GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Here is a sobering statistic: Since 2000, the Rockies have had 12 different second basemen take the field on opening day.

The last Rockie to start consecutive opening days at second base? Mike Lansing, in 1999 and 2000.

Josh Rutledge wants to be the guy who stops that revolving door. He plans to be the guy who teams with shortstop Troy Tulowitzki to give the Rockies an airtight defense up the middle, replete with sparkling double plays. He thinks he can provide power near the top of the order.

In short, the polite, softspoken 23-year-old from Alabama believes in himself and believes he’s the long-term answer at second base.

The stats say Rutledge is mired in a slump. He entered Friday night’s game against the Reds hitting only .222, including five strikeouts in 27 Cactus League at-bats. After his stunning big-league splash last season — a .345 average with 24 extra-base hits in his first 145 at-bats — he hit only .197 with just nine extra-base hits over his final 132 at-bats.

Rutledge said he’s not worried.

“During a season, you are going to have three or four times, at a minimum, where you go through a drought,” he said. “The thing is, you have to stay with your same approach. You just have to trust what you do before the game to prepare and just let that take over.

“That’s what I’m trying to do this spring, not really worrying about the results, just worry about getting my timing down and finding my swing.”

Rutledge and Tulo already have turned pretty double plays. Rutledge sees it as the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

“I think we are already ahead, at least in my opinion, on where I thought we would be at this point,” Rutledge said. “It’s been good for both of us.”

Traveling man. Todd Helton usually doesn’t do spring training road trips. But he made the hour-long drive from Scottsdale to Goodyear on Friday so he could get more playing time — and test his bat against big-league pitching.

Helton went 4-for-4 with an opposite-field homer against Arizona minor-league pitchers in a game Thursday.

“I can still rake Double-A pitching pretty good,” Helton quipped.

All joking aside, the 39-year-old Helton is in a good place.

“I’m seeing the ball well. I’m using my hands well,” he said.

A week ago, Helton woke up with a sore left knee after playing in night game against the Royals. Last November, he had surgery to repair torn meniscus in that knee.

“It’s getting better,” he said. “I was worried for a day, but I feel good now.”

Friedrich update. Left-hander Christian Friedrich, coming back from a sore lower back, will pitch in a game Monday. The plan is for him to throw two innings, but he doesn’t know whether it will be a big-league or minor-league game.

“Throwing to the mitt only gets you so far,” said Friedrich, who threw live batting practice Thursday. “It helps you find your command, but there’s nothing like throwing in a live game.”

Friedrich has been working on a changeup to complement his two-seam fastball.

Footnotes. Outfielder Charlie Blackmon, out since March 1 with an infected knee, got seven at-bats in a game Thursday against Arizona’s Triple-A squad, going 1-for-6 with a walk. Late last spring, he was sidelined by a painful turf toe injury that likely cost him a roster spot. “The luck’s been pretty terrible, but I think I’m better for it,” he said. “I have had to overcome some things that not everybody gets to overcome.” … Reliever Edgmer Escalona, who was struck in the face by a groundball during a simulated game Tuesday at Salt River Fields, has fully recovered, Rockies trainer Keith Dugger said.

Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428, psaunders@denverpost.com or twitter.com/psaundersdp