The MLB season may have just begun but there are many players around the league that have already made a splash, and one in particular is named: Nolan Arenado.
The 24-year old third baseman for the Colorado Rockies made his Major League debut on April 28, 2013 and hasn’t looked back. He is the winner of two National League Gold Gloves (2013 and 2014) for his tremendous defensive skills at third base and 2015 looks like it will follow the same path for the 6’2 infielder from Lake Forest, California.
Arenado was drafted 59th overall in the second round of the 2009 MLB Draft after playing shortstop at El Toro High School where he played along with New York Yankees’ catcher Austin Romine. While at El Toro, Arenado was named a Los Angeles Times’ All-Star twice and maintained a .517 batting average and five homers in his senior season and was highly recruited before committing to play ball at Arizona State University.
But that all changed when he was drafted by the Rockies. That summer he played with the Rockies. That summer he played with Pioneer League (Rookie) with the Casper Ghosts where he hit .300. The following season he was promoted to the Class-A Asheville Tourists, continuing to impress with 41 doubles and a .308 batting average.
In 2011 and 2012 he represented the Colorado Rockies in the Future’s Game during the MLB All-Star festivities.
In 2013, he began the season with the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox. He only spent a few weeks with the Sky Sox before he was promoted to the Big Leagues. Although he was hitless in his MLB debut, in his second game he hit his first home run and shortly after hit his first Grand Slam off of David Price, when Price was a member of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Not only has the “Sharknado” (his nickname because of his ferocious defensive third base skills) won the National League Gold Glove Award twice, he was the first Rookie to win the coveted award since 1957.
On May 8th, 2014, he broke a Rockies’ franchise record for a 28 game hitting streak that was previously held by Michael Cuddyer during the 2013 season.
Nolan Arenado will no doubt have a bright future in the Major Leagues and so far it looks like he might help the Rockies get back on track and into Championship contention.
Bethany Cohen
Bethany is a Graduate of the University of South Florida and currently resides in Tampa. She is a die-hard Yankees' fan and has been a freelance writer for six years. She has covered the Yankees' Minor League System since 2010 and also does freelance work for Examiner.com and CBS Local Tampa Bay. Follow her on Twitter @TampaBethany
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