Colorado Rockies: Who would be their designated hitter?

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:

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