Colorado Rockies: Six season storylines from what we’ve seen in Arizona

DJ LeMahieu will have one of the best batting averages in the NL

This shouldn’t come as a surprise. DJ LeMahieu is typically in the top five for batting averages every year. He is one of the best hitters in the league at making contact and putting the ball into play. However, the ball usually is pushed to right field.

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And teams know this too. When the Rockies play the San Diego Padres in the next series, you will see the Padres’ outfield use a dramatic shift. They shift everyone over to the left, so much so that the left fielder is practically playing center field.

LeMahieu struggles pulling the ball and that is why he spent a lot of Spring Training working on that exact area. Thursday night against the Diamondbacks, it showed. On his first at bat of the season, LeMahieu pulled a pitch that landed a couple of rows deep in the left field stands. That home run put the Rockies up 1-0 to start the game.

LeMahieu is a great hitter, but this year will be one of his best years at the plate. Yes, his contact and discipline at the plate will help but it will be is ability to not only push the ball but also pull it that will help his batting average to increase from last year.

Early-inning struggles continue for Jon Gray

Thursday night, Jon Gray struggled in the first inning much like he did all of last season. He would typically struggle in the early innings before settling in and becoming the dominant pitcher he can be.

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Thursday night against the Diamondbacks, Gray went four innings, giving up six hits and three earned runs. However, all of those three runs came in the bottom of the first.

Gray’s career ERA in the first inning is 4.55, higher than his career ERA of 4.12. The stats then show that he settles into a grove after that first inning with his lowest ERAs in the second and third innings.

I see Gray’s early inning struggles, especially in that first inning, to carry over into this season.

In one of my previous articles, I mentioned that I don’t think Gray is an ace. I think his early inning struggles is his biggest flaw. If he is able to come into the game strong from start to finish, I have no doubt that Gray will become on of the best starting pitchers in Rockies history.

Chris Iannetta is the best free agent pickup of the offseason

During the offseason, the biggest acquisitions the Rockies made were in the bullpen. They signed Wade Davis, Bryan Shaw and re-signed Jake McGee. However, the Chris Iannetta signing was very much overlooked. Many people, including myself, thought it was a bad signing.

Well based on the last two nights, I think it might be the best signing of the offseason for the Rockies.

Iannetta is one of the best defensive catchers in the league and it was on display Thursday night against the Diamondbacks. He framed multiple pitches that could have been called either way. Not to mention he also went 3 for 4 at the plate.

Iannetta’s batting average last year was .254. This year I expect him to hit much better somewhere in the .270s.

Story’s high strikeout rate continues

Last season, Trevor Story finished fifth in the league with 191 strikeouts. This was the most among National League players and the highest in Rockies history. He also had a 34.4 strikeout percentage.

While I don’t see him striking out at the historical numbers he did last year, I also don’t see him improving that much either.

Thursday night he went 1-for-4 with … you guessed it three strikeouts. He followed that with an 0-for-5 performance on Friday night … with four strikeouts.

I think this may be the most important storyline of the entire season. Since Story is hitting cleanup, he needs to have a good year. To do that he needs to be more disciplined at the plate. Without him, I don’t see the Rockies making the playoffs again.

Nolan Being Nolan

There is nothing to worry about with Nolan Arenado. He will produce the same numbers he did last year if not better. He will again be in the running for the NL MVP at the end of the season.

Thursday night, he went 2-for-4 with a home run. On Friday, he went 2-for-5 with a double, raising his average to .444 on the young season.

However, I’m afraid Nolan will have to carry this team like he did many times last year. To succeed, the Rockies need everyone to contribute.

CarGo’s slump is back

Last year, CarGo had one of his worst seasons of his entire career. However, he somewhat redeemed himself in September, helping pace the Rockies to the Wild Card.

Gonzalez went to the free agent market and had little success. The Rockies re-signed CarGo when no one else would take him.

Unfortunately, if we are going off of Thursday night’s game against the Diamondbacks (0-4 with a pair of strikeouts). He redeemed himself somewhat on Friday night with a 2-for-4 night. However, I see CarGo’s career is on the decline. There is little chance that he will have as bad of a season as he did last year … but I don’t see much improvement this year.

Conclusion

Again, these predictions are based off of the performances from early games. There are a lot more games to be played and many unexpected events to occur.

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I predict the Dodgers to take the NL (as usual). But I believe the Rockies will be in a tight race for the Wild Card slot with the Diamondbacks. If the Rockies make the playoffs, I don’t expect them to go very far.