30 Teams in 30 Days 2018 14 Colorado Rockies

The Rockies made the playoffs last year, one of three teams from the NL West division. With a Coors Field-inflated offense, a revamped bullpen, and a surprisingly strong stable of young starting pitchers who can perform at altitude, Colorado again has a chance to compete for a Wild Card spot (assuming the Dodgers can right the ship and retake their rightful place at the top of the division - which is why they were the first NL team I covered in this 30 Teams in 30 Days).

All-Acquired Factor

The only new addition to the starting lineup is a familiar face, homegrown Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta. There was some talk of Colorado perhaps being interested in re-signing Jonathan Lucroy, but GM Jeff Bridich figured that he would be out of their price range (of course not anticipating the collapse of the free agent market), so they pounced on their former backstop with a two-year deal with an option. Right fielder Carlos Gonzalez was also plucked off the free agent market, but he was with the team last year, so he doesn't qualify for All-Acquired purposes.

Bullpen

As with so many of these posts, given the preponderance of free agent contracts doled out to relief pitchers, the Bullpen section is really a continuation of the All-Acquired section. The biggest addition was closer Wade Davis, late of the Cubs, after the club twice tried to retain its incumbent closer Greg Holland, first via their half of a mutual option and then by issuing a qualifying offer. It remains to be seen if Davis's blatant overuse in the playoffs last year will have any lingering effects, but so far he's 6 for 7 in save opportunities this year. The Rockies also picked up another trusted bullpen weapon from the 2017 playoffs, former Indians setup reliever Bryan Shaw. They also re-signed southpaw Jake McGee (ranked 441 by MLB.com), but he falls under the same caveat as Gonzalez above.

Fifth Starter

Let's cut to the chase: it's been Kyle Freeland (470). But the more intriguing long term rotation piece is Jeff Hoffman, a three-time member of three different top 100 prospects lists (MLB.com, Baseball America, and Baseball Prospectus), whose preseason rank dropped all the way to 599 when he went on the DL with shoulder inflammation. He's expected to be out until the end of April. In terms of depth, Antonio Senzatela (579) is on the roster as a long reliever, although he hasn't exactly thrived in that role (9.00 ERA in 8 innings so far) after starting most of last year.

Batting Order

Sports Illustrated curiously projected rookie first baseman Ryan McMahon to take the leadoff spot this year, and while McMahon did make the Opening Day roster, he has seen relatively little action so far (only two starts, and a .087 batting average in 26 plate appearances). Instead, Ian Desmond has served as the starter at first base, with Gerardo Parra (whose ranking strangely dropped down to 348) taking his projected spot of left field. Meanwhile, recently extended center fielder Charlie Blackmon has been reprising the role as leadoff hitter, which he's held for the last four years and counting.

Fantasy Astrology Relevance

The above-mentioned Blackmon is a key part to a Cancer fantasy astrology team that is short on outfield superstars (although Andrew Benintendi could take center field if necessary thanks to his eligibility from last year). He joins DJ LeMahieu in the "Decapods" starting lineup, although the two-time gold glover could be forced back to the bench once Ian Kinsler ramps back up from his recent stint the disabled list. Nolan Arenado has handily taken over the Aries third base position from another legend Adrian Beltre. And Wade Davis will serve as the closer for a very strong Virgo team.

Song

Rocky Mountain High - John Denver

This is one of the rare instances where the title of the song references the team's name rather than its city, although the does contain some of the most Colorado-centric lyrics I've ever heard. And of course when you consider that John Denver adopted his stage name because of his love for the state of Colorado, and that his ashes were scattered in the Rocky Mountains after his tragic death in a plane crash, this becomes one of the more tragic and poignant song choices in all the major leagues.

Colossus

The Rockies are named after a famous mountain range, and Colossus #6 lives in a temple that's situated underneath a big mountain. Also, Barba's giant beard is reminiscent of face-of-the-franchise Charlie Blackmon's... Okay, it's not the best, but we're nearing the end of available Colossi here.