Colorado Rockies Have Many Options in the Outfield

When Monday’s first pitch was thrown by Tyler Anderson as the Colorado Rockies opened a key two-game set against the Texas Rangers at Coors Field, Ryan Raburn stood in left field for the Rockies, ready for whatever came his way.

Raburn got the starting nod on Monday night as Texas sent left-hander Cole Hamels to the mound. Raburn was brought in before the season began as the Rockies were looking to improve what was a weakness last season as Colorado’s primarily left-handed lineup often had issues against southpaws.

Raburn, however, entered Monday’s contest batting just .211 this season against lefties while hitting .245 against right-handers. Go figure.

Sometimes, you may think you know the stats but baseball is a funny game … and stats sometimes tell just part of the story.

However, after last season, Colorado manager Walt Weiss is doing what he can to play the odds when it comes to what has become a very deep Rockies outfield.

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Raburn started on Monday night, just one day after Gerardo Parra returned from the disabled list and David Dahl got a hit in his 13th consecutive game to start his career. It proves the depth of Colorado’s outfield and the options that Weiss now possesses. Both Parra and Dahl would normally get the start over Raburn, but both are also left-handed. Weiss is playing the matchups.

Colorado’s outfield depth will cause some questions to be raised and some lineup switches as August continues to unfold. With an outfield that can feature Carlos Gonzalez, Charlie Blackmon, Parra, Dahl, Raburn or even Daniel Descalso, there are plenty of mix-and-match opportunities for Weiss when filling out the scorecard.

The strongest lineup would seem to feature CarGo in right, Blackmon in center and Dahl in left. That would feature a pair of All-Stars and a rookie who seems to have quickly figured out how to hit in the Majors. Parra and his .263 average would seem to be the odd man out while Raburn can come off the bench when needed. Descalso can play in the outfield in an emergency, but with the season-ending injury to Trevor Story, the veteran will see a lot more time on the infield than on the grass.

Weiss said on Sunday that he believes he has four Major League-quality outfielders in Gonzalez, Blackmon, Dahl, and Parra. He also said that he doesn’t have a clear vision on who will play when and in what situation. He’ll be looking at matchups as well as using instinct to make the call before every game.

Next: How Much is Nolan Arenado Worth to Colorado?

It may be a maddening time trying to figure out which players will fill which slots on a given night in the outfield. However, compared to recent years when outfield depth was anything but deep, it’s a problem the Colorado Rockies don’t mind having.