Who is most likely to be the DH for the Colorado Rockies?

Sam Hilliard is another outfielder who could be a DH for the Colorado Rockies

Defensively in his relatively brief MLB career, Sam Hilliard has been a below-average MLB outfielder for the Colorado Rockies. But, as he showed particularly in the last month of 2021, Hilliard could be a big power threat for the team in the future.

In September, he hit .243/.325/.487 with five of his 14 homers on the season.

Hilliard’s .463 slugging percentage on the season overall was sixth on the team among players with at least 50 plate appearances. But one of the players ahead of him was Trevor Story, who likely won’t be returning. Among the other five players, four of them were within seven points of Hilliard in slugging percentage.

If he can stay on pace for 25-35 homers per season, the Rockies will find a way to keep him in the lineup, regardless of the low average (.215) and on-base percentage (.294) and the DH is the best way to do give him some more consistent playing time.

Raimel Tapia is another outfielder who could be a DH for the Colorado Rockies

In the last three seasons (Raimel Tapia’s three full seasons in the majors), he has hit for a decent batting average with the Colorado Rockies, as he has hit .282 since 2019.

But his on-base percentage of .327 is lower than the Rockies want in the leadoff spot. He also hasn’t hit for power (.394 slugging percentage since 2019).

Defensively, the metrics indicate that he has become a better outfielder in each of the last two seasons but his bat is a big reason why the Rockies are considering trading him.

However, considering that they continued to play him often in 2021, he could be part of the merry-go-round of outfielders and first basemen that could revolve through the DH door in 2022 for the Colorado Rockies.