COLORADO ROCKIES

2005 finish: 67-95, 5^th place in NL West

Manager: Clint Hurdle (5th season)

Incoming: RHP Jose Mesa, C Yorvit Torrealba, LHP Ray King, RHP Josh Fogg, C/OF Eli Marrero, IF Jamey Carroll, IF Jason Smith, LHP Jaime Cerda, LHP Tom Martin

Outgoing: OF Larry Bigbie, IF Aaron Miles, RHP Jamey Wright, RHP Marcos Carvajal, C Todd Greene, RHP Dan Miceli, OF Dustan Mohr

Rotation: RHP Jason Jennings, RHP Aaron Cook, LHP Jeff Francis, RHP Byung-Hyun Kim, RHP Sunny Kim or RHP Zach Day or RHP Josh Fogg

Relievers: Closer: LHP Brian Fuentes; Setup men: RHP Jose Mesa, RHP Mike DeJean, LHP Ray King, RHP David Cortes, RHP Scott Dohmann, LHP Jaime Cerda

Regulars: CF Cory Sullivan, SS Clint Barmes, 1B Todd Helton, LF Matt Holliday, 3B Garrett Atkins, RF Brad Hawpe, 2B Luis Gonzalez, C Danny Ardoin

Role players: C Yorvit Torrealba, C/OF Eli Marrero, IF Jamey Carroll, OF Choo Freeman, IF Jason Smith or IF Omar Quintanilla, 1B/OF Ryan Shealy (DL), OF Jorge Piedra (DL)

The pressure is on: Clint Barmes has to prove his impressive first two months of 2005 were no fluke, and that he is a quality, every-day shortstop defensively.  

Breakout candidate: Aaron Cook is over health problems and ready to step up and pitch 180-plus innings and win in double figures.

Rundown: Todd Helton will turn 33 in August and never has appeared in a playoff game. Yet he keeps insisting on staying put in Colorado, even though the last winning season came six years ago. But there is at least some reason to think Helton and an improving core of young players can become respectable in this weak division. The biggest problem, of course, is putting together a pitching staff that can finish more than a spot or two up from the bottom of the NL ERA standings. Even though Coors Field is playing much more fairly these days – in part the result of baseballs behind stored in a stadium humidor -- the staff finished 15^th overall in ERA last season, when a young bullpen got bashed around early, putting the team in a big hole. They believe they addressed that problem by signing former Pirates closer Jose Mesa and trading for left-handed setup man Ray King, who along with Mike DeJean, will be the setup crew in front of effective left-handed submariner Brian Fuentes. They also could get something from Chin-hui Tsao later in the season. The rotation also should be better assuming Aaron Cook, who has the best power stuff on the staff, and solid Jason Jennings (49-43 lifetime) are able to pitch full seasons after combining to make only 33 starts in 2005. Lefty Jeff Francis also was a very respectable 14-12 in his rookie year, and has upside. Byung-Hyun Kim has been penciled into the No. 4 spot, and in sinkerballer Zach Day, Sunny Kim and Josh Fogg, they could have a fifth starter and a longman/middle reliever or two. The young lineup remains a far cry from the Blake Street Bomber days, and Helton didn’t help matters with his worst season in eight, as he tried to play through back pain. He underwent elbow surgery in late January to remove loose particles, and is expected to be 100 percent for the season. They also expect a full and productive season from shortstop Clint Barmes, who was the early Rookie of the Year leader before a fractured collarbone cost him half the season. But other than Yorvit Torrealba (assuming he gets over a tight shoulder) replacing disappointing J.D. Closser in a catching platoon with Danny Ardoin, what you saw in the second half of last season is what you’ll see again. That means Barmes, Matt Holliday, Garret Atkins, Brad Hawpe and Cory Sullivan – all of whom are 26 -- will have to take another step in their developments for the offense to jump from a fifth-place finish in runs scored – low for a team that perennially led the league in scoring in the Blake Street Bombers days. There is reason to question Sullivan’s ability to play center field on an every-day basis, whether Hawpe ever will generate enough power for a corner outfielder at Coors Field, and whether Barmes isn’t better suited to play second base, turning Luis Gonzalez back into a super-utility player. They also will have to replace 35 departed homers from Preston Wilson and Dustan Mohr. But you can count on some improvement here, as they were a decent 36-39 in the 2005 second half, and at least a few of these young players will continue to get better.

Predicted finish: 4^th place, 75-87

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