The 2017 Rockies featured slightly better versions of these studs, but their production has remained IMPRESSIVE to close the decade in 2018 and 2019!
Lineup: I can safely say that no one is surprised by the Rockies have a deep and powerful lineup! Coming in at 4120 points, the Rockies lineup has no hitters under 300 points, tons of extra base pop, and a surprising amount of decent speed (only one speed C player). Leading things off is DJ LeMahieu and he's the perfect table setter. He led the majors in average in 2016 with a .348 average and his card reflects that. The two triples are nice for a non-HR card. He's followed up by an absolutely LETHAL 2017 Charlie Blackmon, easily one of the most explosive OB 10, HR at 18 cards ever created with his 15-17 triple range. Then comes +4 armed Nolan Arenado, bringing 17-20 HR and 11-14 2B range with more triples as well... wow, this Rockies team is going to lead the All Decade league in triples! Three of the next four hitters are potent OB 9 cards, more so potent for their large XB ranges (and triples for CarGo and Dickerson) than for HR power. Tulo walks at 3 and tbh I would've given a 10 for his .432 OBP, but I think understandably Colby docked him an OB for less than 400 PAs... and he's still a great card! Sandwiched in their at the #5 spot is last year's Trevor Story, who underperformed in Matt's league and is, therefore, due for a giant bounceback! I love his extra base potential and speed... and he's the DH for the Rockies! In the eighth hole is Todd Helton, one of my all-time favorite players. While his 2009 card isn't close to as good as his 01 foil card, he's definitely going to contribute with that OB 10, walk at 3 card from the eighth hole. Rounding it out is Nick Hundley, who's got a serviceable OB 8 card and arm. While some managers may be hesitant about this lineup for its lack of five or six OB 10s, I absolutely adore how these OB 9s rake and the plethora of triples stacked throughout the lineup. Make no mistake -- they will score a lot and I'm excited to see them take on the Dodgers and Giants powerful rotations!
(NOTE: 18-20 HR)
Rotation: At 2030 points, the Rockies rotation is much more expensive than expectations would demand! They've got two Tier 2 and two Tier 3 starters, making a pretty solid (albeit still underwhelming compared to other All Decade squads) rotation. Ubaldo is the ace, which makes sense after his Cy Young run in 2010. Next up is last year's Kyle Freelund... a Tier 3 but that no doubles combined with C6 has been a fan favorite (even if he's on at 15). Next up is the confusing but beautiful looking 2013 Jorge De La Rosa. Even with his 1.348 WHIP and 3.49 ERA in 2013, De La Rosa won 16 games and honestly deserves a lot of love for managing those stats at altitude! Thus, he earned the Tier 2, Control 6 from Colby and should be a solid #3. Rounding it out is the fan vote winning Chacin, edging out fellow Tier 3, no double Tyler Chatwood from the 2013 set thanks to Chacin's C5 vs C4. Chacin actually had a better ERA and WHIP than Chacin in 2013, but he's a tier lower and one slot lower on the All Decade rotation!
Bullpen: Coming in at 940 points, the bullpen is pretty loaded (albeit less so than the Yankees, Nats, and Astros). They're led by Tier 1 Rex Brothers, a perpetually overlooked Tier 1 Control 4 closer. Backing him up is no doubles, C6, Tier 2 Ottovino. Honestly, the depth of the 2018 Rockies bullpen is on full display, as 4/5 of this Rockies squad comes from that team! Overall, the team boasts a total tier score of 10 (1, 2, 2, 2, 3) and should provide plenty of support to a question mark of a rotation.
Overall, the Rockies are going to have to win games with offense and bullpen -- although don't sleep on this rotation doing *just enough* to keep them around. It'll be challenging going against the Dodgers and Giants, but if Colorado can go 6-6 against those division rivals, they may be able to do enough damage against Arizona and San Diego to make a real playoff push!
After seven teams, here's how they rank by pure point totals:
- Yankees 7920 points
- Nationals 7670 points
- Astros 7420 points
- Rockies 7090 points
- Mariners 6880 points
- Marlins 6750 points
- Tigers 6710 points
Rex Brothers picture is broken
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'll try to get that fixed :)
DeleteFinally! The Rockies. Even though I can't claim I got clothes from a cousin, I think most people can agree the Rockies are one of the most rootable teams in the majors regardless of fandom. They've always been solid and have some great players.
ReplyDeleteLineup:
I agree top to bottom, with Blackmon's unreal card being the top card at 6.47. This team is unreal, with Hundley being the only real soft spot, at 3.79 runs. Besides him everyone is over 5 runs which shows the depth this team has. The 5 outs on his own chart really kill his value, although for a worst player he isn't all that bad.
Rotation: I also agree top to bottom, just a bit different on ordering. De la Rosa comes in at the top for me at 5.97 runs, which is on the low end for a top starter, however all four of them fall between there and 6.26 runs, creating a very small range. After him its Jimenez, Chacin and finally Freeland. Once again, none of these guys are bad, however all of them would be a 3/4 starter on most all decade teams.
Bullpen:
Same as above, with Brothers coming in with a solid 5.31 runs, Ottavino next at 5.44, then Oberg, Oh and wrapping it up with Davis at 6.60. Overall the bullpen is solid, albeit comparatively definitely falls short of the other bullpens.
This team will be a fun team to play with as it's going to be a bunch of offensive matchups!