Sports

Rockies Rated As Having Worst Batting Lineup In MLB

February 12, 2021 / 8:51 AM MST / CBS Colorado

DENVER (CBS4) - When the Colorado Rockies open the season against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 1, they will field the worst batting lineup in baseball, according to ESPN.

Charlie Blackmon #19 of the Colorado Rockies hits a double off of starting pitcher Justus Sheffield #33 of the Seattle Mariners during the first inning of a game at T-Mobile Park on August, 9, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)

In ESPN's "Way-too-early 2021 MLB starting lineup rankings," the Rockies have the No. 30 batting lineup and are projected to score 606 runs. The fewest runs the Rockies scored in a full 162-game season was 706 runs in 2013.

"Without (Nolan) Arenado, a bad offense is going to be all but unwatchable, even when Coors Field keeps its raw-run ranking out of the MLB cellar. Make no mistake though: This is baseball's worst offense," ESPN writer Bradford Doolittle said.

Trevor Story #27 of the Colorado Rockies hits a RBI single against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning during game two of a doubleheader at Chase Field on September 25, 2020 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

The Rockies projected starting lineup will be headlined by All-Stars Charlie Blackmon and Trevor Story. Other than the two, Ryan McMahon is the only player that has hit 20 or more home runs and 80 RBIs in a single season.

Raimel Tapia and Josh Fuentes hit .321 and .306 in last year's 60-game shortened season. Here is the projected lineup below:

Raimel Tapia (L)
Brendan Rodgers (R)
Charlie Blackmon (L)
Trevor Story (R)
Ryan McMahon (L)
Josh Fuentes (R)
Sam Hilliard (L)
Elias Diaz (R)
Pitcher (--)

If there is any good news for the Rockies, in ESPN's "Way-too-early 2021 MLB starting rotation rankings," they are rated as the No. 19 in the MLB.

The Rockies start spring training on Feb. 18 when pitchers and catchers report. The first full squad workouts are on Feb. 23.