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Colorado Rockies: Their Opening Day 2022 dream lineup

By Noah Yingling

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 02: Nelson Cruz #23 of the Tampa Bay Rays in action against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on October 02, 2021 in New York City. The Rays defeated the Yankees 12-2. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 02: Nelson Cruz #23 of the Tampa Bay Rays in action against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on October 02, 2021 in New York City. The Rays defeated the Yankees 12-2. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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Colorado Rockies outfielder Sam Hilliard
DENVER, COLORADO – AUGUST 05: Sam Hilliard #22 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates in the dugout after hitting a solo home run against the Chicago Cubs in the fourth inning at Coors Field on August 05, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Hitting ninth for the Colorado Rockies, center fielder Sam Hilliard

Sam Hilliard would be the biggest enigma in the lineup but with the guys ahead of him, he can have little pressure to perform.

He hit .215/.294/.463 with 14 homers and 34 RBI in 81 games. If he has a poor average and OBP again, he should be lower in the lineup but if he can turn that around and keep the power numbers up, the Rockies would, arguably, have themselves the best ninth hitter in baseball and the deepest lineup in baseball.

As Rox Pile’s Luke Mullins asked over the weekend, what’s next for Hilliard? A low-pressure situation where he could play often and patrol the vast expanse of the Coors Field outfield could be best for him in 2022.

If struggles enough offensively, the Rockies could have Garrett Hampson be the primary center fielder and he could still hit ninth.

Final Thoughts and an honorable mention

This is a dream lineup for a reason. The chance that the Rockies re-sign Story and sign Castellanos and Cruz is … negligible … at best. But they could, if they ponied up enough money, could sign all three.

In the very likely event that Castellanos and/or Cruz is not signed, Connor Joe would take over in the leadoff spot and play left field in the “dream lineup” and Blackmon, Story, and Cron would likely move down a spot and someone else would be added in as the DH or Blackmon would slide in as DH.

Colorado Rockies fans love Connor Joe. It’s as simple as that.

Part of it is shown from the chants at Coors Field (Joe! Joe! Joe!), part of it is because of his recovery from his battle with testicular cancer, and part of it is because in his short time with the Rockies before a hamstring injury, he was one of the best offensive players for the Rockies.

He hit .285/.379/.469 with eight homers, 35 RBI, and an OPS+ of 117 in 211 plate appearances. If he played at the same pace for the entire season, he would have the second-highest OPS+ of any player on the Rockies.

Next. 1 trade target from each team the Rockies should look at. dark

If he can keep produce at that level and, specifically, get on base at that clip, the Rockies and Rockies fans would love to have him leading off and in left field.

But he still has to show that he can repeat that on a consistent basis at the MLB level.

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