Colorado Rockies: Who should represent them at the All-Star Game?

The Colorado Rockies will not have a player in the starting lineup since the first time since 2010 and, if a Colorado Rockies pitcher doesn’t start the game, it will be the first time since 2009 that the Rockies were only represented on the bench or in the bullpen of the All-Star roster.

But for the Rockies, part of that is because they don’t have a player that is a clear-cut All-Star.

So let’s take a look at the possible candidates.

Trevor Story

Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story has hit .255/.328/.439 on the season with an OPS+ of 101. He has nine home runs and 36 RBI on the season.

By WAR, he is tied for third on the Rockies with a 1.5 rWAR and he leads the team with 1.7 fWAR but none of these are particularly “Trevor Story-like” numbers.

He has played better recently (.316 AVG and a .981 OPS in his last 15 games) and he will be participating in the Home Run Derby the night before the All-Star Game.

Does he have a case? Sure. Is it the strongest case on the Rockies? I would contend that he does not.

Ryan McMahon

Throughout much of the 2021 season, Ryan McMahon has had the strongest case for making the All-Star Game for the Rockies.

He leads the team in home runs and RBI and leads the team in rWAR by a large margin (2.5) and is second in fWAR to Story (1.5). He has been phenomenal on defense at two different positions too.

However, he has struggled a lot at the plate recently as he is in a 5-for-35 skid and, if you look even further back, a 15-for-74 skid, which goes back to June 2.

Rockies manager Bud Black said prior to Thursday’s game that he thought McMahon had been pressing a bit at the plate and he also said that he thought his timing was off a little bit as well.

But is he still an All-Star now?

Austin Gomber

The main piece in the Nolan Arenado has flourished for the Rockies thus far, especially at Coors Field.

In his first five starts at Coors Field this year, he had an ERA of 0.95.

Overall, he struggled to start the season (6.35 ERA in his first seven starts) but in his following seven starts, he had an ERA of 1.28.

However, his injured list stint makes his case weaker and, if he does get selected to it, he would have to be replaced on the roster.

Germán Márquez

Germán Márquez is another player, like Trevor Story, who’s All-Star game case has strengthened in recent weeks.

After all, he didn’t have much of a case at all to start the season since he had an ERA of 6.21 in his first seven starts. But in the 10 starts since then, he has an ERA of 2.32. If you remove one of those ten starts (his start on June 12 in Cincinnati), his ERA in the other nine starts is a sparkling 1.33.

Overall on the season, he has an ERA of 3.62 and an ERA+ of 126, which is the best among any Rockies pitcher with 25 or more innings pitched.

C.J. Cron

On the season, first baseman C.J. Cron has hit 11 home runs and 31 RBI with a slash line of .249/.347/.459 with an OPS+ of 111. That OPS+ is the highest of anyone on the Rockies and the slugging percentage is second-only to Ryan McMahon.

The case against Cron is that he has only played in 66 games, whereas Story has played in 69 games and McMahon has played in 79 games. He also is behind Max Muncy, Freddie Freeman, and Pete Alonso in almost every offensive category.

In other words, his chances are diminished a lot because of their play.

Yonathan Daza

I think I can speak for a lot of people when I say that if you would have told me that Daza’s name would be in All-Star consideration in 2021, I would have a) thought you were nuts or b) would have thought it would be with another team because that would not be shocking at all.

However, Daza has been phenomenal for the Rockies and particularly phenomenal in the second spot in the lineup.

Overall on the season, Daza is hitting .315/.357/.406 with an OPS+ of 102 in 72 games for the Rockies. He has been a well above-average defender as well, which was expected but the bat has been the key to his success.