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Rockies' delivery is speedy

Colorado acquires center fielder Taveras, two Astros pitchers for Jennings, Asencio

Jack Etkin, Rocky Mountain News

Published December 13, 2006 at midnight

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The plodding Rockies should be history next season. They should no longer resemble the 2006 team that rarely stole bases, did a poor job when attempting to do so, and hence had to rely excessively on sacrifice bunts.

Manager Clint Hurdle can anticipate a full season with center fielder Willy Taveras, acquired Tuesday in a five-player deal that sent pitcher Jason Jennings to Houston, and second baseman Kaz Matsui, who played the final five weeks of 2006 with the Rockies.

"I think it gives us the opportunity for the first time to have some dynamic speed at the top, some game-changing speed," Hurdle said. "We've been hard pressed to find it in one slot, let alone two. We're not exaggerating by any means saying these are two guys who are legitimate base stealers."

The Rockies were ninth in the National League with 85 stolen bases last season and first in sacrifice bunts (119) and were caught stealing (50) more than all but two NL teams.

Taveras, who turns 25 on Christmas, is a right-handed hitter who hit .278 with one homer and 30 RBI last year while going 33-for-42 in stolen-base attempts. Hurdle summed up Taveras' speed by saying, "Anything he hits in the infield that bounces twice he's got a chance to beat out."

The switch-hitting Matsui, who primarily plays against right-handed pitchers, was caught stealing once in 11 attempts and compiled a .392 on-base percentage.

That's an area where Taveras - .325 on-base percentage in 2005 and .333 last season - needs to improve.

"Hopefully, it will in our ballpark with the bigger gaps," general manager Dan O'Dowd said. "He still has to do some things to turn into more than an average player. We know that."

In the scouting parlance O'Dowd was using, "average" means "acceptable" and doesn't carry the connotations of, say, a "C" student. Nonetheless, the trade that brought Taveras and right-handed pitchers Jason Hirsh, 24, and Taylor Buchholz, 25, to the Rockies and sent Jennings and pitcher Miguel Asencio to Houston is expected to help Colorado next season and pay greater dividends the following years.

"This is the kind of deal the Minnesota Twins make," O'Dowd said. "This is the kind of deal the Oakland A's make. This is the kind of deal the Colorado Rockies have to make. It's a three-for-one deal. You fill multiple holes all with players you control at no (excessively large) dollars."

Taveras becomes arbitration eligible after 2007. Hirsh, with 51 days in the big leagues, will reach that threshold after 2009. Buchholz has 140 days in the big leagues and should get there after 2008.

Jennings, 28, will be a free agent after making $5.5 million next season, but the Rockies were unable to work out a two-year extension against the backdrop of the current market that has seen salaries soar.

"This is a trade we would've made whether Jennings was a free agent at the end of the year or signed for two more years," O'Dowd said. "We just got three young major league players . . . all solid average players right now and potentially they can be better down the road."

Hirsh, who is 6-foot-8 and 250 pounds, was named the Astros' top prospect by Baseball America after 2005 when he went 13-8 with a 2.87 ERA for Double-A Corpus Christi. He moved up to Triple-A Round Rock and went 13-2 with a 2.10 ERA before joining the Astros and going 3-4 with a 6.09 ERA in nine starts.

"He should be a future top-of-the-rotation type pitcher that's going to pitch a lot of innings," Hurdle said.

At the conclusion of the winter meetings last week, Taveras, Buchholz and Hirsh were reported to be headed to Chicago in a deal for White Sox starter Jon Garland. It's uncertain why that deal broke down, although there was some mention of the arthroscopic surgery on Buchholz's right shoulder.

O'Dowd said Buchholz underwent a minor procedure in 2004 to have his shoulder cleaned up and he checked out with the Rockies medical staff.

Hurdle said that Buchholz in spring training likely will compete for a job in the rotation. He throws a curveball with true top-to-bottom break that been compared to that of Minnesota closer Joe Nathan.

Rockies get

Willy Taveras, CF

• Age: 24.

• 2006: .278 average, 147 hits, 33 steals.

• Career: .284 average, 319 hits, 68 steals.

• Notable: Had 30-game hitting streak last season.

Taylor Buchholz, Pitcher

• Age: 25.

• 2006/ career: 6-10 record, 5.89 ERA.

• Notable: Struck out 77 batters in 113 innings during rookie season.

Jason Hirsh, Pitcher

• Age: 24.

• 2006/ career: 3-4, 6.04 ERA.

• Notable: Was 13-2 with a 2.10 ERA with Triple-A Round Rock before making major league debut.

Astros get

Jason Jennings, Pitcher

• Age: 28.

• 2006: 9-13, 3.78 ERA.

• Career: 58- 56, 4.74 ERA.

• Notable: Rockies' all-time leader in wins, innings (941) and starts (156) .

Miguel Asencio, Pitcher

• Age: 26.

• 2006: 1-0, 4.70 ERA.

• Career: 7-8, 5.12 ERA.

• Notable: 8-7 with a 5.03 ERA with Triple-A Colo- rado Springs last season.

What the Rockies like about Taveras

Speed

He has the potential to steal 40 to 60 bases in a season if the Rockies turn him loose on the bases. Four players tied for the team lead with 10 stolen bases last season.

Top of the order

Taveras is expected to bat leadoff and gives the Rockies a strong one-two punch with Kaz Matsui. His career on-base percentage of .329 should rise at Coors Field.

Defense

Taveras has the speed to run down balls in the outfield, and he brings the experience of having covered the vast center field at Houston's Minute Maid Park to Coors.