Colorado Rockies: A Look at the Potential Opening Day Batting Order

In an earlier article here on Rox Pile, we discussed what the lineup for the Colorado Rockies might look like at the start and end of the 2017 season. You can check out that article by clicking here.

Of course, there have been some injuries of note during Rockies camp that will greatly affect the Opening Day lineup. Outfielder David Dahl is still out with a rib injury and first baseman Ian Desmond is on the shelf with a broken bone in his hand. Desmond is definitely out for Colorado’s Opening Day matchup in Milwaukee on April 3 while Dahl is trending toward missing Opening Day as well.

So how will that affect Colorado’s lineup for the first game of the season? Let’s take a look.

First, let’s consider the opposition. Milwaukee will probably have a right-hander starting on Opening Day. Right now, it looks to be Junior Guerra, who went 9-3 with a 2.81 ERA in 20 starts last season for the Brewers.

Here’s how we predicted Colorado’s lineup against right-handers in our recent article…

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Charlie Blackmon CF

DJ LeMahieu 2B

Nolan Arenado 3B

Carlos Gonzalez RF

Trevor Story SS

Ian Desmond 1B

David Dahl LF

Tony Wolters C

Pitcher

Obviously that changes considerably with the six and seven hitters out with injuries. So here’s what the revised order could look like in Milwaukee…

Blackmon CF

LeMahieu 2B

Gonzalez RF

Arenado 3B

Mark Reynolds 1B

Story SS

Gerardo Parra LF

Wolters C

Pitcher

Yes, there are some changes, including a swap of Arenado and CarGo. In all seven games that Arenado has played this spring for the Rockies, he’s batted in the cleanup position.

Story and Reynolds have bounced all over the lineup in spring. However, when looking at the most recent lineup featuring the majority of players above, we felt safe with Reynolds batting fifth and Story batting sixth. However, those two could certainly flip spots in the lineup at any time.

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Here’s hoping that the injury bug that has bitten the Rockies so hard this spring won’t strike again. Here’s also hoping that Dahl and Desmond are able to return to the lineup sooner than later. While Colorado’s Opening Day lineup certainly looks potent, it will be even stronger when those two arrive.