Colorado Rockies: Want to win in 2018? Young guys have to step up

Ryan McMahon

The most intriguing position on Colorado’s depth chart is also its biggest question mark–first base.

Mark Reynolds (.267, 30 HR, 97 RBI) held down the position for an injured Ian Desmond and his strong play pushed Desmond to the outfield when he returned.

However, Reynolds struggled in the second half and a lot of talk recently has suggested that the Rockies No. 2 overall prospect, Ryan McMahon, will get a shot to win the job in spring training.

There is still time for Reynolds to re-sign with Colorado, but regardless of what happens, it seems the Ryan McMahon-era is arriving sooner rather than later.

Last year, McMahon came up for a cup of coffee in the big leagues and showed off his smooth swing in limited duty.

McMahon’s numbers with Colorado last year weren’t that great, however he only had 24 plate appearances, nowhere near enough that you could use to judge his ability, so you can’t really put much into them.

Between Double-A Hartford and Triple-A Albuquerque, McMahon hit .355 with 20 homers and 88 RBI’s in 119 games in 2017. Not to mention he belted 39 doubles.  39 doubles–in 119 games.  Just think what he’ll do with Coors Field’s massive gaps.

McMahon just turned 23 in December so its safe to say he still has some growing to do, but he’s close. Really close.

If McMahon is able to convert his minor league domination into a strong rookie campaign, he will not only fill a hole on the diamond, but he will also fill an important hole in the lineup.

If he pulls this off, and I think he can, everyone will once again be singing Bridich’s praises for not committing to an over-priced free agent.