Arenado picks up where he left off

Nolan Arenado didn't waste any time making an impact in his Double-A debut.

The 2011 Minor League RBI king picked up where he left off last season, going 4-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs as Tulsa topped San Antonio, 7-2, in their Texas League opener.

Arenado, who was named the Rockies' top prospect and MLB.com's No. 22 prospect overall this offseason, singled in his first three at-bats and doubled in the eighth inning.

Shortstop Josh Rutledge, Colorado's No. 16 prospect, homered to lead off the game, and then Michael Mitchell doubled. After Mitchell stole third, Arenado singled in the second of the Drillers' four runs in the first.

With the score, 5-2, in the eighth, Arenado put the game out of reach with a bases-loaded one-out double that plated Lars Davis and Jimmy Cesario.

Arenado's Texas League debut displayed the kind of production he was routinely capable of last season. He led all of Minor League baseball with 122 RBIs and added 20 home runs for Modesto in the California League.

He also he hit .298, slugged .487 and went on to be named Most Valuable Player of the prospect-laden Arizona Fall League following the season.

The 2009 second-round pick drove in 65 runs in 92 games for Class A Asheville in the South Atlantic League in 2010. He's never hit below .298 in three seasons of Minor League play.

The third baseman, who turns 21 later this month, inspired enough confidence in the Rockies to invite him to Major League camp for Spring Training this season. But he struggled at the plate and was sent down by Colorado.