WASHINGTON — David Dahl is an outfielder with tantalizing talent and still untapped potential.
In manager Bud Black’s opinion, Dahl has made big strides this season, perhaps more than any other Rockies position player. That’s saying a lot.
But Dahl — despite his first All-Star Game selection, a .303 average, 13 home runs and a knack for big hits in big moments — considers himself a work in progress.
“I think I had a good first half, but I kind of slowed down right before the all-star break,” Dahl said Monday before the Rockies-Nationals game was postponed because of the threat of heavy rain. “I’ve been struggling a little bit lately, so I need to get it going.”
In June, Dahl batted .315 and smacked seven home runs, but this month, he’s hitting .224 with just one home run. Topping Dahl’s to-do list is making himself more competitive each time he goes to the plate.
“I feel like I’ve wasted a lot of at-bats and I think I need to improve my approach,” Dahl said. “I think I have done a good job with runners in scoring position, but there are some at-bats where I think, ‘How the hell is this dude an all-star?’ ”
Dahl is right about his ability to hit in the clutch. He’s batting .329 (27-for-82) with six home runs and 46 RBIs with runners in scoring position. But he’s also striking out 29.6 percent of the time.
Dahl admits he’s a harsh self-critic, but Black appreciates the candor.
“I like the honest evaluation,” Black said. “When you are getting upwards to 500 or 600 plate appearances (a season), and you can minimize (poor at-bats), and you have talent, it’s going to help everything.”
Howard’s end game. Former starter-turned-reliever Sam Howard was added to the roster Sunday, not simply because the Rockies needed to shore up their overtaxed bullpen, but because the southpaw appears to have taken his game to another level.
“Me and Manny (Triple-A pitching coach Brandon Emanuel) figured some things out on video,” Howard said. “Coming out of the bullpen was still new to me, and I had some habits I needed to break.
“I was coming off the rubber to quick, so we adjusted that. I was fighting command, but once we figured that out I started making strides. That led to some more confidence and a belief that I can go out there and attack anybody in the box — go right at them.”
Howard, 26, was 2-1 with a 3.83 ERA in 36 games for the Isotopes this season, allowing four homers, striking out 57 and walking 23.
“Watching and tracking Sam, I think there were some major strides over the last month,” Black said. “There are a lot of things that have started clicking for Sam. There was a little uptick in velocity, the slider consistency and quality was improving. The aggressiveness and the confidence — you could see some momentum there.”
On Deck
Monday’s game postponed due to rain
Rockies RHP Peter Lambert (2-1, 6.06 ERA) vs. Nationals RHP Stephen Strasburg (12-4, 3.52)
5:05 p.m. Tuesday, Nationals Park
TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM
German Marquez stopped the Rockies’ six-game slide Sunday. Now it’s up to Lambert, a raw rookie with just seven starts to his name, to keep some positive momentum going. He’s coming off a strong start against the Giants at Coors Field, allowing two runs on six hits across six innings without allowing a walk. Though Colorado lost 8-4 in 10 innings, it was a step forward for Lambert. Strasburg, who can opt out of his contract at the end of this season, has been pitching well, but it was his bat that made news in his last start. Strasburg had a three-run homer among his three hits and set a franchise record for a pitcher with five RBIs in Washington’s win over the Braves. Strasburg won his fifth consecutive start, even though he pitched only 5⅓ innings, allowing three runs on eight hits. He is 5-4 with a 4.07 ERA in 10 starts against Colorado.
Trending: The Rockies have had the Nats’ number of late, winning nine of their last 13 meetings. The Rockies have won seven of their last nine games at Nationals Park.
At issue: Rockies pitchers have not been very good fielders this season, and that needs to improve. Their fielding percentage is .947, 15th in the majors.
Pitching probables
Wednesday doubleheader: Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (2-7, 7.62 ERA) and RHP Jon Gray (9-7, 4.11) at Nationals Patrick Corbin (7-5, 3.40) and TBA (order to be determined)
Game 1, 11:05 p.m., ATTRM
Game 2, 5:05 p.m., ATTRM
Thursday: Rockies RHP Jeff Hoffman (1-3, 6.75 ERA) at Nationals’ TBA, 2:05 p.m., ATTRM
