Quietly lurking in the vast dump truck that consists of three teams in the NL West is a team that no one expected to be as potentially dangerous are they are ending up being. In a division that contains the Giants and Dodgers, no one really cares about the other three teams. The D-Backs? Laughable, off to the worst start in team history. The Padres? Wait, they still exist? The Rockies? Hahah-wait.
The Rockies? How about those Rockies.
Yes, they are only 14-12 on the season, just scraping over .500 at the end of April, but I wouldn’t heed those numbers too much. They are, after all, currently tied with the Dodgers for second place in the division. Once Clayton Kershaw comes back off the DL, I suppose that will change, but don’t count the Rockies out yet.
With a very scary offense, this is a team that could surprise people. On their 25-man roster, 8 are batting better than .300 and 11 are batting above .250. In comparison, on the Dodgers’ roster, only 4 are batting over .300 and 7 are batting about .250. Nutty, right? Oh, and the Rockies are leading the majors with a combined batting average of .294. Who would have thought that the Rockies, a team forgotten by many, could have such offensive prowess? And let’s not forget that the bearded center-fielder Charlie Blackmon is batting a league-high .402. I know, I had never heard of him either.
Yeah, they are offensively a good team, but what about defense? Well, I am so glad you asked! The Rockies have two 2013 Golden Glove winners in Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez and the rest of the team ain’t that bad, either. New first base addition Justin Moreno is known for his defense, and taking over for the newly-retired Todd Helton is no easy feat. You have to hand it to the Rockies for being so reliably good on defense.
Can this team make it into the post-season this year? I highly doubt it, and I say that because they have to climb over the Dodgers and the Giants to get there. They are very good and rather dangerous. If they can keep the same nucleus of guys next year, look out. I have a good feeling about the Rockies, I just hope I am right. I would love to see them do well.
She Steals Second 