Colorado Rockies: Who’s the leadoff man in 2018?

We are thankfully only a few days out from Opening Day. That means Colorado Rockies baseball is right around the corner. Commence the cheering and smiles all around. It’s a wonderful time to be a Rockies fan as the team is looking to keep the same pace and contend in back-to-back years. However, as of now, there are still some questions about the lineup and, particularly, who will be the leadoff man. Due to that, I’ll be breaking down the top candidates for the job.

Charlie Blackmon

Well, this was the first obvious choice to put down. Everyone is already used to hearing “Your Love” by The Outfield coming on and belting it out. Having Blackmon as the leadoff man is a tried and true practice. With him batting leadoff for all but nine plate appearances in 2017, he had a slashline of .331/.399/.601 along with his 37 home runs and 104 RBI. He’s most likely expected to produce as much or even more this season. The best way to do that is to keep Blackmon in the leadoff spot. Blackmon is, essentially, a five-tool player that can not be stopped. He easily gets on base due to having 213 hits this past season, as well as a combined 75 more times on-base via walk or hit by pitch.

One does wonder how long he can stick with the expectations after coming off of a MVP worthy season. I’d keep a close eye on Blackmon, as it’s a contract year for him after the 2018 season. As a result, you can expect the same performance he put out last season. If you want to everything to stay the same, Charlie Blackmon as the leadoff man is what you probably want. You’re getting stability, which is a wonderful thing for the Rockies to have. So just remember: Charlie Blackmon = Stability.