Colorado Rockies: Looking at the 2017 Batting Order Possibilities

Charlie Blackmon of the Colorado Rockies — Aug 17, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies center fielder Charlie Blackmon (19) runs out a double in the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Against right-handed pitchers

Blackmon CF

LeMahieu 2B

Arenado 3B

Gonzalez RF

Story SS

Desmond 1B

Dahl LF

Wolters C

Pitcher

In all honesty, the lineup presented here might not look that different than it did in any game in 2016, with the exception of Desmond at first base.

The biggest question with this lineup is how the five through seven hitters shake out. Story batted fifth in 39 games last season, the most of any batting slot behind the 44 games where he hit second. Batting fifth, Story hit .265 with 10 homers and 30 RBI.

It was by far his best lineup position compared to the six and seven hole. Batting sixth, he went 0-for-7 last season. Batting seventh, he hit .316 in just five games.

Desmond, meanwhile, never hit lower than sixth last season with the Texas Rangers … and he only hit in that spot 11 times. He hit out of the two hole in 109 of his 156 games last season, but we don’t see LeMahieu moving out of the role where he was the league’s batting champion in 2016.

Dahl hit fifth in 31 of his 63 games last season and hit in the seven hole just twice. However, we think he starts the year here and could certainly move up in the lineup depending on how the season unfolds.

By the way, how nice is it to have a guy who hit .315 last season as your seven hitter? It just shows how stacked the Rockies are on offense.

Against right-handed pitchers

Schedule