Colorado Rockies: Predicting the Opening Day 30-man roster
Here is our prediction for what the Colorado Rockies Opening Day roster will look like when the team takes the field in Arlington, Texas, on Friday for the season opener against the Texas Rangers.
With the start of the 2020 season comes a 30-man roster for the Colorado Rockies and the rest of Major League Baseball. As a reminder, two weeks after the season opener, the Rockies will slice the roster to 28 players. Two weeks after that, the roster shrinks to 26 for the rest of the season (although a 27th man would be added if the Rockies were playing a double-header).
So who will be on that 30-man roster? Here are our predictions, starting with the infield.
Infielders (6): Nolan Arenado, Josh Fuentes, Ryan McMahon, Daniel Murphy, Brendan Rodgers, Trevor Story
Thought process behind the selections: Three players who are entrenched at a certain position (Arenado, Murphy, and Story) while the three others on the list can play multiple positions. Fuentes and Rodgers will get the chance to quickly improve upon 2019 campaigns that were less-than-stellar MLB debuts.
Infielders/Outfielders (2): Garrett Hampson, Chris Owings
Thought process behind the selections: Speaking of versatility, Hampson and Owings will likely see time all over the diamond in 2020. Can Hampson pick up where he left off in September? Can Owings continue his impressive display at the plate in Spring Training 1 and 2? Don’t be surprised if one of these players is in the Opening Night lineup.
Outfielders (5): Charlie Blackmon, David Dahl, Sam Hilliard, Matt Kemp, Raimel Tapia
Thought process behind the selections: Kemp could become the most pivotal signing the Rockies made in the offseason. In his short time with the team, he’s shown the bat is still there and, even at age 35, he can make an impact.
Will Blackmon be conditioned enough to start in right field on July 24? He looked good in the field in Saturday’s intrasquad scrimmage at Coors Field in the field and at the plate so it’s certainly a possibility.
Those are the two veterans of the group, while Dahl, Hilliard, and Tapia provide youth and plenty of intrigue. Can Dahl continue his All-Star pace from the first half of last season? Can Tapia take the next step? Can Hilliard continue his September stretch of power?
Catchers (2): Drew Butera, Tony Wolters
Thought process behind the selections: Elias Diaz will likely be on the taxi squad and available at a moment’s notice if needed or if the Rockies want to make a switch behind the plate. Butera has impressed in Spring Training 2 at Coors Field (including a power-showing double to left in his first at-bat on Saturday night) and played first base for the Purple team in that same game, showcasing his ability to fill in at another spot if needed.
Note: * designates a left-handed pitcher
Starting pitchers (4): Kyle Freeland*, Jon Gray, German Marquez, Antonio Senzatela
Thought process behind the selections: Why just four starting pitchers? That’s all the Rockies will likely need to start the season thanks to off days between series in Texas and in Oakland and before the home opener against San Diego. It may be the first week of August before the Rockies actually need to figure out who will be the fifth starter. Until then, Jeff Hoffman and Chi Chi Gonzalez (the two likeliest candidates for the fifth spot) can work as long relievers if needed.
After the starters combined to post a 5.87 ERA last season, success for Colorado begins with the pitcher who begins the game on the mound.
Relief pitchers (11): Yency Almonte, Daniel Bard, Wade Davis, Jairo Diaz, Philip Diehl*, Carlos Estevez, Chi Chi Gonzalez, Jeff Hoffman, Tyler Kinley, Scott Oberg, James Pazos*
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Thought process behind the selections: It’s a new-look bullpen for the Rockies, and it’s also a bullpen with a lot of questions and pitchers (Almonte, Davis, Gonzalez, Hoffman) who are under the microscope when it comes to performance.
Davis will start the season as the closer, but Diaz, Estevez, and Oberg all have experience in the role and could step in if needed. With a schedule tightly packed with games (60 in 66 days), it’s likely that several relievers will have chances at holds and saves during the course of the 2020 campaign.
Diehl and Pazos will represent the southpaws in the relief corps. Can one of them emerge as the new LOOGY for the Rockies (even though the three-batter minimum is a rule in 2020, so a new acronym may have to be coined)?
We will see quickly just how well Colorado’s bullpen performs, knowing Colorado’s starters will be limited in their pitch counts to open the season after a condensed revamp of spring training II/summer camp at Coors Field.