Colorado Rockies: Garrett Hampson has earned the second base role

Experiencing a taste of the Show last season, Garrett Hampson came into spring training on a mission. Now as Opening Day is less than three weeks away, the Rockies number three overall prospect looks to solidify his spot as the starting second baseman.

Youthful exuberance has swept over the Colorado Rockies over the past two seasons. Gone, for the most part, barring a few exceptions, are the days of relying heavily on a veteran presence in the clubhouse and instead shifting gears to young adolescence. As Hall of Famer, Ken Griffey Jr. says, ‘let the kids play.’

The Rockies are in a wholly unfamiliar territory heading into the 2019 season. Over the offseason longtime gold glove second baseman DJ LeMahieu signed a contract with the New York Yankees. In an ideal effort to quell the gap faced by his exit, the club brought in Daniel Murphy. The only problem? Murphy is slated to take over at first base for Ian Desmond, who himself signed a $70 million deal three years ago to in fact play first base.

As Bud Black continues his chaotic carousel of moving players around, second base is one spot seemingly still unoccupied, for now. While the potential does exist for third-year platoon infielder Ryan McMahon to step in to fill the role, the Rockies would be in an overall better spot if they utilized McMahon off the bench in his usual role, affording the starting opportunity instead to Garrett Hampson.

Competition in full swing

Thus far, Hampson has knocked the competition around. In 13 games across the spring, Hampson is slashing .308/.379/.654 with a stellar 1.033 OPS. Over these games, Hampson has recorded 30 total plate appearances. He already has three home runs, six RBI, and an impressive five stolen bases.

While most of the quality of pitching Hampson has faced is close to Double-A, he has still taken full advantage of the opportunity in front of him and is running with it and making an impact.

Nobody knows how the rest of the spring will shake out and whether Hampson can continue to build on his already impressive showing as we close in on Opening Day. McMahon is also on a tear, slashing a ridiculous .406/.472/.781 with a couple of home runs and four RBI.

McMahon has also seen his fair share of major league action the past two seasons. While there have certainly been bright spots, McMahon has shown struggles too. In 2017, his first stint in the Show, McMahon slashed an unimpressive .158/.333/.211 with a .269 wOBA and 46 wRC+. It got slightly better last year, as he slashed .232/.307/.376 with a .296 wOBA and 68 wRC+ over 202 plate appearances.

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The strikeout rate rose substantially from 2017 to 2018 for McMahon, as he went from striking out 20.8% of the time to a 31.7% clip. He did have some exciting moments, including a huge walk-off home run versus the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he has not seemed to put it together so far entirely.

Final Thoughts

Moving forward the Rockies would be in a better position overall by making Hampson the starting second baseman come Opening Day, while McMahon is relegated to a super-platoon role. Not to move away from what McMahon can bring to the team, he has shown inconsistencies in his time at the big league level.

Giving Hampson the starting second base job would set him on a course of success early on in his career. McMahon is still someone who can be an integral part of this team, and I do still love what he brings, but he is someone who is better suited at either corner infield position and can spell Nolan Arenado at third to keep Arenado fresh throughout the year.

Regardless of what the Rockies decide, they are set for the future in the infield for the long haul and fans should be extremely excited for the next decade and how these young guys can continue to propel the club into constant contention.