The Rockies believe they have a franchise third baseman in Nolan Arenado. He's not just one of the best "young" third baseman in baseball. He's in the top-10 period, evidence by a 4.1 WAR that ranked eighth among all third baseman in the majors. Arenado is under team-control for another four years, won Gold Gloves in his first two years in the majors, and improved his slash line to .287/.328/.500 last year.
Arenado was limited to 111 games though. He was placed on the disabled list in late-May with a mallet fracture on his left middle finger, after sliding headfirst into second base. The final two weeks, with the Rockies eliminated, Arenado was shutdown due to a chest contusion and pneumonia. If he stays healthy, Arenado could play over 140 games. The reserves are Daniel Descalso and Charlie Culberson.
As for the Isotopes, the third-base preview is a little anticlimactic because most of the candidates are also middle infielders who we previously profiled: Cristhian Adames, Rafael Ynoa, Omar Quintanilla and Angelys Nina.
This will be different than what we saw at Isotopes Park in 2013 and 2014. We saw a lot more "corner infielder" types on those teams: Jamie Romak, Alex Liddi, Brian Barden, Rusty Ryal, Ian Stewart.
The 2015 Isotopes team could be similar to a month-long stretch in 2013, when then-manager Lorenzo Bundy rotated Dee Gordon, Justin Sellers and Elian Herrera between third base, shortstop and second base on a regular basis.
This annoys fans who prefer a standard lineup, but it's necessary for 2015 manager Glenallen Hill to do the same. The Rockies justifiably believe they're set with Arenado at third base, Troy Tulowitzki at shortstop and D.J. LeMahieu at second base for the discernible future. If one of those players was injured, the player promoted from the triple-A team would be the hottest one, so you need to make sure all of them are getting regular repetitions at all the infield positions.
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| Tim Smalling |
Tim Smalling is another name to add to the 2015 third base list. Mostly a second and third baseman previously, he saw action in 47 games in left field last year. This will his fifth year in the Rockies organization, after getting drafted in the 14th round in 2010 out of Virginia Tech. Smalling spent the first month of 2014 at double-A Tulsa, then was promoted to triple-A Colorado Springs for the first time in his career. His combined slash line was .264/.333/.408 in 298 plate appearances.
Against the Isotopes from Aug. 20-23, Smalling started at third base once, in left field once, and was a pinch hitter twice. He went 2-for-10, but I have four stars in my scorebook, indicating he was robbed of four potential hits, including one on the warning track by Joc Pederson.
Jayson Langfels is a pure third baseman who is coming off two straight years at double-A Tulsa. Langfels clubbed a career-high 14 home runs in 2013, nine more than any other season, but his batting average dropped to .218 in the process. The average was back up to .277, but the homers were down to four last year. My hunch is that Langfels probably needs some of the above names to reach the majors, some injuries and a torrid spring for a promotion to triple-A by opening day. He's a possibility sometime during the year.
Joey Wong is another third-short-second option, further down on the depth chart. Wong helped himself by hitting .301 in the Australian Winter League, with more walks (32) than strikeouts (35). He's spent the last two years at double-A Tulsa, with a combined .231/.295/.315 slash line in a reserve capacity.
Down the road
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| Ryan McMahon, courtesy of Rockies Zingers |
Ryan McMahon was named the best hitter just outside of Baseball America's Top 100 prospects, and Keith Law ranked him fourth-best in the Rockies system. A former stud quarterback in high school, McMahon was selected in the second round in 2013. His first full season was at low-A Asheville last year, where at age 19, he slashed .282/.358/.502, bashed 18 homers, drove in 102 runs, and South Atlantic League managers voted him the best defensive third baseman. McMahon has similarities to Ian Stewart because of their position, they swing from the left side, and their high schools are separated by five miles. Stewart had Rockies fans initially excited, but struck out too often and flamed out. The Rockies are hopeful that McMahon can develop the way Stewart couldn't. He would likely begin this year at high-A Modesto, so he's at least a year away from Isotopes Park.
Kevin Padlo is even further away from Isotopes Park, likely 3-4 years. A fifth-round pick in 2014, he's mentioned because of an impressive debut at Rookie Level Grand Junction, slashing .300/.421/.594, with 31 walks and 38 strikeouts.
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