Colorado Rockies: The lineup construction needs to change

The Colorado Rockies’ 2018 season started the same way 2017 ended: with a bitter loss at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field, and ace starting pitcher Jon Gray being tagged with the losing decision.

The Colorado Rockies dropped its season opener by a final score of 8-2; both of the Rockies’ runs were scored via solo home runs by second baseman DJ LeMahieu in the top of the first inning and third baseman Nolan Arenado in the top of the sixth.

First homer of the season? Everyone knew it would be @DJLeMahieu!#ThatsMyDJ 💿 pic.twitter.com/50pLpWFdFN
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) March 30, 2018

Gray performed better in this start than he did last October 4 in the National League Wild Card game, but was still relatively ineffective early on. He threw 30 pitches in a first inning in which he surrendered three runs, and lasted only 4 innings overall. He issued three free passes as well. There was one major component in the loss that stuck out to me, though. The starting lineup:

CF Charlie Blackmon

2B DJ LeMahieu

3B Nolan Arenado

1B Ian Desmond

SP Jon Gray

If you think that batting order looks a lot like last season’s, you’re right. Excluding the addition of Iannetta, the season opener’s batting order was very similar to what Bud Black penciled in quite frequently throughout the 2017 season, and it made the Rockies offensive struggles Thursday night easy to predict.

Last season, the Rockies finished 27th in Major League Baseball with a wRC+ of 87. The mark bested only the Pirates, Padres and Giants. A large factor in the offensive woes last season was the consistency with which Bud Black hit DJ LeMahieu second in the order, right behind Charlie Blackmon. LeMahieu was often slotted in the two-spot, and spent all three games to open 2018 there as well.

The problem with that is while DJ is a good hitter overall, he is prone to hit into double-plays. He hit into 24 twin-killings last season, and into two more on Opening Night. Both came at times when the Rockies had two runners on base and a base hit would have gone a long way in helping Colorado get back into the game.

Despite the fact that the Rockies didn’t do much during the offseason to bolster their offense, a simple lineup shuffle might do the club a world of good. I propose that Bud Black puts LeMahieu in the leadoff spot, and moves Blackmon down. While the Rockies would lose speed at the top of the lineup, they would gain a much better contact hitter. Last season, LeMahieu struck out 90 times, compared to Blackmon’s 135. The Rockies can benefit from someone who puts the ball in play more at the top of their lineup.

More from Rox Pile

Additionally, Blackmon experienced a breakout season offensively in 2017. He hit .331 with 37 home runs and drove in 104 RBIs, and that was out of the leadoff spot. Imagine the kind of offensive boost the Rockies would see if Blackmon were up more often with runners on base. He has turned himself into a center fielder who hits like a corner outfielder.

Ideally, I’d like to see Nolan Arenado move down to the cleanup spot, which would mean more runners on base when his spot comes up (in a perfect world). But keeping him in the top three guarantees more at-bats for him throughout the course of the season. Therefore, my ideal lineup would look something like this:

2B DJ LeMahieu

CF Charlie Blackmon/3B Nolan Arenado

RF Carlos Gonzalez (against a right handed pitcher, if there were a southpaw pitching I’d have CarGo further down in the lineup)

SS Trevor Story

1B Ian Desmond

LF Gerardo Parra

C Chris Iannetta

Pitcher’s spot

Final Thoughts

I think that even though the Rockies’ lineup is largely the same as last season, the offensive boost the club is looking for can come from a simple lineup shuffle.

Next: The curious case of Trevor Story

That way they can achieve the highest potential from all players’ capabilities.

Home/Colorado Rockies News