- Draft Prep Tiers: C | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | OF | SP | RP
- Heath's Sleepers | Breakouts | Busts
- Scott's Top 100 prospects | Sleepers | Breakouts | Busts | Dynasty Top 100
One idea that has proven to be true during the Rockies' 25-year existence: When they pitch -- even just a little -- they go places.
Because you know in that environment (the closest we've come so far to baseball on the moon), the offense will be there. Even in the aftermath of Troy Tulowitzki, the Rockies have uncovered two first round-caliber bats in Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon, who has continually raised his ceiling to the point he was the honest-to-goodness best hitter in Fantasy last year.
And now they have two mixed league-caliber pitchers in Jon Gray, who has the kind of bowl-you-over stuff needed to thrive in an impossible environment, and German Marquez, who came on late with a high-90s fastball and plus curve. And while others like Kyle Freeland and Tyler Anderson likely won't amount to much in Fantasy, they're suited for their environment, thriving on weak contact to put the Rockies' staff in the middle of the pack last year.
They return mostly intact, having shed redundancies in the form of Carlos Gonzalez (yes, that's all he was in the end) and Mark Reynolds and swapped out one former Royals closer (Greg Holland) for another (Wade Davis). They also have a few more intriguing hitters on the horizon.
| Player | Roto Rank | H2H Rank | Roto Pos Rank | H2H Pos Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Nolan Arenado
COL 3B
| #3 | #3 | #1 | #1 |
Charlie Blackmon
COL CF
| #5 | #5 | #3 | #3 |
DJ LeMahieu
COL 2B
| #101 | #112 | #10 | #10 |
Wade Davis
COL RP
| #106 | #125 | #9 | #9 |
Trevor Story
COL SS
| #132 | #164 | #11 | #12 |
Jon Gray
COL SP
| #154 | #133 | #41 | #41 |
Ian Desmond
COL LF
| #172 | #250 | #44 (at OF) | #57 (at OF) |
David Dahl
COL LF
| #252 | #255 | #63 | #61 |
Ryan McMahon
COL 3B
| #287 | NR | #31 | #31 |
German Marquez
COL SP
| NR | #277 | #87 | #92 |
Players in Scott's Top 100 Prospects
| 10 | Brendan Rodgers |
| After hitting .387 in 51 games at high Class A Lancaster of the hitter-friendly California League, Rodgers hit just .260 in 38 games at Double-A Hartford, hardly walking at either stop. He has moved fast, though, and gets every benefit of the doubt as a shortstop projected to play half his games at Coors Field, perhaps as soon as 2019. Scott's 2018 Fantasy impact: cup of coffee | |
| 20 | Ryan McMahon |
| After a roller coaster ride through the prospect rankings the last two years, McMahon appears to be ending on a high note, having cut way down on his strikeouts while continuing to improve as a power hitter. A natural third baseman, he obviously isn't breaking through there, but he also played some second in 2017. Scott's 2018 Fantasy impact: midseason hopeful | |
Things to Know
- I mentioned redundancies. Assuming the Rockies don't bring back Gonzalez or Reynolds (which would be a shame with some of the young hitters they'd be blocking), they still have a number of them precisely because of their young hitters. One with no place to play is Raimel Tapia, who got a taste of the majors last year and has the kind of bat-on-ball skills that could translate to much more at Coors Field, and he's just the tip of the iceberg.
- Remember David Dahl? The trendy breakout pick of a year ago ended up playing in only 19 games -- all in the minors -- because of a stress reaction in his rib cage, but he has a clean bill of health heading into spring training. As things stand now, the final lineup spot figures come down to him and Ryan McMahon, who hit .355 with a .986 OPS between two minor-league stops last year, and the hope is the other bumps light-hitting Gerardo Parra out of the lineup at some point.
- Or maybe bumps Ian Desmond out? With four years remaining on his contract, the hope is Desmond has the sort of redemptive season he enjoyed with the Rangers in 2016 -- the one that scored him that contract in the first place -- and his stolen base potential makes him worth drafting in Rotisserie leagues for that reason. But his outrageously high ground-ball rate, if it continues, won't allow him to take advantage of the thin air of Coors Field and is obvious cause for concern.
Lineup & Rotation
| Batting order | ||
| 1 | Charlie Blackmon | CF |
| 2 | DJ LeMahieu | 2B |
| 3 | Nolan Arenado | 3B |
| 4 | Gerardo Parra | RF |
| 5 | Trevor Story | SS |
| 6 | Ian Desmond | LF |
| 7 | Ryan McMahon | 1B |
| 8 | Chris Iannetta | C |
| Pitchers | ||
| SP | Jon Gray | |
| SP | Kyle Freeland | |
| SP | German Marquez | |
| SP | Tyler Anderson | |
| SP | Chad Bettis | |
| CL | Wade Davis | |
| RP | Jake McGee | |
| RP | Bryan Shaw | |
