Jeff

Baker

Vinny Castilla is the starter in Denver, but in talking about Baker’s combination of power and soft hands, one Colorado coach compared him to Buddy Bell. If Baker ascends through the system, a trade of Garrett Atkins would become a good possibility.

Baker, a fourth-round pick in 2002, had surgery on the wrist in Feburary. He was batting .289 with 6 HR in 53 games for Single-A Asheville.

Baker will be up to join the Rockies as soon as Colorado Springs’ season ends. He’ll probably get some starts in right field against left-handers, pushing Ryan Spilborghs to center on occasion and resulting in less playing time for Choo Freeman.

“We are going to get him involved and get him some at-bats and not just against left-handers,” manager Clint Hurdle said. Brad Hawpe will continue to get most of the starts, but he will sit on occasion to make room for Baker.

LaHair has been sidelined in recent days due to back stiffness. It’s not clear who would start at first base if he isn’t ready, but Jeff Baker is one possibility. Tony Campana will remain with the team in case LaHair needs to be placed on the disabled list.

Battling the flu, Baker has appeared in only one other game since April 23. He is batting only .231 in limited action, while fellow first baseman Bryan LaHair is batting .388 with eight home runs. Baker will continue to help out where needed, but is not likely to contribute significantly going forward.

“I’m going to get Baker in there as much as possible,” Sveum said. “He swings the bat too good against left-handers to get him out of there. You try to get [Bryan] LaHair at-bats and get him accustomed, but [LaHair] didn’t swing too well against left-handers in Spring Training. I’ve got to get Baker’s bat in there as much as I possibly can.” It’s not a bad strategy given that Baker is a career .309/.360/.525 hitter against lefties. But, it hurts the sleeper appeal a bit of LaHair, who is off to a great start.

Baker is dealing with the same bug as Matt Garza and is actually feeling worse than the right-hander. Consider him day-to-day, but it sounds like he’ll be off limits Sunday.

LaHair is expected to return to the lineup Sunday. Jeff Baker will start at first base in his absence.

LaHair came down with a bit of back stiffness near the end of spring training and the Cubs didn’t want to throw him out there at less than 100 percent. Jeff Baker will start at first base against Stephen Strasburg.