callup with 2014, the Rockies hope, being the latest that Arenado would be with the team based on merit.