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Colorado Rockies: Projecting the Opening Day lineup 2.0

By Noah Yingling

TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 30: Randal Grichuk #15 of the Toronto Blue Jays flies out in the third inning of their MLB game against the New York Yankees at Rogers Centre on September 30, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 30: Randal Grichuk #15 of the Toronto Blue Jays flies out in the third inning of their MLB game against the New York Yankees at Rogers Centre on September 30, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Cole Burston/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) /

7) Colorado Rockies center fielder Randal Grichuk or Sam Hilliard

For the second question that we had earlier (“How many platoons will they have?”), there could be a few. The newest Colorado Rockies player, Randal Grichuk, is, essentially, a right-handed version of Sam Hilliard.

Both of them hit for a lot of power but swing and miss a lot so they have low batting averages and on-base percentages. So, in theory, the two could platoon in center field. In theory.

Grichuk hits left-handed pitching better, as you would think but Hilliard actually hits left-handed pitching better as well. Here are their splits in 2021:

Sam Hilliard 2021 Platoon Splits
Split G PA AB R H 2B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS tOPS+
vs RHP 71 181 163 28 33 6 10 26 17 66 .203 .282 .448 .730 93
vs LHP 37 57 51 4 13 1 4 8 6 21 .255 .333 .510 .843 123
Randal Grichuk 2021 Platoon Splits
Split G PA AB R H 2B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS tOPS+
vs RHP 132 397 373 41 89 16 16 63 19 89 .239 .277 .416 .693 97
vs LHP 75 148 138 18 34 9 6 18 8 25 .246 .291 .442 .733 108

On Opening Day, the Rockies will be facing right-handed pitcher Walker Buehler of the Los Angeles Dodgers. One of them will likely still be patrolling center field and considering that he’s a veteran and making more money, it seems like it will be Grichuk. However, both will see a lot of playing time whether it’s in center, right, or as a DH.

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