Colorado Rockies: Brendan Rodgers needs to take the next step in ’22

The book has barely closed on the 2021 season for the Colorado Rockies, but that doesn’t mean it is not too early to look towards next season and beyond.

There soon will be a void in star power on the Colorado Rockies roster, which is not good news for owner Dick Monfort and the attendance numbers. The attendance at Coors Field already fell by over a million spectators from 2.99 million in 2019 to 1.94 million in 2021 with the trading away of Nolan Arenado and a losing product on the field being a huge catalyst for the drop, in addition to early-season attendance limitations because of COVID-19. It could get even worse in 2022.

The Rockies will likely lose Trevor Story to free agency this offseason. Charlie Blackmon is in the twilight of his career and, even though he is still a fan favorite, his skills have slowly diminished over the last few seasons  Ryan McMahon is good but, after four big league seasons, he has yet to make that jump into what would be considered a top-tier player at the plate.

This leads to Brendan Rodgers.

It is time for Brendan Rodgers to finally take the next step and become the player the Colorado Rockies had always envisioned he would be when they selected him third overall in the 2015 MLB Draft.

This past season, the 25 year-old Rodgers slashed .284/.328/.470 with 15 home runs, 51 RBI, and 49 runs scored. Those numbers aren’t bad, but they were greatly diminished due to Rodgers spending the first eight weeks of the season on the injured list, cutting his games down to only 102 games and 415 plate appearances. Injuries have been a major cause for concern for Rodgers during his early tenure in a Rockies uniform. He has found himself on the injured list during parts of all three of his seasons in the majors.

With the inevitable departure of Story, Rodgers could well slide over to his natural position of shortstop. This should make the daily grind of the MLB a little bit easier on him. That move and good health could help him see his offensive production increase and just maybe turn him into the All-Star caliber player that the Rockies’ offense will desperately need.

Not only do the Rockies need Rodgers to take that next step to stardom to begin winning ball games, they need him to become the next big draw for fans to come out to Coors Field.