The Colorado Rockies in 2017 reeled off 87 wins and in doing so secured just the fourth postseason berth in franchise history. That trip to the postseason was short-lived, as they fell to the Diamondbacks in the NL Wild Card Game. It was, however, a much-needed renaissance for a club that had endured six straight losing seasons coming into 2017. Can the duo of Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon line the Rockies up for another trip to the playoffs in the season to come? Let's dig in ... 

The vitals

2017 record: 87-75, third place in NL West (plus-67 run differential)
2018 depth chart: Click here
2018 schedule: Click here
2018 Fantasy outlook: Click here

Probable lineup

  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

Probable bench: Raimel Tapia, OF; Michael Tauchman, OF; Pat Valaika, INF/OF; Tony Wolters, C

Probable rotation

  1. Jon Gray, RHP
  2. Chad Bettis, RHP
  3. Tyler Anderson, LHP
  4. German Marquez, RHP
  5. Kyle Freeland, LHP

Probable bullpen

Closer: Wade Davis, RHP
Set-up: Bryan Shaw, RHP; Jake McGee, LHP
Middle relief: Adam Ottavino, RHP; Mike Dunn, LHP; Chris Rusin, LHP, Scott Oberg, RHP
Long relief: Zac Rosscup, LHP

The amped-up bullpen

This winter, the Rockies lost reliever Pat Neshek to free agency (after acquiring him at leading up to last year's non-waiver trade deadline), and presumably closer Greg Holland is going to ink elsewhere at some point. However, GM Jeff Bridich replaced those losses and then some. Since the offseason began the Rockies have ... 

  • Signed closer Wade Davis to a three-year, $52 million contract.
  • Signed right-handed setup man Bryan Shaw to a three-year, $27 million contract.
  • Re-signed left-handed setup man Jake McGee to a three-year, $27 million contract.

So that's an investment of more than $100 million in the bullpen. That makes a certain sense. After all, the league-wide trend is to shift innings from the rotation to the bullpen, and the Rockies of course have always had trouble getting length out of their starters at Coors Field. So it's wise in 2018 for a team -- especially one that plays its home games at a mile above sea level -- to pump up the pen. 

It's also a very good bullpen. If you look at runs-based WAR, the Rockies' pen ranked second in the NL last season. Per WAR based on underlying pitching indicators, the Rockies' bullpen ranked fourth in the NL. 

So how does second-year manager Bud Black figure to handle the relief corps this season. If his 2017 habits are any guide, then he'll focus on matchups with his many lefty arms while at the same time registering a lot of multi-inning outings (the Rockies ranked fourth in the NL in that category last season). As well, Black did a good job in 2017 of limiting his relievers' zero-days'-rest appearances. That should help keep arms fresh for the stretch drive and, potentially, the postseason. 

The dynamic duo's last ride?

Last season, Arenado and Blackmon combined for 13.2 WAR, which made them one of the most valuable one-two punches in all of baseball. In matters related, each finished in the top five of the NL MVP balloting. The expectation is that Arenado and Blackmon will once again pace the Colorado attack as they have for the past three years or so. But will this be their final season together? Blackmon is entering his walk year, and even though the 2018-19 free agent market figures to be loaded it's still possible that the Rockies won't be willing to pay the going rates. 

As for Arenado, he's in the final year of a two-year, $29.5 million contract that provided the club with some cost certainty during his first two arbitration years. However, he's arb-eligible again next season. If Blackmon walks, will the Rockies devote the savings to trying to lock up Arenado long-term? Or will they decide to pivot to a rebuild and deal him next winter going into his walk year? Regardless of how the Rockies play it, it's entirely possible that this will be Arenado's and Blackmon's last campaign as teammates. The bright side, of course, is that the Rockies an excellent start toward a contending roster in 2018. 

The homegrown rotation

For so very long, the Rockies have struggled to develop starting pitchers, probably largely because of the aforementioned challenges of baseball at high altitudes. Right now, though, they're pretty well packed with homegrown starters. Jon Gray (third overall pick, 2013) has genuine ace upside, as does Denver native Kyle Freeland (eighth overall pick, 2014). Chad Bettis was a Rockies second-rounder back in 2010, and Tyler Anderson was the 20th overall pick back in 2011. That's 80 percent of the likely Opening Day rotation right there. The other, German Marquez, was acquired from the Rays as a minor-leaguer and is a former top-100 prospect. More to the point of contending in 2018, Gray, Freeland, and Marquez give the Rox a nice blend of youth and front-of-the-rotation upside. 

Strange as it sounds given that we're talking about the Rockies, the pitching should be fine once you apply the necessary contexts. Arenado should again be in the NL MVP mix, and Blackmon, even if he regresses a bit from his 2017 heights, will again be a notable asset. The problem for the Rockies will be getting adequate production from the non-Arenado/Blackmon portions of the lineup. Their season may hinge on whether young bats like Ryan McMahon, David Dahl, and Ramel Tapia produce right away. As well, top prospect Brendan Rodgers should force his way onto the active roster at some point in 2018. Speaking of which, Bud Black needs to make the difficult call to play the kids if vets like Ian Desmond, Carlos Gonzalez (at this writing, reportedly on his way back to the Rockies), and Trevor Story aren't producing. 

The Rockies will play a tough, unbalanced schedule in the NL West, which will make it challenging for them to compete for a wild-card berth against teams from the Central (no, the Rockies aren't going to win the division). That said, an outsized chunk of the NL isn't even trying to compete this season, which is to Colorado's benefit. Slot them in just behind the Cardinals and Brewers and alongside the Diamondbacks and Giants among the teams with legit designs on a wild-card berth.