As the clock strikes midnight on 2018, the Colorado Rockies are about 43 days from pitchers and catchers reporting and 87 days until the season opener in Miami.
This Colorado Rockies roster could certainly change before then – as most of us hope and pray it does – but it’s never too early (or fun) to speculate about lineup construction!
There is little ambiguity among Opening Day starters. In the outfield are Charlie Blackmon, David Dahl and Ian Desmond. In the infield, Nolan Arenado is at third, Trevor Story at shortstop and newly signed Daniel Murphy will take over at first base.
There is more uncertainty at second base, where Ryan McMahon is the favorite to start over Garrett Hampson. I would love to see Hampson give McMahon a run for the job (literally – the kid had the seventh-fastest sprint speed in the Majors last season, at 30.0 ft/sec.).
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And while people would love to see the Rockies get a catcher who bats over the Mendoza Line, a good defensive catcher is more essential. Tony Wolters is an elite defensive catcher and pitch framer, and Chris Iannetta has an especially good rapport with young pitchers, so the front office should not break the bank for a catcher who rakes.
Fast-forward to March 28 in Miami (at least we get that dismal Miami trip out of the way early, right?). How should we fill out the lineup card? Let’s take a look…