FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Colorado Rockies.The Colorado Rockies have long been one of the strangest paradigms of Major League Baseball. They seem to thrive on their home park of Coors Field, which provides Rockies hitters with seemingly supernatural power abilities. Of course, as always, that power comes with a price -- it's extremely rare to see a Colorado pitcher provide the team with any sort of successful season.
Even an attempted focus on groundball pitchers has often times resulted in disaster. For further reference, see: Hampton, Mike. Of course, this all seemed to change with the team's 2007 run to the World Series. Colorado had finally arrived and, in a weakened National League West, they seemed to possess enough young talent and decent enough pitching to contend for years.
Then 2008 happened, and it wasn't pretty. Recently extended, budding superstar shortstop Troy Tulowitzki was injured early, Todd Helton continued to age, Ubaldo Jimenez couldn't build on his strong 2007 postseason, and Manny Corpas, who saved 19 games in replacement of Brian Fuentes during the Rockies' run, was highly ineffective.
Colorado traded MVP candidate Matt Holliday in the offseason and now, despite having a somewhat talented lineup on paper, it finds itself in the midst of a rebuilding process.
| Lineup | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ryan Spilborghs |
CF |
| 2. | Troy Tulowitzki |
SS |
| 3. | Todd Helton |
1B |
| 4. | Garrett Atkins |
3B |
| 5. | Brad Hawpe |
RF |
| 6. | Ian Stewart |
LF |
| 7. | Chris Iannetta |
C |
| 8. | Clint Barmes |
2B |
| 9. | Pitcher's Spot | P |
| Pitching Staff | ||
| 1. | Aaron Cook |
R |
| 2. | Ubaldo Jimenez |
L |
| 3. | Jorge De La Rosa |
R |
| 4. | Jason Marquis |
R |
| 5. | Greg Smith |
R |
| CL | Huston Street |
R |
In: Huston Street, RP (trade); Greg Smith, P (trade); Jason Marquis, SP (trade); Carlos Gonzalez, OF (trade); Alan Embree (free agency)
Out: Matt Holliday LF (trade); Brian Fuentes, RP (free agency); Livan Hernandez, SP (free agency); Willy Taveras, CF (free agency)
Storylines
On the Mend, er, Mound ...
As mentioned, pitching has always been the Achilles' heel of the Rockies. Last year, they got a surprise in the form of Aaron Cook, who won 13 games, but looked more like, well, Aaron Cook after the All-Star break. Cook's ground-ball tendencies play well in Colorado, but expecting a repeat of the first half from last year is probably a bit much. Of course, there were expectations surrounding Jimenez as well; he obviously didn't meet them. Add in the fact that Jeff Francis is going to miss 2009, and Colorado could be hard-pressed to patch together a rotation at times.
Examining the Holliday Trade ...
It's somewhat depressing to think that a 2009 storyline for the Rockies will revolve around a player no longer with the team, but if Street, Smith and Gonzalez (the three players acquired for Holliday) can't produce, things could get awkward. Holliday was set to become a free agent after this season, and while the Rox might not have been able to re-sign him, at the very least they might have been able to deal him as a rental to a contending team for better prospects (the Braves come immediately to mind given their weakness in left field). If Street is less capable of closing than the departed Fuentes, and if Smith can't provide decent starts at the back-end of the rotation, this is going to look pretty ugly for Colorado in the long- and short-term.
The Future Is Now ...
So much of the Rockies' success will depend on the ability of the lineup to produce consistently on the offensive side. For several years, Matt Holliday and Todd Helton have been the, ahem, rocks of the lineup. Helton, despite his ability to hit for average, is really too old to be considered dangerous at this point, Holliday is gone and Garrett Atkins is probably overrated based on a good season several years ago. Chris Iannetta, Troy Tulowitzki and Ian Stewart, however, can make up for that, but they all need to show some strong progression to make this lineup resemble anything remotely scary.
2009 Outlook
Why You Should Watch: Because the Rockies surprised us just two years ago, I suppose it's not entirely impossible for the to come out of nowhere again. OK, it's probably unlikely, but the National League West allows the Padres to continue to exist, and so, it is inherently winnable.
What Defines Success: The Rockies are highly unlikely to make a playoff run -- obviously, that would be a win. What might be a more likely barometer of success is winning the Holliday trade. If the Rockies can get strong performances out of Smith and Street than they have a decent shot at arguing that they beat Billy Beane at his own game, no easy feat to pull off. Of course, if the A's fall out of the playoff race and Beane deals Holliday for better prospects, it might not matter.
Related Links
- Fantasy Baseball Preview: Plenty of Offense, Even With Humidor
- Better Know a Prospect: Colorado Rockies
