Colorado Rockies: Top Five Shortstops in Franchise History

Shortstop has been one of the strongest positions in Colorado Rockies’ history.

Particularly in the last decade, shortstop has been one of the strongest positions for the Colorado Rockies. They also have had four players be the primary shortstop for four or more seasons, which is the only such case for an offensive position.

There also have only been nine players that have played the most games for the Rockies in a season, which is the second-lowest of any offensive position, with first base being the lowest with seven. You can also take at some of those other lists here.

Let’s dive into the list of the top five shortstops in Colorado Rockies history.

Number 5: Clint Barmes (4.5 fWAR, 9.3 bWAR, parts of eight seasons as a Rockie)

Clint Barmes only spent two of those eight seasons were spent as the Rockies’ primary shortstop. However, about 41 percent of his bWAR with the Rockies was in those two seasons.

In 2005, in 81 games, Barmes hit .289/.330/.434 with an OPS+ of 90 and 12 DRS.

In 2006, he played in 131 games but he got worse at the plate as he hit .220/.264/.335 with an OPS+ of 47. However, his 25 DRS helped him in the WAR department, particularly with Baseball-Reference.

Due to that poor offensive season, though, the Rockies replaced him at shortstop with someone else later on the list. He mainly played second base for the Rockies, thereafter, which is the reason why he is fifth on this list, and not higher. He was also on the top five list for second base.

Number 4: Royce Clayton (1.2 fWAR, 1.1 bWAR, one season as a Rockie)

There were a few shortstops that played multiple seasons with the Rockies but they had one or two good seasons and one or two bad seasons as well, like Barmes at number five and some of those who just missed the list.

Therefore, even though Royce Clayton had one season with the Rockies, he makes the list.

That one season was 2004 and he played 146 games. He hit .279/.338/.397 with an OPS+/wRC+ of 80. He had -1 DRS via both FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference so he was slightly below average. He signed with the D’backs via free agency for the 2005 season and he last played in the majors in 2007, ending a 17-year MLB career.

Number 3: Walt Weiss (2.8 fWAR, 3.8 bWAR, four seasons as a Rockie)

Walt Weiss became the Rockies shortstop in 1994 as he jumped ship from the fellow expansion Florida Marlins to the Rockies. He replaced Vinny Castilla as the Rockies’ primary shortstop as Castilla was relegated to the bench and, later, primary third baseman for the rest of the decade.

Weiss was with the Rockies through the 1997 season and in those four seasons, he averaged a .266/.375/.347 slash line and an OPS+ of 77. That high OBP is attributed to his high walk rate as he struck out less than he walked in three of the last four seasons as a Rockie. His main problem at the plate was his power, as you can see with the slugging percentage.

Defensively, defensive WAR points to him being a slightly above-average defender.

He left the Rockies via free agency and he joined the Atlanta Braves and he retired after the 2000 season. Coincidentally, he later became the Rockies manager and after he was let go following the 2016 season, he left the Rockies to join the Braves as bench coach, where he still is today.

Honorable Mention: Neifi Perez (-1.4 fWAR, 1.0 bWAR, parts of six seasons as a Rockie)

His WAR does not place Neifi Perez in this list and nor does his on-base or slugging abilities. However, his fielding was above average in most seasons and he even won a Gold Glove. In his last three full seasons as a Rockie (1998-2000), he only missed a total of five games, and all five were in 1999.

The Rockies traded him in the middle of the 2001 season for Jermaine Dye. The Rockies flipped Dye to the Oakland A’s on the same day for Todd Belitz, Mario Encarnacion, and Jose Ortiz.

Big mistake on the Rockies part as Dye was an All-Star in 2000 and had 118 and 119 RBIs the previous two seasons.

More from Rox Pile

• Colorado Rockies: What if Todd Helton had played football instead?
• Colorado Rockies: Charlie Blackmon out for the season
• Colorado Rockies: Injuries shift look of roster ahead of Dodgers series
• Colorado Rockies: Has Sean Bouchard earned a second look in 2023?
• Colorado Rockies: 3 things we appreciated from Tuesday in San Francisco

Number 1: Troy Tulowitzki (33.9 fWAR, 39.5 bWAR, parts of 10 seasons as a Rockie)

No stunner here. Troy Tulowitzki is the best shortstop in Rockies history and he’s one of the best Rockies in history, in general.

If injuries hadn’t derailed his career, he’d likely be a Hall of Famer. In the parts of ten seasons as Rockie, he hit .299/.371/.513 with an OPS+ of 123. He was an All-Star five times, won two Gold Glove Awards, two Silver Slugger Awards, came in second in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2007, and he ranked in MVP voting six times, including two Top 5 finishes in 2009 and 2010.

The Rockies traded him along with LaTroy Hawkins to the Blue Jays in July of 2015. In return, the Rockies got Jeff Hoffman, Miguel Castro, Jose Reyes, and Jesus Tinoco.

Hoffman and Tinoco are the only two left in the organization and neither has panned out for the Rockies at the major league level quite yet but the trade didn’t really work out for the Blue Jays either. Nonetheless, Tulowitzki is the best shortstop in Rockies’ history.