Ranking The Rockies: 30 Cristhian Adames

We at BSN Denver are running a series where we rank how valuable each of the Colorado Rockies’ 51 players was to the team in 2015. Value was calculated by statistics, viewing, and how memorable each player’s contributions were. The rankings will be from last to first, you may view the full rankings (here)

Player: Cristhian Adames

Stats: 26 G, 58 PA, .245 AVG, .298 OBP, .302 SLG, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 44 wRC+, -0.5 UZR, -0.2  WAR

Big Moment: Sep 24, the Pittsburgh Pirates are in Denver visiting the Rockies. Pirates pitcher Jeff Locke is dealing with a 2-1 lead when Corey Dickerson reaches on an error. That’s when Adames comes to the plate, he smoked a triple to deep left center driving in Dickerson and trying the game. Although the Rockies lost, Adames displayed his gap power and his speed all in one play.

Season Recap: He was a September call-up who spent the rest of the season at Triple-A Albuquerque. He made his big league debut in 2014 but was not ready for a full big league season in 2015. For the Isotopes, he was their starting shortstop, playing in 116 games. It was the strongest season of the 24-year old’s career. It was the first time he OPS’d 800 for an entire season, he also showcased his durability and versatility, which has been one of the big selling points on the switch-hitting infielder.

What’s Ahead: Baring a setback or a bad Spring Training, he is almost a shoe-in to be a bench bat on the 2016 roster. Adames deserves a shot in the Rafael Ynoa role from 2015, if not Daniel Descalso‘s. He is the perfect backup infielder and probably the best the Rockies have had since Josh Rutledge. Also don’t count out Adames’ upside because there is an outside shot he could be the Rockies starter at several different positions for a period of time.