Colorado Rockies: Garrett Hampson plays more second base at Ryan McMahon’s expense?

By Aaron Hurt | Sep 4, 2020

OAKLAND, CA - JULY 29: Garrett Hampson #1 of the Colorado Rockies bats during the game against the Oakland Athletics at RingCentral Coliseum on July 29, 2020 in Oakland, California. The Rockies defeated the Athletics 5-1. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images) /

The hot bat of Garrett Hampson will be seeing more playing time at second base for the Colorado Rockies due to acquisition of Kevin Pillar and the horrible slump of Ryan McMahon.

As the Colorado Rockies have continued to plummet in the standings, losing 16 of the last 23 games, there has been one player who has proven that he deserves to be in the everyday lineup.

Despite all of the doom and gloom surrounding the Rockies, utility player Garrett Hampson has shined. In his last 15 games, he has slashed .333/.371/.561 with five home runs, 8 RBI, 15 runs scored, and seven stolen bases, including three home runs in the last two games. Most of his success has come with him starting in the outfield but that has started to change.

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After the addition of Kevin Pillar at the trade deadline, the already crowded outfield has left little room for Hampson’s hot bat. Luckily for Hampson, he is the most versatile player on the roster and there is a spot where the Rockies have received little production from a player who many had high expectations for entering the season.

Coming off a 2019 campaign where he hit .250/.329/.450 with 24 HR and 83 RBI in 141 games, many people (myself included) believed second baseman Ryan McMahon was poised to have a breakout 2020 season. So far, that has not been the case. In fact, it’s been far from it.

McMahon is hitting .212/.313/.416 with six homers and 18 RBI in 113 at-bats. What is most disheartening is that his strikeout rate has ballooned from 33% in 2019 to an atrocious 42%. His strikeouts have gotten so bad, that he has as many total bases as he does strikeouts (47).

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In 37 games, Hampson has started only five games at second compared to McMahon’s 22 but as long as Hampson stays hot at the plate and McMahon struggles, the logical place to keep plugging Hampson in the lineup is at second. Manager Bud Black will pick and choose his matchups to kick start RyMac, but until then, Hampson will get the majority of the starts at his expense.

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