Colorado Rockies

Catchers & Infielders:

• C – Chris Iannetta
• C – Nick Hundley
• 1B – Todd Helton
• 2B – DJ LeMahieu (1B/3B)
• SS – Troy Tulowitzki
• 3B – Nolan Arenado
• MI – Trevor Story (SS)
• MI – Eric Young Sr. (2B)
• 3B – Vinny Castilla (SS)

Outfielders:

• LF – Matt Holliday
• CF – Ellis Burks (LF/RF)
• RF – Larry Walker
• OF – Charlie Blackmon (RF)
• OF – Carlos Gonzalez (LF/CF/RF)

Starting Pitchers:

• SP – Jhoulys Chacin
• SP – Jon Gray
• SP – Kyle Freeland
• SP – Ubaldo Jimenez
• SP – Jorge De La Rosa
• SP – German Marquez

With every team, we started building their all-time 25-man and 40-man rosters by using the Hall of Fame as a starting point, figuring that a player enshrined in baseball’s immortal Hall would certainly qualify to make his team’s all-time roster.

Almost all the Hall of Fame members are easily identifiable with one team so it’s a simple way to start every roster with near-inarguable selections.

Some players spent significant time on different teams, so Colorado has a few players they have to fight for like Larry Walker, Matt Holliday, and Ellis Burks:

Larry Walker

Montreal: 6 Years, 1 All-Star, 0 MVP, 21.1 WAR, .281 AVG, 368 Runs, 384 RBI, 99 HR, 98 SB

Colorado: 10 years, 4-time All-Star, 1 MVP, 48.3 WAR, .334 AVG, 892 Runs, 848 RBI, 258 HR, 126 SB

Matt Holliday

Colorado: 6 years, 3-time All-Star, 0 MVP, 18.5 WAR, .319 AVG, 482 Runs, 486 RBI, 130 HR, 66 SB

St. Louis: 8 years, 4-time All-Star, 0 MVP, 23.1 WAR, .293 AVG, 573 Runs, 616 RBI, 156 HR, 29 SB + 1 World Series Title

Ellis Burks

Boston: 7 years, 1-time All-Star, 0 MVP, 18.6 WAR, .280 AVG, 446 Runs, 388 RBI, 94 HR, 95 SB

Colorado: 5 years, 1-time All-Star, 0 MVP, 12.0 WAR, .306 AVG, 361 Runs, 337 RBI, 115 HR, 52 SB

Larry Walker absolutely belongs in Colorado, and surprisingly Matt Holliday and Ellis Burks do too.

Although Holliday had better numbers in St. Louis and Burks had better numbers in Boston, those two teams have rosters filled with more than 100 years of players, so Holliday and Burks get starting spots in Colorado instead of inactive roles in St. Louis/Boston.

This simulation works against expansion teams simply by design, so splitting up players like Burks and Holliday in this manner makes sense.

As with every team, we are trying to build an active roster with 13 position players and 12 pitchers, and then a 15-player inactive roster of guys who just missed the cut, but remain valuable as callups in case of slumps or injuries.

The 13 active position players are usually two catchers, six infielders, and five outfielders. The stats are built around the average of the player’s best three consecutive seasons.

The newer the team, the less The National Baseball Hall of Fame helps us out. Cooperstown only gives Colorado Larry Walker. WAR (Wins Above Replacement), a great stat for looking at the all-around contribution to a team for both hitters and pitchers, can help us with the rest.

We get lots of help here, as in order we find: Todd Helton, Troy Tulowitzki, Nolan Arenado, Carlos Gonzalez, Trevor Story, Matt Holliday, Vinny Castilla, Charlie Blackmon, D.J. LeMahieu, Ellis Burks, Dexter Fowler, Eric Young Sr., Clint Barmes, Chris Iannetta, Garrett Atkins, Brad Hawpe, Dante Bichette, Jay Payton, and Corey Dickerson.

Every team needs three catchers so Nick Hundley and Joe Girardi are in play here too.

Once plugged into the simulation software, we looked at their OPS (on-base + slugging percentage) and their defensive rankings and they break down like this:

CATCHER: Chris Iannetta, Nick Hundley
FIRST BASE: Todd Helton, D.J. LeMahieu (sometimes)
SECOND BASE: D.J. LeMahieu, Eric Young Sr.
SHORTSTOP: Troy Tulowitzki, Trevor Story
THIRD BASE: Nolan Arenado, D.J. LeMahieu (sometimes)
LEFT FIELD: Matt Holliday, Carlos Gonzalez (sometimes)
CENTER FIELD: Ellis Burks, Carlos Gonzalez (sometimes)
RIGHT FIELD: Larry Walker, Charlie Blackmon

The Mile High air in Denver has given the Rockies a legacy of hitting excellence that’s absolutely on display in that stacked lineup. That leaves inactive roster options Dexter Fowler, Vinny Castilla, Clint Barmes, Dante Bichette, Corey Dickerson, Joe Girardi, Garrett Atkins, Brad Hawpe, and Jay Payton.

For the pitching staff we’re looking for six starters and six relievers. Bear in mind that across the whole game you will see dynamic, outstanding starting pitchers that can’t crack an all-time rotation but are better served as relievers on a team than sitting inactive.

Let’s be honest, pitching has never been the Rockies’ strong suit, as the park conditions that lend to great hitting performances also tend to frustrate the men on the mound. With the 22 players on the total roster already we need 18 pitchers.

Once we dug into the career WAR rankings (as Rockies) we came up with these names: Ubaldo Jimenez, Aaron Cook, Jorge De La Rosa, Jhoulys Chacin, Steve Reed, German Marquez, Jon Gray, Pedro Astacio, Kyle Freeland, Jeff Francis, Jason Jennings, Brian Fuentes, Tyler Chatwood, Adam Ottavino, Armando Reynoso, John Thomson, Kevin Ritz, Curt Leskanic, and Jose Jimenez. Talented reliever Huston Street gets consideration as well.

We looked at their overall numbers in the simulation software and leaned heavily on ERA to come up with these designations:

STARTING ROTATION: Jhoulys Chacin, Jon Gray, Kyle Freeland, Ubaldo Jimenez, Jorge De La Rosa, Aaron Cook
RELIEVERS: Pedro Astacio, Cust Leskanic, Steve Reed, Brian Fuentes
SET-UP: Adam Ottavino
CLOSER: Huston Street

The bullpen looks strong, but I’m a little worried about that stating rotation. The inactive pitcher options are Jeff Francis, Jason Jennings, German Marquez, Armando Reynoso, John Thomson, and Jose Jimenez.

So how did we do?

Would you balance the bats in the outfield differently?

Does the starting rotation make sense?

Should Huston Street and Adam Ottavino switch jobs?

What batting order would you suggest versus lefties and righties?

Let us know in the forums below and if you make a compelling case we will adapt it in-game. We want every squad to be the best they possibly can be and appreciate your help fine-tuning the Rockies for Eternal Baseball.

Photo Credits:

• Colorado Rockies (player) by jenniferlinneaphotography
• Coors Field by Ron Reiring
• Coors Field by Max and Dee Bernt
• 2013 Opening Day Workout by jenniferlinneaphotography