Troy Tulowitzki Takes First Post-Injury Batting Practice

One of the best players in baseball could be on his way back to the lineup in short order as Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki inches back from a broken rib. Tulowitzki took light batting practice on Thursday, and the early reports are that he could be back quickly from his nearly month-long injury.

Tulo hit the disabled list on June 14th with the aforementioned broken rib, and while the Rockies are still within 3 games of the NL West lead, they are in desperate need of their superstar shortstop. Prior to the injury, Tulowitzki was hitting a staggering .347/.413/.635 (for an OPS of 1.048) with 16 home runs, 41 runs, and 51 runs batted in during just 252 plate appearances this season. He is not quite that outstanding, but with a career OPS of .881, he’s the best hitting shortstop in all of baseball, and that’s a significant absence for the Rockies.

Rumors of a pre-All Star break return are likely insane, simply because Colorado has no incentive to bring him back with an extra 3-day buffer zone, but if he can return following the break, that would be huge for the Rockies. It remains to be seen whether Tulowitzki can stay off of the DL once he returns (he has a now-documented history of injury concern), but for as long as he is playing, he’ll be a monster.