Colorado Rockies: This is their perfect lineup right now

The calendar has turned to the month of June and things are very different for the Colorado Rockies than they were at the beginning of May.

They entered the month of May with a 12-9 record but after going 10-17 in May, the Rockies are 22-26 and in last place in the NL West.

Part of the reason why the Rockies didn’t play well in April is the lack of offense and, in particular, the lack of power. They had a .267 batting average, which was fifth in baseball, and a .325 on-base percentage, which was eighth but their .384 slugging percentage in the month was 20th.

Their team wRC+ was 88, or 27th in the sport.

For the Rockies lineup, trying to get their power hitters in power spots is key but also, benching players that aren’t hitting well also needs to happen for their perfect lineup.

For example, Sam Hilliard started in 17 of the team’s 27 games in May but he hit .190/.246/.345 so he’s not in the lineup. Nor is Elias Díaz, who was the team’s starting catcher in 17 of the 27 games but hit .161/.229/.194 in May.

This is the perfect lineup for the Colorado Rockies entering June

This lineup is a bit different than what the Colorado Rockies have had for most of the season but here is their perfect lineup right now.

1. Yonathan Daza, CF
2. José Iglesias, SS
3. Charlie Blackmon, DH
4. C.J. Cron, 1B
5. Brendan Rodgers, 2B
6. Ryan McMahon, 3B
7. Randal Grichuk, RF
8. Connor Joe, LF
9. Brian Serven, C

Yonathan Daza has been great for the Colorado Rockies this season and has been even better in May. In the month, he hit .349/.404/.422 with a wRC+ of 122. The name of the game in the leadoff spot is to get on base and that is the highest OBP for any Rockies player (minimum 10 plate appearances in the month).

José Iglesias has also hit for the average and contact but not necessarily the power. In May, he hit .313/.368/.388 with a wRC+ of 105. In other words, a perfect guy at the top or bottom of the lineup but not in the middle, which is exactly what the Rockies were hoping they’d get out of him.

Charlie Blackmon still doesn’t have great numbers for the season overall but in his last 15 games, he has hit .279/.353/.475 with three homers and 10 RBI. Manager Bud Black has led off with him but also had him in the two and three spots but three is probably best for him right now.

C.J. Cron has been one of the best power hitters in baseball on the season overall and that was no exception in May. He hit .321/.373/.532 in the month with six homers and 18 RBI. Having him at #3 or #4 is what he has had and what he will continue to have for good reason.

After an awful start in April, Brendan Rodgers was almost as good as Daza in May. He hit .347/.380/.484 in the month with a 132 wRC+. After his start, he doesn’t have the overall numbers that you’d like to see but for the “what you’ve done for me lately” on offense, he should be higher in the lineup and in a power spot. That slugging percentage is second only to Cron on the team in May (minimum 50 plate appearances).

Ryan McMahon did not have a great month of May overall (.232/.315/.333 slash line) but he hit for a bit more power in the second half of the month (.246/.343/.393 from May 13 to the end of the month).

Randal Grichuk has come back down toward earth as he had a low average (.226) and low OBP (.253) but his slugging percentage is .345, which is sixth among players with at least 50 plate appearances in the month.

Connor Joe had a great April but cooled off a lot in May. In May, he hit .270/.345/.323. That slugging percentage is the lowest of any of the players in this lineup and the only player with a lower slugging percentage in May with at least 15 plate appearances was Elias Díaz.

Brian Serven has shown some power to start his MLB career while Díaz has really been struggling at the plate. Serven is hitting .250/.286/.550 to start his career (seven games).

Even with giving Díaz playing time, the catchers should be hitting ninth for now until Serven gets more time under his belt, gets on-base a bit more, or Díaz breaks out (like he did in June last year).

It’s not a perfect lineup but perhaps with the calendar turning to June, the Rockies will be able to turn the page as well and play better baseball in the month.

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