2. Ryan McMahon, 3B
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 12/14/1994 (23)
2017 teams/levels played for: AA Hartford Yard Goats, AAA Albuquerque Isotopes, MLB Colorado Rockies
2017 Stats: Minors: .355/.403/.583, 519 PA, 20 HR, 11 SB, 41/92 BB/K; Majors: .158/.333/.211, 24 PA, 5/5 B/K
Info: McMahon has been developing his skills with the Colorado Rockies since being a 2nd round pick out of high school in California in 2013. Primarily a third baseman until 2016, he’s now added first base and second base to his skill set.
Along the way, his bat has always shown well, taking a big step forward after the 2015 season when some adjustments allowed for more consistent bat path through the zone and allowed McMahon to hit for both average and power. As his 2017 season showed, his new adjusted swing allows him to tap into that power without major strikeouts, fanning just 17.9% of the time in 2017.
Typically a guy with McMahon’s size struggles in a move to a position up the middle, but McMahon has high-level athleticism, which made his second base performance more than palatable as a possible fit for more than just a fill-in if that’s needed.
Bringing back Carlos Gonzalez seems to make it difficult to find a sure starting spot for McMahon, which could lead to him heading back to AAA in 2018 so he can get consistent at bats while the Colorado Rockies open up a spot for his bat long-term.
1. Brendan Rodgers, SS
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 8/9/1996 (21)
2017 teams/levels played for: high-A Lancaster JetHawks, AA Hartford Yard Goats
2017 Stats: .336/.373/.567, 400 PA, 18 HR, 2 SB, 14/71 BB/K
Info: Considered among a number of players for the top overall pick in the 2015 draft, the Colorado Rockies picked the Florida prep shortstop as the 3rd overall pick.
(Rodgers’) bat will carry him regardless of position
Rodgers opened 2017 by hitting everything near the zone, with his batting average near or even above .400 deep into the season at Lancaster. A hand injury hampered his time with Hartford and really sapped his power in his first go-round at AA.
Many have wondered since he was drafted about Rodgers’ eventual defensive home as he is not the most rangy of shortstops, but he does have a plus arm, excellent instincts, and good baseball acumen to end up positioned well more often than not. He’s played some second base as well, and his arm could work at third base.
His bat will carry him regardless of position, however. Rodgers has elite bat speed with a balanced swing and good pitch recognition. He doesn’t take a ton of walks, but he does keep his strikeout rate low, which is impressive with Rodgers’ plus power. He is fringe-average in his speed, however, so he’s not going to be a guy to impact stealing bases.
After losing time to injury after getting up to AA, the Colorado Rockies could choose to have Rodgers open at the level again in 2018, but he should move quickly to AAA, and it would not surprise if he showed up in the majors at some point on the season.
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