Which Colorado Rockies will benefit the most from banning the shift?

According to multiple reports (including Evan Drellich of The Athletic), MLB and the MLBPA have not made much ground in ending the MLB lockout. In fact, they have even regressed in some aspects. But one thing that they have reportedly agreed on, per Drellich in this thread on Twitter, is that the MLBPA has agreed to MLB’s proposal to ban the infield shift in 2023, among a few other rule changes.

In 2021, the Colorado Rockies utilized the shift much less than other MLB teams. In fact, the Rockies only used it 32.1 percent of the time against left-handed hitters and only 6.9 percent of the time against right-handed hitters. That was second-lowest and tied for fifth-lowest in the sport.

Offensively, the Colorado Rockies could have a few players that will likely benefit from the banning of the shift.

A few Colorado Rockies could benefit from banning the shift

For the Colorado Rockies, they don’t have many left-handed power-hitting sluggers, which is the demographic that is shifted against most often.

But the three players that will benefit the most from the banning of the shift are catcher Dom Nuñez, outfielder Sam Hilliard, and outfielder Charlie Blackmon.

In 2021, Nuñez was shifted against more than any other Rockie by percentage, as he was shifted against 82.6 percent of the time. His weighted On-Base Average (wOBA) was 10 points lower (.286) than it was when he wasn’t shifted against (.296).

Sam Hilliard was shifted against the second-most, as he faced the shift in 79.6 percent of his plate appearances and he saw a drastic difference. When he was shifted against, his wOBA was just .296. When there was no shift, he had a wOBA of .401, or 105 points higher.

Charlie Blackmon had the shift employed against him exactly two-thirds of the time and he hit better without the shift as well. His wOBA without the shift was .357 but with the shift, it was .322, or 35 points lower.

For Hilliard, in particular, banning the shift could help him out massively. He hit 14 homers in 81 games (55 starts) in 2021 so if he gets an everyday role (and he could), Hilliard could start to hit for a higher average (and, therefore, a higher on-base percentage and a higher wOBA).

Since he is most likely to receive the most playing time of the three players in 2023 and beyond for the Colorado Rockies, Sam Hilliard is the Colorado Rockies player that will likely benefit the most from the banning of the shift.