Colorado Rockies: The battles for the final roster spots

Opening Day for the Colorado Rockies is less than a week away but there are still a few positional battles to watch as spring training winds to a close.

Here are the final Colorado Rockies battles for an Opening Day roster spot.

Infield

Historically a known commodity for this team, it feels strange to say that we still don’t know what the Rockies’ Opening Day infield will look like. Unless he’s traded within the week (which is unlikely), Trevor Story will still be a part of that infield when the season starts. He is joined by Ryan McMahon as the only two guaranteed starters come April 1.

But the position McMahon will be playing is still in question and will hinge on who makes the roster out of spring training. Brendan Rodgers was looking like a lock to make the team before his injury. Now he will begin the campaign on the injured list. Bringing solid defense, elite speed, and spotty but streaky offense, utility man Garrett Hampson will make the roster again and Josh Fuentes should return as well after a strong 2020 and solid spring.

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Veterans Chris Owings and C.J. Cron have performed well this spring, with Owings sporting a .306 average with 4 home runs, 7 RBI, and a 1.128 OPS while Cron has posted a .372 average with four home runs, 7 RBI, and a 1.180 OPS. That would give the Rockies six infielders (Rodgers would make seven), who all have a chance to earn an everyday role.

But the most interesting candidate battling for a roster spot is 23-year-old Colton Welker. Welker has hit .351 with 1 home run and 10 RBI. Listed as a third baseman, Welker has also played some first base and, with both positions open coming into the season, it doesn’t seem like a long shot that the Rockies’ No. 11 prospect could play his way into an everyday role.

Former Yankee Greg Bird is still fighting for a roster spot but he has only hit above .200 once in his career and is currently carrying a .189 average this spring. The Rockies should move on from him.

The Rockies may end up carrying more infielders than teams typically would because many of them can also play in the outfield if needed, an area where the team’s depth is thin. Both Hampson and Owings saw time in the outfield last season and even Fuentes has seen a little action in left field this spring.

Pitching

Kyle Freeland‘s shoulder injury threatens to prematurely derail one of the most promising starting rotations the Rockies have ever put forward. His initial absence will give other pitchers in the system the opportunity to prove themselves. Unfortunately, after their starting five, the Rockies’ pitching depth is very weak.

Probably the most likely to step in to the rotation is Chi Chi Gonzalez, who has pitched in 20 games for Colorado over the past two seasons, posting a 5.66 ERA and walking almost five batters per nine innings. Gonzalez’s Spring Training has been surprisingly adequate (two wins and a 3.72 ERA over four games with only two walks) though the sample size has been small.

Former San Francisco Giant and son of baseball legend Ivan Rodriguez, Dereck Rodriguez, is another option, though his spring has been rough. Rodriguez has surrendered 11 runs in 11 innings for a 9.00 ERA while posting a 1.82 WHIP. To his credit, he has only walked two of the 51 batters he has faced over those 11 innings, but he has also been tagged for five home runs.

Rodriguez hasn’t been the victim of one bad outing inflating his numbers, either, as he’s given up about a run an inning in each of his appearances, though it’s worth noting he pitched two scoreless innings in his most recent appearance against the Milwaukee Brewers on March 24.  Though he’s struggled mightily since, Rodriguez had a great rookie season with the Giants in 2018, posting a 2.81 ERA and 135 ERA+ in 21 games, so he has seen major league success before.

Other options prospect Ryan Rolison who threw four scoreless innings over two games before allowing four runs on four hits, two walks, and 2 homers in 1.2 innings in his last appearance.

In the bullpen, lefty Ben Bowden (the team’s No. 15 prospect) has a good chance to fight his way onto the Opening Day roster for three reasons. First, ge has had a really good spring (1.17 ERA, 11 K, 0.65 WHIP, .115 AVG. against in nine games). Second, the Rockies bullpen is really bad. Third, the team currently doesn’t have a single left-hander in the ‘pen. If he’s ready, he deserves this chance, if he’s not ready, he might get it anyway.

2021 will be a strange season and some of these position battles might be ongoing even into the summer but, as a team with low expectations, it will be good for the Rockies to give some of their younger players a chance to see some playing time and prove they belong.