Blake St. Ball: Projecting the Colorado Rockies’ best 2019 lineup

The Colorado Rockies have plenty of firepower up and down their lineup.

Between Charlie Blackmon, Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, Daniel Murphy, David Dahl, and Ian Desmond, the club has six players who can be counted on to produce at least 20 home runs if they stay healthy.  Throw their young second basemen into the mix, and this Colorado Rockies lineup begins to look like the kind that could potentially dethrone the Los Angeles Dodgers from atop the division.

The only question facing the Rockies now is … how do you arrange those bats?

It appears a few decisions are beginning to shape up already in Spring Training. Manager Bud Black has been experimenting with Arenado in the two-spot and Desmond has been getting his reps in center field.

The battle for second base appears to be coming down to Garrett Hampson and Ryan McMahon, who have both had strong springs, but super-prospect Brendan Rodgers has a good shot at that position sometime in the near future while Hampson can move to the outfield and McMahon can slide over to first base at some point down the road if need be.

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If Hampson wins the job, his on-base skills and speed make hitting him first a natural fit. But there’s still a good chance that Blackmon retains his spot atop the order, even if Hampson makes the Opening Day lineup. McMahon slots in behind the Rockies’ established sluggers well, showing his potential in a few key games last season.

Another interesting question is where will newly-acquired first baseman Daniel Murphy hit? His on-base abilities make him a reasonable guy to hit ahead of power bats like Arenado and Story.

A full season of David Dahl is going to be another one of the most intriguing things to watch in 2019 for the Rockies. The youth this team has been developing for so long looks like they are finally ready to break out to support the team’s current superstars.

In the video below, the crew at Blake Street Ball recently mixed their projections with a little bit of wishful thinking to build their own versions of Colorado’s best possible lineup in 2019:

We may have to wait until Opening Day to see just how Bud Black orders his lineup. However, one thing is for sure … it will be a good one.