The 2024 series on team offense continues with the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies finished eighteenth in the Majors and ninth in the National League in 2023 with 4.45 runs scored per game.

This season I am using FanGraphs Roster Resource Depth Charts* as the source of default lineups. That Bud Black batting order is plugged into the Lineup Analysis Tool (LAT) using Musings Marcels as the batter projections. That information produces the following results (Runs per game):

• Best lineup: 4.76
• Probable lineup: 4.67
• Worst lineup: 4.52
• Regressed lineup: 4.39

The LAT cares not for the comfort of a player in a particular slot or the history of the player with the team. The LAT bats Charlie Blackmon ninth by determining that lineup position helps the team score the most runs.

The LAT takes a person with leadoff qualities, but at a lower level, and uses that type of player at the bottom of the order to set up good hitters at the top. This allows a manager to get extra plate appearances for a great power hitter batting second, while not reducing the RBI potential for that hitter. Blackmon fits that bill perfectly.

On top of that, Blackmon will play 2024 as a 37-year-old. He will be an old 37 as well, with a July 1st birthday, the first day players lose a year. Batting him ninth would save some wear and tear on his body.

The LAT chooses Nolan Jones and Sean Bouchard for the top of the order. They are two less experienced players who nonetheless posted excellent OBPs in their limited time in the majors. Batting Bouchard lower in the order may take some pressure off him as he continues to develop, but it certainly would be easy to at least flip Kris Bryant and Nolan in the 2-3 slots.

The one player that might make Black’s lineup look better is Brenton Doyle. Doyle posted great OBPs in the minors, but his limited MLB experience puts his projection low. If he winds up with an OBP in the .330s, his batting ninth looks a lot better.

I hope as the season wears on and the youngsters prove themselves, we see changes in the lineup that move Blackmon and Bryant down to the middle, with some combination of Jones, Bouchard, and Doyle taking over around the top of the order. There’s some upside for the Rockies offense this season.

You can follow the data for the series in this Google spreadsheet.

Previous posts in this series:

• Introduction
• Atlanta Braves
• Los Angeles Dodgers
• Texas Rangers
• Tampa Bay Rays
• Houston Astros
• Chicago Cubs
• Baltimore Orioles
• Philadelphia Phillies
• Cincinnati Reds
• Minnesota Twins
• Boston Red Sox
• Seattle Mariners
• San Diego Padres
• Arizona Diamondbacks
• Toronto Blue Jays
• Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
• Milwaukee Brewers

*This is the best source of roster information I’ve seen, with everything on one page.