SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Ryan McMahon is never too far from a good burrito, at least in his dreams, even when his team barnstorms the East Coast from road trip to road trip without a home. His Double-A Hartford Yard Goats last season never played a game in Hartford.

So his spring training base about a mile from the Rockies’ offseason headquarters in Arizona seems ideal.

“I’m about a block away,” McMahon said of his go-to burrito spot, close enough to build a five-day streak of burritos to start spring.

The Rockies’ prized corner-infield prospect, a second-round draft pick in 2013, has zig-zagged through the minor leagues, from third base to first, then both, first on a statistical hitting tear through Single-A, then a dip in Double-A.

And while McMahon suddenly found his path to the major leagues blocked, again, after the Rockies’ signed Ian Desmond to an expensive, long-term contract, he remains ever inching closer toward his potential.

“Here’s a fella who has a great skill set. He’s a very good all-around player,” Rockies first-year manager Bud Black said. “Boy, man, he has a chance to be a very productive player.”

On Thursday at Salt River Fields, McMahon, who turned 22 in December, flashed the power that made him one of the better boppers in Single-A two seasons ago, when he hit 18 home runs and batted .300 in 132 games with the Modesto Nuts. His .892 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) ranked fourth in the California League, behind only hitters with far fewer plate-appearances.

McMahon displayed pure power from the batting cage facing Rockies first-base coach Tony Diaz, who throws batting practice like he’s slinging a Frisbee, all elbow and no shoulder, along a flat plane. But McMahon’s home run ability stalled last season for Double-A Hartford. In the first two months, he hit just .239 with two home runs.

He tried to change things that didn’t need fixing, he said. He tweaked a swing that was fine in the first place. He was overthinking a simple concept.

“I was getting real stiff,” McMahon said. “I’m an athlete. Some guys hit stiff. I don’t. I have a rhythm. I need to get things going. That’s how I react better.”

In the final nine weeks of the season, McMahon righted himself, upping his average to .268 with nine home runs. In July, his OPS jumped to .907.

“Once you find it again, it’s like, ‘Wow, I was doing this wrong and that wrong,’ ” he said.

The Rockies drafted McMahon as a third baseman and paid him a $1.3 million singing bonus four years ago, expecting big things. Last season, with Nolan Arenado standing in his way at third base, the Rockies converted McMahon into a first baseman. Related Articles February 23, 2017 DJ LeMahieu, defending NL batting champ, likely batting second for Rockies in 2017

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Fielding groundballs basically remained the same, but what McMahon needed to learn in games was how to turn backward double plays and find his spots on cutoffs and pickoffs. He did learn, splitting time nearly equally between both corners. But just as his time to shine neared, Colorado signed Desmond, and now his path is blocked on two fronts.

The Rockies will continue playing him in two positions, probably in Double-A to start, possibly in Triple-A Albuquerque. It doubles his number of possible lanes to the majors. Anything to put him in closer proximity.

“Obviously we have some great players at those positions. So whatever I can do to help, I will,” McMahon said.

“We’re gonna make a push this year. Our team will be really good up in Denver. I just hope there’s some way I can help contribute, maybe make the team better some how, some way in September and for the playoffs.”

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