Colorado Rockies roster: Predicting their Opening Day roster

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ARLINGTON, TEXAS – JULY 21: Elias Diaz #35 of the Colorado Rockies during an MLB exhibition game at Globe Life Field on July 21, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

The Colorado Rockies will, for the third straight season, field largely the same team when they take the field at Coors Field against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 1.

However, for the first time since 2013, that Opening Day lineup will not feature Nolan Arenado penciled in at third base. (Trivia: Can you name the Rockies last three Opening Day third basemen before Arenado? Answers: Chris Nelson, Ty Wigginton, and Ian Stewart.)

Other than him and Ian Desmond, who announced on Sunday that he is opting out of the 2021 season “for now”, the team is, by and large, the same. After all, the Rockies have not signed an MLB free agent to a guaranteed contract in both of the last two offseasons.

So, here are our predictions on who will make the Rockies MLB team on Opening Day.

Rockies catchers (2): Elias Diaz and Dom Nunez

One of the Rockies other bigger moves this offseason is non-tendering Tony Wolters. Wolters was well below league average at the plate and average, at best, defensively, by the numbers so that move wasn’t completely unforeseen. The Pirates signed him to a minor-league deal with an invite to Spring Training.

So, in a sense, he and Elias Diaz traded places as Diaz was with the Pirates before the shortened 2020 season. He looks like he will be the Rockies primary catcher. Both defensively and offensively, he has seen mixed results but in 2020, in limited playing time, he was about league average defensively and well below league average offensively, but he was still the Rockies best offensive catcher.

Nunez didn’t see any playing time in 2020 with no minor league season and the Rockies having three catchers last year. He spent the entire season on the team’s “taxi squad”

SEATTLE, WA – AUGUST 09: Ryan McMahon #24 of the Colorado Rockies walks off the field after an at-bat in a game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on August, 9, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. The Mariners won 5-3. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images) /

Rockies infielders (7): Ryan McMahon, Trevor Story, Brendan Rodgers, C.J. Cron, Chris Owings, Josh Fuentes, and Garrett Hampson

Ryan McMahon will likely be tasked with the unenviable task of replacing Arenado at third base. In limited time at third base in 2020, he was phenomenal defensively so if he can keep that up, he’ll be close to Arenado in that regard.

But his bat has to develop more. A 40 percent strikeout rate is not going to cut it in the majors and neither is a .216 average and a sub-.300 on-base percentage, especially when you’re going to be asked to replace Arenado’s bat in the lineup. Unless he is injured, though, he will have plenty of opportunities to showcase whether or not he can adjust to MLB pitching in 2021.

Story is, now, the Rockies best player. Depending on how the team is, though, he may not be on it at season’s end because the Rockies may look to trade him too.

Brendan Rodgers will likely replace McMahon at second base. He hasn’t had as many opportunities as McMahon in the majors, partially due to numerous injuries, but for the Rockies former number one prospect and first-round draft pick, 2021 will be a huge year.

Like with McMahon, will he prove that he has an MLB bat or will he be Quad-A, Mike Hessman bat (a good Triple-A bat that is well below league average in the majors, like Hessman who hit 323 homers in Triple-A and is the minors all-time MiLB home run leader but hit .188 in 109 MLB games)?

C.J. Cron is a non-roster invite but he’s making the team for three main reasons (barring any injury).

He’s the best first baseman the Rockies have currently
He’s a veteran
He has a connection with Bud Black when both were in the Angels organization in 2016

Chris Owings is making the team because he’s a veteran and he’s versatile.

Josh Fuentes hit for average last year but if you look at the peripheral stats in 2020, it looks like he might have been the luckiest hitter in baseball. In other words, something will have to change to keep his stats up or he’s going to become a Mike Hessman bat because luck in the game of baseball doesn’t last long. However, defensively, he was great at first base.

He plays third and he has been working in the outfield too so he’ll make the team but the signing of Cron indicates that the Rockies aren’t sold on him as the everyday first baseman yet.

Hampson is the fastest guy on the team and if Story leaves, the Rockies may move Rodgers to shortstop and have Hampson play every day at second (or vice versa). He, again, is versatile but his bat needs to develop more to be a steady MLB presence.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 21: Sam Hilliard #22 of the Colorado Rockies catches a fly ball against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on September 21, 2020 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /

Rockies outfielders (4): Sam Hilliard, Raimel Tapia, Charlie Blackmon, and Yonathan Daza

Chris Owings, Garrett Hampson, and Josh Fuentes (to a lesser extent) will also contribute to the outfield but these four will get most of the starts.

Sam Hilliard broke out in 2019 at the end of the season but struggled mightily in 2020. With David Dahl out of the picture in 2020, Hilliard will likely be the Opening Day center fielder. As with a lot of the Rockies bats, he has to prove that he will be a consistent, MLB bat but with the rebuilding Rockies, he will get plenty of at-bats to showcase it.

Tapia, like Fuentes, seems to like he had some good luck as he hit for a great average but the peripheral numbers in 2020 were well below league average so he still has more to prove. He will likely be the Rockies Opening Day left fielder.

Blackmon is the most proven up the trio, obviously, as he is the longest-tenured MLB player on the Rockies (if Desmond does not return) and the most tenured Rockie.

The Rockies #12 prospect, per MLB.com, Yonathan Daza benefits the most from Desmond opting out as he likely wouldn’t make the team otherwise. Daza, who turns 27 in less than a week, has the speed and definitely showed that he can hit in Triple-A (.364 average with a .952 OPS) but that hasn’t translated in his limited MLB career.

DENVER, CO – AUGUST 20: Starting pitcher German Marquez #48 of the Colorado Rockies walks off the field during the second inning against the Houston Astros at Coors Field on August 20, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /

Rockies starters (5): German Marquez, Kyle Freeland, Antonio Senzatela, Jon Gray, Austin Gomber

None of the first four are surprising. German Marquez will likely be the team’s Opening Day starter. Kyle Freeland had a nice rebound year in 2020 after a disastrous 2019. Antonio Senzatela had his best MLB season in 2020.

Jon Gray and Austin Gomber have the most to prove of the five. For Gray, he is a free agent at the end of the season and when he’s healthy, he’s, arguably, the Rockies best starting pitcher. But in recent seasons, he hasn’t been healthy as he has had a laundry list of injuries in each of the last four seasons.

He has only made than 30 starts in a season once and that was in 2018 (31 starts) but he said that he was not healthy during the season.

Gomber is the only MLB piece that the Rockies got in return for Arenado. The left-hander pitched well for St. Louis in 2020 (1.86 ERA) but that was only in 14 games (4 starts).

ARLINGTON, TEXAS – JULY 21: Daniel Bard #52 of the Colorado Rockies during a MLB exhibition game at Globe Life Field on July 21, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

Rockies relievers (8): Daniel Bard, Scott Oberg, Yency Almonte, Carlos Estevez, Jairo Diaz, Mychal Givens, Ben Bowden, and Robert Stephenson.

The Rockies bullpen will look to improve upon being one of the worst in franchise and baseball history, in general, in 2020.

The biggest bright spot was Daniel Bard and he or Scott Oberg (if he is ready for the season) will be the team’s closer. Oberg has to a) be ready and b) stay healthy, though.

Yency Almonte was great in 2020 but it was his first season that he was entirely in the majors. He will still need to prove that he can repeat that in a full season in 2021.

Carlos Estevez and Jairo Diaz are, perhaps, the two biggest wild cards in the bullpen. Neither have options and neither of them has been consistent. They can be good (3.75 and 4.53 ERA’s in 2019) or terrible (both had ERA’s of 7.50 or higher in 2020).

Mychal Givens was great in Baltimore but he was not good once the Rockies acquired him last season. Call it Coors, call it inconsistency, call it whatever you like, but he will need to be more consistent for the Rockies in 2021. He’s a free agent at the end of the season so if he pitches well and the Rockies don’t play well in 2021, he will likely be traded at the trade deadline.

Ben Bowden is a guy that seems like he has been in the Rockies system for a long time. And, frankly, unless they put Austin Gomber in the bullpen, he is their best left-hander despite his 5.88 ERA in Albuquerque in 2019. He didn’t pitch in 2020 due to the canceled minor league season. The only other left the Rockies have is Philip Diehl, who has not proved himself in the majors at all but perhaps, he may make the team if he has a good Spring Training.

Robert Stephenson will likely be the Rockies long-reliever, essentially, replacing the guy who the Rockies traded for him: Jeff Hoffman.

Next. Rival exec: “I have no idea how Jeff (Bridich) has kept his job”. dark

Since all but Bowden (or Diehl) and Bard don’t have options, Tyler Kinley (who has two options) would be on the outside, looking in as would Rule V draft pick, Jordan Sheffield, who would have to be designated for assignment (losing his 40-man roster spot), not be claimed, and offered back to the Dodgers. If all of that goes through without anybody claiming him, he could then remain in the Rockies organization.

Do you think that we missed anyone? Disagree on a player? Let us know what you think on Twitter or on Facebook.

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