How Colorado can construct their lineup to compete for the NL West crown

Now that the Colorado Rockies have made what is likely to be their biggest acquisition of the offseason, bringing in Daniel Murphy to play first base and add some consistency to the offense, the question is whether or not they have a roster that can stand to compete for the NL West in 2019.

Without knowing still how the rest of the league will shake out, especially while waiting to see what the Los Angeles Dodgers are up to, we can begin to speculate on the overall potential of the Rockies lineups, especially if we allow ourselves to analyze multiple permutations of it.

There are a few key elements to consider when contstructing these lineups for next season. The primary ones concern Charlie Blackmon’s age and ability to play centerfield moving forward, David Dahl’s health, Ian Desmond’s ultimate value, and the general progression (or lack thereof) of the young contingency featuring Raimel Tapia, Garrett Hampson, and Ryan McMahon. We will hold off for now on projecting lineups with Brendan Rodgers in them.

As it is constituted this very moment, Colorado can throw out some typical or creative lineups that can be tweaked throughout the year.

While on the surface level, it may not seem like much has changed from a year ago, how these players are employed will matter a great deal to that equation.

Let’s begin with a scenario most resembling what we have already seen.

If you believe that Blackmon is at his best leading off, value contact in the two-hole, and want to lean on veterans while young guys prove their value. This is a likely early-season lineup:

1. Charlie Blackmon – LF (LH)

2. Daniel Murphy – 1B (LH)

3. Nolan Arenado – 3B (RH)

4. David Dahl – RF (LH)

5. Trevor Story – SS (RH)

6. Ryan McMahon – 2B (LH)

7. Ian Desmond – CF (RH)

8. Chris Iannetta – C (RH)

9. P

The two lefties at the top make it easier to game plan against, though both Blackmon and Murphy have done well against same-handed pitching.

And, in order to avoid running into that same problem again, you have to move Story down to the fifth spot which may be a bit lower than is ideal but he moves up against lefties. If Bud Black cares less about that he can simply swap Dahl and Story and the same is true with McMahon and Desmond.

I expect we will see something close to this on Opening Day.

However, as the team coalesces and the young players emerge, the Rockies could decide to construct their lineup to take advantage of a speed element while stacking the middle of the order with power.

If you trust Dahl’s ability to stay healthy and progress as an all-around player, want Blackmon in the middle of the lineup, and want to present a speed tandem at the top, this might be a lineup maybe later into the season once Dahl has proven himself:

1. David Dahl – CF (LH)

2. Trevor Story – SS (RH)

3. Charlie Blackmon – LF (LH)

4. Nolan Arenado – 3B (RH)

5. Daniel Murphy – 1B (LH)

6. Ian Desmond – RF (RH)

7. Ryan McMahon – 2B (LH)

8. Chris Iannetta – C (RH)

9. P

On days when Iannetta catches, this lineup also presents a constant switch between right and left-handed batters, causing problems for how opposing managers can align their late-inning relievers.

One downside to this lineup is that, if nobody reaches base in the first inning, a pitcher can settle into a rhythm on the mound before having to face Arenado. And Arenado has insane first-inning numbers. That plus it is always a good idea to make the opponent face your scariest guy before he gets to take a breath.

It might also be a slight misuse of Story’s power to bat him second.

So far in our lineups, the bench would look like this: Raimel Tapia, Garret Hampson, Tony Wolters, Pat Valaika.

If Colorado were inclined to get creative and employ truer platoons, you could see a lineup like this against left-handed pitchers:

1. Ian Desmond – CF (RH)

2. Garret Hampson – 2B (RH)

3. Nolan Arenado – 3B (RH)

4. Trevor Story – SS (RH)

5. Charlie Blackmon – LF (LH)

6. Daniel Murphy – 1B (LH)

7. David Dahl – RF (LH)

8. Chris Iannetta – C (RH)

9. P

This is part of why it makes sense for the Rockies to still be looking for a right-handed hitter who can play in the outfield. This lineup isn’t bad by any means, and the string of lefties from 5-7 all handle same-handed pitching relatively well.

But players also need rest, and unless Valaika or Noel Cuevas has some major improvement there is a spot on the bench where it makes sense to put another player. And if you are going to platoon, you might as well get the most out of it.

If the Rockies were to acquire such a player (Josh Harrison?) Desmond could play first for Murphy at times and left-field for Blackmon at others, allowing the newcomer to fill in accordingly.

So, in theory, you could see something like this against lefties:

1. Ian Desmond – 1B (RH)

2. Josh Harrison – LF (RH)

3. Nolan Arenado – 3B (RH)

4. Trevor Story – SS (RH)

5. Charlie Blackmon – CF (LH)

6. Garrett Hampson – 2B – (RH)

7. David Dahl – RF (LH)

8. Chris Iannetta – C (RH)

Bench: Tapia, D. Murphy, Wolters, McMahon

Then, against righties, the Rockies could do this:

1. David Dahl – RF (LH)

2. Daniel Murphy – 1B (LH)

3. Charlie Blackmon – LF (LH)

4. Nolan Arenado – 3B (RH)

5. Ryan McMahon – 2B (LH)

6. Trevor Story – SS (RH)

7. Raimel Tapia – CF (LH)

8. Tony Wolters – C (LH)

9. P

Bench: Desmond, Hampson, Iannetta, Harrison (Valaika or Noel Cuevas with no acquisition)

Depending on how Dahl, Tapia, and McMahon develop, you could move them around. In fact, at first, if the club still has general concerns about his overall play, they could tap into their inner-Tony-LaRussa and bat Tapia ninth and the pitcher eighth.

This would create an interesting dynamic where, any time he does get on base, you now have one more guy with speed in Dahl. Not only that, both of the next two hitters (Dahl and Murphy) hit their fair share of line drives into the gap which Tapia can score on from first base with relative ease.

If he finally takes that next step (in whatever regards he needs to) and his bat starts to play at the majors the way it did in the minors, you could even lead Tapia off and instill this concept more naturally into the lineup with Dahl and Story to follow.

Again, I expect we will see something pretty close to this at some point early on in the season. It will only become more regular if the young guys hit.

Story can be moved up or down accordingly with how well he handles right-handed pitching.

Defensively things can get a little bit fluid as well, especially in the outfield. If the club is insistent on keeping Dahl out of CF to preserve his health, a platoon of Desmond and Tapia in center makes the most sense. If Dahl emerges as the guy who has to take that role, you move that platoon to right field with relative ease.

So can these lineups compete?

In short, yes they can.

The longer answer is that there is a lot of potential for the Rockies to significantly improve upon their offense in 2019 if they can put each player in the proper role and get one of the four key youngsters to take a big step forward.

As it stands, you can pencil in Blackmon, Story, Arenado, and Murphy to be above average hitters at least. Dahl and McMahon are the most likely to jump into that category next season with Hampson and Tapia also having the ability to make themselves plusses in the batter’s box.

If none of them do, the Rockies will once again rely on their pitching and defense to get them into the dance. If one of them does, the Rockies could end up with a solid offense that can carry a bit more weight than they did a year ago.

If two of them take the next step… look out.