After making his Major League debut in 2019, the Rockies #1 prospect, Brendan Rodgers still has lots to prove coming into 2020. He only played in 25 games in 2019 and hit around .220 to begin his baseball journey. Despite a shoulder injury hurting him for the rest of the year, Brendan promised to get better and improve in the offseason. Coming into 2020, Rodgers is currently one of the top players on MLB Pipeline to watch out for in the near future.

Yes, he may not be a Troy Tulowitzki or a Trevor Story type of guy, but he definitely has a potential of a high average at the plate and a great defensive glove. Rodgers is not a home run hitter and doesn’t hit the ball 450’ feet into the stands as a lot of people would expect in Colorado, but he does have some power in his bat and loves driving in runs. On his way up the minor league ladders, Rodgers hit well into the .300 range and had a great OBP (On-Base Percentage). Coming up, people saw this guy and considered him as a future All-Star. So, the question is…would he be a possible Rookie of the Year candidate in the National League?

I think he definitely would be. Having such a minor league career coming up through the Rockies system and the potential he still has as a rookie infielder, this guy could be dangerous in the lineup. Take Rockies superstar Nolan Arenado for example. When Arenado first came up in 2013, he wasn’t a huge, overpowering hitter, until two years later in 2015 when he hit over 40 home runs that season. People then knew that this was their guy for the Rockies. Some see that in Brendan Rodgers. It may take a couple years, but when he hits his prime, watch out for this kid. The more experienced Rodgers gets, the better. If Rodgers makes a hug name for himself, imagine the Rockies future infield and beyond.

With the MLB season hopefully returning this summer, we will probably see Rodgers in AAA Albuquerque or on the Rockies bench to begin 2020. With the crowded infield with Arenado, Story, McMahon, Murphy, and Hampson, it may be tough for Rodgers to squeeze in the lineup, unless he breaks out all of the sudden. There is still time for him to develop.

“You can look at it as a loss last year, or you can look at the fact that we identified a lot of things that went wrong and we’re going to use it to make a championship team this year,” Desmond said. “There were a lot of bad things that happened, a lot of turmoil and a lot of headaches. But they’re only that if you don’t use them to benefit you. “There are a lot of guys who have a renewed focus and a positive direction.”

Jon Gray also had a word on the Rockies staff…“Our guys are super-talented,” Gray said. “We’ve all seen them put it on display. It’s just about trying to figure out how to get them there and keep them there. If we get to that spot, we’re going to be really dangerous.”

As you’ve heard many times before, you learn from your mistakes. Perhaps 2019 had to be one of those years for the Rockies in order for them to get better. The Rockies still have most of the core group of players that were with them in 2018 when they clinched the Wild Card and made it to the NLDS. Can they have a “94-win” season? Can they rebound after a disappointing season? Do we have a team that is potentially dangerous? ABSOLUTELY! Then what are the keys for the Rockies to return to the playoffs. Number one is of course winning games. Two is obviously pitching…especially at home. Three is shutting down close games with our bullpen and closer. Wade Davis must have a better season in 2020 in order for that to happen. Four is scoring insurance runs in late innings and having a consistent offense. We’ll have to wait and see how it all plays out by Opening Day in San Diego.

Rockies open up Spring Training against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday at 1:10 PM MT. No word on who will be starting the game quite yet.

-Rockies Now

If the Rockies decide to trade Nolan down the road, it could happen as early as late July at the Trade Deadline…if…the Rockies are not having a good season and failing to reach the postseason. However, if the Rockies end up having a good record going into August and are a playoff potential team, then we could possibly see Nolan hang around longer in the purple pinstripes. We did see that Nolan was reportedly upset with the team earlier because of them not going out and getting good players in the free agent market. Fingers crossed folks. I’m sure most Rockies fans would agree that this was probably one of, if not, the worst offseason in Rockies history. Thankfully, we have only 24 hours until that ends! Rockies pitchers and catchers report on February 11 in Scottsdale. The first game of the spring is a couple weeks away against the rival Diamondbacks. There will for sure be Opening Day roster battles in left field for Colorado with players like Hilliard, Tapia, Desmond, etc.

This offseason, Kyle Freeland reported that he changed his windup a bit and made it more original instead of the long pause in his delivery. Hopefully that helps him regain his composure after a bad 2019 season. David Dahl and Story are expected to have great seasons. Baseball is back baby!

– Rockies Now