Colorado Rockies: Who would be their designated hitter?

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Many baseball fans question why the National League still lets pitchers bat. The American League has used the designated hitter for a while now and it seems to work for them. So I decided what if the MLB decided to bring the DH to the NL, it’d be great right? Of course, we will get a look at the Colorado Rockies with a designated hitter when the Rockies travel to face the Texas Rangers (June 15-17), Seattle Mariners (July 6-8), Houston Astros (August 14-15) and Los Angeles Angels (August 27-28).

So if and when this happens, who would be the designated hitter for the Colorado Rockies?

Now you’ve probably got a lot of names running through your head … as did I when I first asked this question. With the Rockies, there would be so many possibilities. That’s a really good thing to hear when you have a team like this trying to contend.

Due to the fact that I have a few players in mind, I thought I’d just go over each one. I’ll go over

each player’s 2017 season, projections and where in the lineup they’d fit as designated hitter.

Carlos Gonzalez

Why: Now that the ink has finally dried and Nolan Arenado has gotten his hugs in, it’s time for Carlos Gonzalez to jump right back into Rockies baseball. When CarGo has a good season, he rakes though. Since he’s getting a little older, I’d definitely consider him to be the DH. Last season wasn’t his best out all of his years with the Rockies. His slashline was .262/.339/.423, he had 14 homers, 57 RBI, and was 123-for-470. If he gets back to his All-Star form from 2016 and prior, he’d be a monster threat in a DH spot.

Projections: Projection-wise, I think they’re in the wheelhouse of where he should be, though he could do better. Taking a look at those projections for 2018, Baseball-Reference has him hitting 22 home runs, with 72 RBI, and getting 129 base hits. This would reassure a lot of Rockies fans that CarGo is back to his regular form. I don’t think 2018 will be hard for him to perform. However, if he was the DH, it’d open up right field to those younger guys as well.

Ian Desmond

Why: Ian Desmond will be taking up quite a bit of money on the payroll for the next few years. What better way to utilize him and not bench the $22 million than have him be a DH? Last season, Desmond didn’t really have the chance to show his All-Star worth due to injury. However, now that he’s healthy, now is the prime time to prove to Rockies fans he can contribute the entire season.

Colorado Rockies

This would also lessen the names in such a crowded outfield. Looking at his stats from last year isn’t a good enough sample size, though. But, I’ll go ahead and share them. He had a slashline of .274/.326/.375. This lead him to 93 hits, seven home runs, and 40 RBI. Due to him being healthy as of now, I have no doubt Desmond will bounce back to his 2016 form to help the Rockies contend.

Projections: His projections are a little higher than what he did last season, though I strongly believe that he can surpass those. Desmond is projected to have a .262/.319/.409 slashline with 108 hits, 14 home runs, and 52 RBI. I’d say these are bit low if you take a look back at what he did his 2016 season in Texas. Due to this, I’ll say that Ian Desmond will probably hit 20 home runs and log at least 70 RBI. Hopefully, he has a healthy season to exceed those projections.

Where in the lineup: With the idea of having Desmond in the DH spot this opens up the door that Ryan McMahon can stay on the active roster and won’t have to get sent down for Desmond to take first over. With that being said, here’s how that line up would look:

Charlie Blackmon, CF
DJ LeMaheiu, 2B
Nolan Arenado, 3B
Trevor Story, SS
Carlos Gonzalez, RF
Gerardo Parra*, LF
Ian Desmond, DH
Ryan McMahon, 1B
Chris Iannetta, C

Pat Valaika

Why: I see a lot of potential in this guy. So much that I even wrote an entire article about how much potential he has right here. Due to him having all this potential, I wouldn’t see it fit not having him on this list. Pat Valaika is a good utility man that can play anywhere, because of the overcrowded outfield and no immediate need for him in the infield, he’d make a great DH. Last season, Valaika put in work as he had 195 plate appearances. This lead him to having 47 hits, 13 home runs, and 40 RBI. Not bad for a guy who’s feet are still getting wet. One of the best things about Valaika is how he comes in clutch with him in a DH position were bound to see that happen on a regular basis.

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Projections: I love the fact that the projections have him getting in not only more games, but more plate appearances. Also, it has Valaika hitting 15 home runs. I’d say 20 might be his max that will lead him to his projected 48 RBI, eight more than last season. I’d say Valaika could get 50 RBI or so in a role like DH. Baseball-Reference has his slashline looking like this: .260/.311/.487. This isn’t bad and hopefully he’ll be able to bat some more this season.

Where in the lineup: On my Opening Day roster projection, I have Pat Valaika as the only “infielder” on the bench so having his bat adds versatility to the lineup here’s what it’d look like with him as DH:

Charlie Blackmon, CF
DJ LeMahieu, 2B
Nolan Arenado, 3B
Carlos Gonzalez, RF
Trevor Story, SS
Gerardo Parra*, Ian Desmond, LF
Ryan McMahon*, Ian Desmond, 1B
Pat Valaika, DH
Chris Iannetta, C

Ryan McMahon

Why: I know someone is already saying, “he’s supposed to start at first.” Well, sorry Charlie. That’s not the case with this hypothetical. I’ve been questioning if Ryan McMahon was a smart choice at first for the longest time. When I say that, I’m not saying this guy can’t hit, because he can. I’m saying position-wise, it’s going to be a very big mess. So instead of the Rockies taking such a big risk with a crucial position, if the NL had a DH spot, they could put him in the DH spot.

2017 does not bring in a good sample size at the major league level. There is a lot of room for growth this season. Having McMahon as a DH would really show his worth when it comes to him at the plate. So looking back to last season, he had 24 plate appearances, which is a very small sample size. Because of that, it’s why his slashline looks like this: .158/.333/.211.

Projections: The projections have him playing in more games thus getting more plate appearances. They don’t have McMahon getting a lot of RBI (24) nor a lot of home runs (seven). However, they only project him playing in 20 games, which if he’s the team’s opening day first baseman, he’ll be in more than 20 games. With that being said, having him at DH exposes him to a lot of different pitchers and gives him plenty of experience so that when he bats more he knows what to expect and can pounce on any opportunity he’s given.

Where in the lineup: With McMahon DH’ing, that’d mean Ian Desmond would be playing first and Mike Tauchman and Raimel Tapia would be getting time in left field.

Charlie Blackmon, CF
DJ LeMaheiu, 2B
Nolan Arenado, 3B
Carlos Gonzalez, RF
Trevor Story, SS
Ian Desmond, 1B
Ryan McMahon, DH
Gerardo Parra*/Raimel Tapia/Mike Tauchman, LF
Chris Iannetta, C

Final Thoughts

DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 7: David Dahl #26 of the Colorado Rockies hits a double in the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field on September 7, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Bart Young/Getty Images) /

This entire article was to show how well the Rockies would be able to utilize having a DH in the lineup. I’d love to see this take place as not only is it good for the batters, but the pitchers as well. It is good for the pitchers because of the fact that they’d only have to focus on the pitching side of the game. It’s good for the batters because without a pitcher causing outs or having to bunt they now have nine actual batters that know how to hit in different situations.

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If the Rockies were able to utilize the DH the correct way, there are so many possibilities when it comes to players being the DH. That leads to having more space open for defensive positioning, which may help the Rockies in the long run.

We will see the Rockies flex their lineup with a DH a few times this year, and it will be fun to watch what happens.

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