Colorado Rockies: Why Charlie Blackmon should not hit leadoff

Of course there is still time for the Rockies to add another bat in the offseason, but even if they don’t acquire a big-money slugger, they can still fix this problem.

ESPN’s David Schoenfield wrote an intriguing piece near the end of the 2017 season on whether Blackmon or superstar third baseman Nolan Arenado should be the Rockies’ MVP.

During his comparison of the two All-Stars, he looked at Arenado and Blackmon’s efficiency at driving in runs.

Arenado has driven in 130 or more RBI for three straight seasons, so you would logically assume he drives in a higher percent of the runners he sees on base.

And you would be right. At the time of Schoenfield’s article, 22.2 percent of the runners on base when Arenado came to the plate scored.

However, Schoenfield points out that Blackmon brought home a nearly identical 21.6 percent of runners on base.

Moreover, with runners in scoring position, Arenado put together an unbelievable .385/.469/.801 slash line while Blackmon kept pace, slashing .383/.462/.700.

Imagine those two stat lines batting back-to-back in the heart of the Colorado order.