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

By Olivia Greene |
DENVER, CO - OCTOBER 01: Charlie Blackmon #19 of the Colorado Rockies waits on deck in the first inning of a regular season MLB game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field on October 1, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Russell Lansford/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - OCTOBER 01: Charlie Blackmon #19 of the Colorado Rockies waits on deck in the first inning of a regular season MLB game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field on October 1, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Russell Lansford/Getty Images)
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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.

Raimel Tapia

DENVER, CO – JUNE 15: Raimel Tapia. Getty Images.
DENVER, CO – JUNE 15: Raimel Tapia. Getty Images. /

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I wrote an entire article about Raimel Tapia needing to be the leadoff man. I still don’t think that does him justice. Last season, he had plenty of at-bats and did okay for a guy still trying to break into a MLB club. In 160 at-bats he had 46 hits, 2 home runs, 16 RBI, and 5 stolen bases. Now, those are the perfect stats for a guy going into his second year. It’s progress from his 2016 season where he only had 38 at-bats. Looking at those side by side, I’d say that Bud Black sees a lot of potential in him to give him that many opportunities.

Spring Training-wise, he’s doing alright, but Bud Black doesn’t pay attention to stats. He’s looking for game awareness, situation handling, and to see how players tweak things in their game. Not only is Tapia in the lineup, he’s had some chances leading off.

This Spring has been alright for Tapia he’s got a .259/.290/.380 slashline along with 15 hits and 7 RBI. He’s a little on the low side when it comes to stolen bases thus far as he has three. Looking at his projections for next season, I’d say they are underestimating Tapia’s ability. This will be good for him, though, so that he can surpass those expectations.

Don’t forget: he’s got speed and speed kills. Raimel Tapia is on the up and up and the best way for him to show everyone who he really is, is to have him in that leadoff spot.

Ian Desmond

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Now, calm down before getting your feathers ruffled. Hear me out, Ian Desmond in the leadoff spot is a good idea to think about. Now, I know everyone goes to last year, but Desmond didn’t really get to have the season he intended to due to injury. Because of that, I’m going to talk about his stats from the previous season when he was healthy. Desmond had a .285/.335/.446 slashline with 22 homers and 86 RBI. He was also an All-Star in that 2016 season while with the Rangers. When Desmond is healthy, he puts up solid numbers and I have no doubt he’ll have a bounce back year.

Even though his Spring has been pretty rocky (pun intended) he halted talks on his ability to perform after his two home runs in one game. He also has been much better in the past week as, entering between March 15th and 22nd, he is 6-for-14 (.429 AVG), with both of his home runs and all three of his RBI’s on the spring thus far. Desmond is currently healthy and looking to really show Colorado what he’s got.

I wouldn’t worry about Ian Desmond entering the 2018 season. The reason why I believe he can be the leadoff man is do to the fact that he’s not a power hitter, like Blackmon, and he’s not a speed demon like Tapia. He’s a good contact hitter as he did have 178 hits in 2016 and 93 (in 95 games) in 2017. Having a man like Desmond come through with nice clean hits in the beginning of games is a nice way to get runs on the board early. The Rockies would have a stacked lineup behind him.

Ian Desmond, in my opinion. is an out of the box choice though when you really think about it should be considered a strong possibility as the leadoff man.

Takeaways

DENVER, CO – JULY 14: The sun sets over the stadium behind the scoreboard as the Milwaukee Brewers face the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on July 14, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. The Rockies defeated the Brewers 12-3. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO – JULY 14: The sun sets over the stadium behind the scoreboard as the Milwaukee Brewers face the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on July 14, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. The Rockies defeated the Brewers 12-3. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /

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I’ve gone over three candidates that should be highly considered for the leadoff man spot. There are many ways the Rockies could go about this. The reason I see these three men as possibilities is due to the fact of how they have contributed to the club already.

With Charlie Blackmon, you have a great power hitter that is well known to fans, but can also come through in a role like that.

With Raimel Tapia, you have a kid that can get on base and when on base can most likely swipe a bag to further the agenda of the team. However, some people are going to favor the Rockies starting the likes of David Dahl over him.

Then with Ian Desmond, you have a seasoned veteran that can hit fairly well for contact but right now, fans are worried about his ability to contribute after his injury last season.

All these guys have projections either going higher or staying the same in some categories and all three men will most likely exceed those. This is a win-win situation with having any of these men in that top spot. One thing to be concerned about with all three is the expectations that arise from getting the nod from the skipper for being 1st in the lineup.

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These expectations may be too much for a younger guy like Tapia to handle though may have a different outcome with Blackmon and Desmond. All in all each of these men deserve to be brought up in the talks of leadoff guys.

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