2021 Colorado Rockies Lineup Predictions

2021 Colorado Rockies Lineup Predictions: Infield

First Base- Josh Fuentes, Ryan McMahon

Josh Fuentes has shown that he can take the first base job and produce at the plate. Having a .306 batting average, .320 OBP, .759 OPS, and 17 RBIs season in 2020. Fuentes is more than capable of taking over the first base job

Second base- Ryan McMahon, Garrett Hampson, Brendan Rodgers

It seems like the second base job will be McMahon"s, but they have plenty of depth to sub and give players breaks. Hampson and Rodgers being able to sub will help this infield. Hampson could also help rotate in the outfield as well

Third base- Nolan Arenado, Josh Fuentes

The third base is all Nolan Arenado if he is on the team. With trade rumors dying down it seems like he will remain in purple for the 2021 season. If Nolan Arenado does leave Colorado, the Rockies are going to have to put Fuentes at third and mix up first base. Ian Desmond has played some first, and Ryan McMahon can also play there while someone else can start at second.

Shortstop- Trevor Story, Garrett Hampson

Shortstop is Trevor Story"s if he is on the Rockies. If he ends up with another team then they will have to put Garett Hampson there. They might also get another replacement from free agency if they trade him away. Expect Story to be on the team for the 2021 season and he will be the starting shortstop with Hampson filling in behind him.

Catcher- Dom Nunez, Elias Diaz

Since the Rockies got rid of Tony Wolters, they now have to rely a lot on Dom Nunez and Elias Diaz. Wolters and Diaz were the catchers in 2020. The last time that Nunez played for the Rockies was in 2019. In 2020 Diaz went .235 batting average with two homers, .288 OBP, and .641 OPS. In 2019 Nunez had a .179 BA, .233 OBP, two homers, and .643 OPS. Besides the batting average, these two catchers were pretty close in stats. It will be interesting to see how they will do playing more.

2021 Colorado Rockies Lineup Predictions: Outfield

The outfield will change in 2021. With David Dahl signing with the Rangers, that leaves the team with Charlie Blackmon, Raimel Tapia, Ian Desmond, and Sam Hilliard. With Desmond opting out last season, it will be interesting to see how they use him in 2021. Tapia did enough last season to put him in center field and the leadoff spot. Hilliard can play left field and Blackmon in right. This will have Desmond and maybe Yonathan Daza sub in a couple of games. You could see Hampson subbing in also.

2021 Colorado Rockies Lineup Predictions: Rotation

The Colorado Rockies rotation has always been hard to predict. The first four are easy with German Marquez, Kyle Freeland, Antonio Senzatela, and Jon Gray. Since the Rockies have traded Jeff Hoffman, he won"t be in the talk for the fifth rotation spot. They still have Peter Lambert, Ryan Castellani, and Chi-Chi González. This rotation can win some games and hopefully put the Rockies in the postseason again.

2021 Colorado Rockies Lineup Predictions: Bullpen

The bullpen has always been a struggle for the Rockies. They have found a diamond in the rough with Daniel Bard, and it will help with Scott Oberg healthy. With new players that helping out, it is nice to see Tyler Kinley, and Phillip Diehl looking good. If Carlos Estevez gets on a roll, this bullpen doesn"t look half bad. The Rockies have also added Robert Stephenson in a trade with the Reds. Stephenson had a rough 2020, with a 9.90 ERA but in his career, he has a 5.15 ERA. If he can get his ERA back down like in 2019, when he had a 3.76 ERA, he can be a good addition to the team.

Selling or Postseason

The Colorado Rockies are in a weird position. They can try to make it to the postseason as they have a couple of years ago. They have the team and if they are healthy they are capable. If that is the goal though, they will need to do it soon to keep Arenado happy.

If the Rockies are planning on rebuilding this would be a mistake for the club to make. They could get rid of Arenado, Story, Marquez, Oberg, and a couple of young pitchers. They can completely clean the house and try to get a good farm system and hope that they can build a team of Zac Veen and others. The Rockies need to commit to their players now and show they are going all in or sell.

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