Colorado Rockies: The Best and Worst Stories of 2016

Colorado’s Best Story … is Trevor Story

It’s ironic that the team’s best story is Story. You’re probably as sick of the puns by now as we are, but the 24-year-old rookie shortstop exploded on the scene last season … and all of the puns soon followed. His 10 homers in April set the table for a campaign that saw him post 27 round-trippers and 72 RBI before having his season ended early by a thumb injury.

However, those are just numbers. You have to look deeper to see why Story was named as one of Major League Baseball’s 10 most captivating stories last season. Remember, this is a player who was battling Cristhian Adames and Daniel Descalso for the starting shortstop job heading into spring training. When I caught up with him in mid-March at spring training, he knew people were starting to take notice of what he could bring to the team.

“I roll with (expectations). I expect the most out of myself more than anyone else does out of me,” Story told me in Arizona. “If I live up to my expectations, everything will work out.”

Of course, things worked out just fine for Story and the Rockies. In his first week as a Major Leaguer, Story blasted seven home runs and logged 12 RBI. He became the first Major League batter ever to homer in each of his first three career games and the first player to hit four homers in his team’s first three games.

Are there high expectations for him heading into 2017? Absolutely. However, Story has already shown he has the demeanor to handle whatever is thrown at him. As good as Story was in 2016, there are plenty of places where he can improve. He struck out 130 times last season and was caught stealing five out of 13 times. If he can boost those numbers, the sky is the limit for him in 2017.