Colorado Rockies: Their Opening Day 2022 dream lineup

Overall in 2021, the Colorado Rockies had a weak offense. In fact, their offense had an OPS+ of 87, which was tied for the third-lowest in the National League.

Simply put, to be a competitive team in 2022, the Rockies will have to field a better lineup so we decided to look at what their dream lineup might look like.

As always, though, for these exercises, we take the “dream” lineup with a grain of salt. Rockies fans can dream that Nolan Arenado will return and that Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani will be wearing purple. That doesn’t mean that we won’t take a few stretches in this hypothetical lineup, but they will be within reason and with players the Rockies, at least in theory, could have on their team in 2022.

Lastly, we are including a designated hitter. Want a better lineup? Unless the pitcher is the aforementioned Ohtani, that’s the way you get a better lineup (another bat). Don’t like the DH? You’ll have to get over it eventually because whether it comes in 2022 (which it likely will) or later, it’s coming eventually.

So let’s dive in.

Leading off for the Colorado Rockies, the right fielder: Charlie Blackmon

You may be surprised by this Charlie Blackmon is in right field and not the designated hitter. The reason why will be mainly revealed later. However, part of the reason is that in right field, Blackmon is a much better outfielder in right field than in center field.

He is still not an above-average outfielder but his -3 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) in 2021 is much better than the -8 DRS he had in 2019 and the -26 he had in center field in 2018.

But if he can have that season defensively again in 2022, that will be fine because his bat is more important.

Blackmon has had an on-base percentage of .350 or higher in every season since 2016. That would be best at the top of the lineup especially since Blackmon’s power has dropped drastically since 2019. His slugging percentage has dropped from .576 in 2019 to .448 in 2020 to .411 in 2021.

That is a guy that needs to be at the top of the lineup and not in the middle.

Hitting second for the Colorado Rockies, the shortstop: Trevor Story

The Colorado Rockies would love to re-sign Trevor Story to play shortstop for them, whether it’s a one-year deal or if it’s long-term.

Story had a down year in 2021 but he has shown that he can hit 30+ home runs. He still hit 24 in 2021. Story also has shown that he can get on at a good rate, as he had an OBP of .355 from 2018 through 2020.

But we have him in this spot in the lineup for two main reasons: his speed and the guys behind him.

Is it realistic that he will come back? Probably not, but until he signs elsewhere, the Rockies are still in the hunt to re-sign Story … in theory. But in this dream lineup, he is back and there are some bigger power guys in the 3-5 spots.

Hitting third for the Colorado Rockies, the first baseman: C.J. Cron

C.J. Cron was the best offensive player for the Colorado Rockies in 2021 and it wasn’t particularly close.

He hit .281/.375/.530 with 28 homers, 92 RBI, and an OPS+ of 130.

Realistically, the 3-5 in this lineup could be changed in any order but we’ve got Cron in the third spot because of his high on-base percentage. In other words, he can work a deep count and/or walk to be on base for the next guy in this dream lineup.

Hitting cleanup for the Colorado Rockies, the left fielder: Nick Castellanos

If, and it’s a big “if”, the Colorado Rockies could get Nick Castellanos in a free-agent deal, that would be huge for them.

In 2021, he hit .309/.362/.576 with 34 home runs, 100 RBI, 38 doubles, and an OPS+ of 136. That helped get him to his first All-Star selection.

Ideally, Castellanos, who will turn 30 in March, is a right fielder so the Rockies could use him there and move Charlie Blackmon in left field or DH one of them. But, at least in our scenario, neither one will be the designated hitter because the #5 hitter is the Rockies designated hitter.

Nelson Cruz would hit fifth for the Colorado Rockies and be the designated hitter

Nelson Cruz would, realistically, become a member of the Colorado Rockies only if the designated hitter is implemented in the National League.

Cruz was featured in our list of three free agent bats that would be (relatively) cheap for the Rockies.

As we mentioned in that article, Cruz, 41, has had at least 32 homers and 86 RBI per season, and an OPS+ of 147 since 2014. His lowest OPS+ in that span was in 2021. It was 130. That’s the exact OPS+ C.J. Cron had for the Rockies last season.

So his worst season in the last eight still would have been tied for the best by a Colorado Rockie in 2021.

He wouldn’t play the field as he has played 10 games in the field total since the start of the 2017 season so the Rockies would have to give up some versatility but they need to address their offense and Story returning and adding Cruz and Castellanos would do just that.

Hitting sixth for the Colorado Rockies, third baseman Ryan McMahon

Overall on the season, Colorado Rockies infielder Ryan McMahon’s best tool was his defense, which should (but, unfortunately, probably won’t) win him a Gold Glove and the Platinum Glove Award. He is also versatile as he can play all four infield positions but third base is his natural position and the position that he played 70 percent of the time in 2021.

But he did hit 23 home runs and he had 86 RBI with a slash line of .254/.331/.449. However, his season changed dramatically after June 15.

Through June 15, he hit 16 homers and had 43 RBI with a slash line of .261/.308/.527 in 67 games (62 starts). He was even fourth in the NL in homers.

But after that, his power plummeted … but he got on-base at a much higher clip. He only had 7 more homers in 84 games (77 starts) with 43 RBI. He batting average dropped slightly as he hit .247 in that span but his OBP was .348 and his slugging percentage plummeted to .383.

In the sixth spot, McMahon could be utilized well whether it’s the power-version of him or the on-base version of him. He, in theory and hope, wouldn’t have much traffic on base ahead of him since the four guys after Blackmon in the lineup are all 30-40 homer threats. But McMahon could easily be a 30-40 homer threat if he hits like he did early in the season (he was on pace for 39 homers through June 15).

He would also be another lefty after four straight right-handers.

Hitting seventh for the Colorado Rockies, second baseman Brendan Rodgers

Like Ryan McMahon, Colorado Rockies infielder Brendan Rodgers can be a great offensive threat.

When healthy and when given a chance to play for the Rockies in 2021, Rodgers flourished.

Overall, he hit 15 homers and had 51 RBI with a slash line of .284/.328/.470 in 102 games but from July 26 on (55 games), he hit .299/.326/.502 with 10 home runs and 31 RBI. If he had that for a full, 162-game season, he would have had 29 home runs and 91 RBI.

That’s not bad at all for a seventh-place hitter.

Hitting eighth for the Colorado Rockies, catcher Elias Díaz

Elias Díaz hit .246/.310/.464 with 18 home runs and 44 RBI in 2021 in a season that was the best offensive season for a Rockies catcher in a long time.

But from June 25 on (67 games, 55 starts), he hit .297/.356/.589 with 16 homers and 36 RBI. That pace for 162 games is 39 homers and 87 RBI. He wouldn’t be playing 162 games but if the Rockies could get 20 homers and 60 RBI from their catcher hitting eighth, their dream lineup would be phenomenal.