At one point the 2011 free agent pitching class looked like one of the strongest ones in recent history. As recently as January 2009 the class included Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Josh Beckett, Zack Greinke, and Brandon Webb. In the middle of that month, though, Greinke signed an extension that would keep him with the Royals through 2012. Then Webb suffered a shoulder injury that kept him out for almost all of 2009. In December the Blue Jays traded Halladay to the Phillies, who signed him to a three-year, $60 million extension. That leaves just Lee and Beckett as the elite options, but if Buster Olney’s sources are accurate then Lee might find himself the lone pitching prize of the free agent class.

Reports indicate that Beckett has a four-year offer on the table from the Red Sox and that there “is optimism a deal will be completed in the next week or two.” On the open market Beckett would likely command a contract similar to the five-year, $82.5 million deals both A.J. Burnett and John Lackey signed during the past two off-seasons. Apparently the Red Sox don’t want to offer five years due to concerns with Beckett’s shoulder, and Beckett, understandably, doesn’t want to sign a contract that penalizes him for getting hurt (like Lackey’s contract). Olney speculates that the deal could be worth $65 to $70 million, but because a $65 million deal would pay out the same average annual value as Lackey’s deal I would guess $70 million is more realistic.

During his four years with Boston Beckett has established himself as an elite starter in baseball’s toughest division. He got off to a rough start in 2006, a transition year of sorts, as he saw his home run rate spike and his strikeout rate dip. That led to a 5.01 ERA to go with a 5.12 FIP and plenty of criticism from the Boston media. While Beckett served up homers to the hated Yankees, the player they traded, Hanley Ramirez, was busy winning the NL Rookie of the Year award. Just one year later the critics would eat their words, as Beckett stopped walking so many hitters, raised his strikeout rate back to career norms, cut his home run rate in half, and placed second in the Cy Young voting. Oh, and he allowed four runs over 30 playoff innings en route to a World Series Championship.

Beckett disappointed a bit in 2008, but he still pitched well. His ground ball rate dropped while his home run rate increased, likely because his HR/FB went from 8 percent in 2007 back to his career average, around 10.5 percent, in 2008. He also saw a bit higher BABIP that season. Injuries were something of a problem for him that year. He opened the season on the DL with lower back spasms and then went on the DL again in August with elbow neuritis. He ended the season battling an oblique strain, which apparently affected his playoff performance. A far cry from his masterful 2007 run, Beckett allowed 14 runs in 14.1 innings during the 2008 playoffs.

In 2009 Beckett’s ERA came down a bit, but his FIP jumped from 3.24 to 3.63. His home run rate crept up again, though his 12.8 percent HR/FB ratio probably had a bit to do with that — his xFIP was 3.35. Of a bit further concern was his walk rate, which jumped up to 2.33 after two straight years residing below 1.80. He did avoid injury for most of the year, though, making 32 starts and not missing time until the last few days when he suffered upper back spasms. His playoff run comprised just one start, a 6.2-inning, four run performance that put the Sox in an 0-2 hole. Through it all, though, Beckett has maintained his 94 mph fastball, despite the Red Sox concerns with his shoulder.

Beckett’s right shoulder hasn’t been a problem in nearly a decade. In 2000 a doctor told him that labrum surgery was inevitable, but Dr. James Andrews opined that the surgery could be avoided. He instead rested and rehabbed, and hasn’t had an incident since. An MRI in 2007 confirmed an optimistic outlook, though the Red Sox still appear leery of signing Beckett through his age-35 season. As they see it, apparently, paying him a higher salary for four years makes more sense than signing him to the same deal Burnett and Lackey received.

In keeping up with the AL East arms race, the Red Sox would do well to retain Beckett. He’s pitched admirably atop the rotation for the past three years. His blister problems are behind him, and he’s stayed healthy for most of his Red Sox tenure. He could probably get that five-year deal on the open market this off-season, but he could do worse than four years and $70 million with a perpetual contender.

Not long ago, Sergio Santos represented the name of a shortstop prospect for the Arizona Diamondbacks, a pretty well-regarded prospect at that. The D-Backs made him a first round pick in 2002 and by 2004 Baseball America ranked him as the 37th best prospect overall. The offensive aspect of the game was lost on Santos. In more than 3,000 plate appearances, Santos’ career minor league line is .248/.305/.393. As a result, the Chicago White Sox converted him to pitching last season.

In 28 innings across four levels, Santos struck out 30 batters and walked 20. This spring, he’s shown the White Sox enough to break camp with the big league team. It might be the quickest hitter-to-pitcher transition that finds itself to the majors. Tony Pena Jr. converted last season but he’s yet to reach the majors. Casey Kelly is nowhere close. Rick Ankiel appeared in the Majors as a pitcher last in 2004, and then as a hitter in 2007. Adam Loewen, Kevin Cash, and Ben Davis never made it that far.

So, the timetable alone makes this an interesting case. It only helps that Santos evidently has a strong arm. That’s to be expected, since he did play shortstop and most scouting tidbits about him suggest such. CHONE is none too optimistic about his chances of making this work, although, again, we’re talking about 28 innings of work, which means the 6.72 FIP projection is essentially meaningless and shouldn’t be taken with a dosage of salt, no matter the size.

The question I pose is this: What do we project Santos at? Replacement level, or perhaps lower? Presumably the White Sox staff thinks of him as an above replacement level arm, and for all we know, he could be. But the accelerated time table and lack of experience makes me suspect this just isn’t the case and that Chicago might make their roster worse by carrying Santos. Although, that’s an easily fixed problem and not one that will alter their season dramatically.

Episode Fifiteen
In which the panel zigs when you zag.

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For most of the spring it appeared that the second component of the Erik Bedard trade would play a prominent role on the Orioles. Baseball America rated Chris Tillman the No. 22 overall prospect this off-season, and he stood a good chance of breaking camp as the team’s No. 5 starter behind Kevin Millwood, Jeremy Guthrie, Brian Matusz, and Brad Bergesen. On Tuesday, though, the Orioles announced that David Hernandez, and not Tillman, would be the team’s fifth starter. Tillman will head down to AAA where he can continue honing his craft with an eye at a mid-season call-up.

Both Hernandez and Tillman pitched for the Orioles last year, and they put up similar numbers. Both had ERAs around 5.40 and FIPs north of 6.00 with BABIPs around .300. Hernandez struck out more batters but also walked more and also pitched more innings. That’s not to say that they’ll continue pitching similarly. The hope, of course, is that Tillman turns into a top of the rotation arm, settling in behind Matusz and alongside Bergesen. That might be part of the reason for naming Hernandez the fifth starter. The Orioles can afford to take their time with pitchers they don’t feel are fully developed.

Hernandez, a 16th round pick in 2005, displayed excellent strikeout skills in the minors, striking out more than a batter per inning at every level. His walk rate jumped around, from 4.40 at low-A to 2.91 at advanced-A to 4.53 at AA. Even so, his FIP remained low at all levels, under 4.00. His ERA finally followed at AA in 2008, 2.68 against a 3.43 FIP. He took an even bigger step forward in 2009 at AAA, striking out 12.40 per nine while walking just 2.83, good for a 2.62 FIP and 3.30 ERA. That earned him the call-up.

The Orioles have taken their time developing Hernandez. He pitched just 145 innings in his first two professional seasons, followed by 141 in his fourth. Then again, that might not have been by design. Hernandez averaged under 5.1 innings per start through his first three professional seasons. In 2009 the Orioles upped his innings a bit, to 162.2. Yet he still averaged only 5.1 innings per start. He also averaged almost 19 pitches per inning at the major league level, something he’ll have to improve upon if he’ll factor into the Orioles rotation in the future.

Tillman, a 2006 second round pick by the Mariners, put on a display last season at AAA. In 96.2 innings he posted a 2.70 ERA with a 2.76 FIP to match. He struck out more than a batter per inning while keeping his walks to less than 2.5 per nine. When the Orioles started auditioning young starters at the end of the season he was a natural fit, though again his performance at the major league level didn’t produce great results. He allowed too many home runs, 15 in 65 innings, but he also had a high 15.2 HR/FB ratio. Given his performance throughout the minors, though, Tillman will probably dominate upon his return to AAA. If any of the youngsters behind Millwood and Guthrie struggles, Tillman could be the first replacement.

While the Orioles are not in a position to contend this season, it does not mean that they have to throw all of their best young pitchers into the fire. This is part of the reason they acquired Kevin Millwood. He provides some solidity at the top of the rotation, affording the Orioles as much time as they need to develop the future of their rotation. They’re already using youngsters Matusz and Bergesen, and will likely use Tillman, only 22 years old, at some point this season. Hernandez is a bit older and further along in his development, making him a fair choice as the No. 5 starter. If he fails, Tillman won’t be far behind.

Earlier today, the Detroit Tigers traded Nate Robertson to the Florida Marlins for minor leaguer Jay Voss. The move is essentially a body dump for the Tigers, since they’ll be paying for 96% of his 2010 salary. That means, the Marlins are getting Robertson for what equates to a league minimum salary and a future lefty specialist.

Not long ago, Robertson was viewed as an important, irreplaceable part of the Tigers’ future. Injuries have since led to this. The Wichita State alum was drafted in the fifth round of the 1999 draft by the Marlins, and later traded to the Tigers prior to the 2003 season for Mark Redman. Redman and the Marlins’ rotation of Method Men combined to lead them to a World Series title. Robertson would have his own high moments years later. How high? Well, he helped the Tigers ascend the ranks and reach a World Series of their own.

Robertson is a southpaw and a 32-year-old one at that. He only started six games for the Tigers last season, but before that had a run of five straight seasons of at least 150 innings which mostly encompasses his career. Such a run of success convinced the Tigers to ink him to an extension worth $21.25M over three years, of which he enters the final season.

Robertson’s career xFIP to date is 4.42, while his regular FIP is 4.74. The 1,000+ inning sample size in a favorable pitching park suggests Robertson’s issues with the long ball might be traced to his struggles with right-handed batters more so than a run of bad luck. Observe his career splits:

Versus lefties: 1,113 TBF, 18.6% SO, 5.3% uBB, 3.34 FIP
Versus righties: 3,491 TBF, 14.5% SO, 8.6% uBB, 5.21 FIP

Odds are Robertson would make a killer reliever against lefties, but the Marlins – excuse me, the Tigers – are paying him to start, so start he will. CHONE projects him at a 4.81 FIP and ZiPS at 4.97. Bump those down a little since he is transitioning to the National League, and maybe, just maybe, he can luck into a 2 win season for the Fish.

As I’ve discussed before though, I fully expect the Marlins to have Robertson lead the league in ERA through July 31st, promptly flip him for something useful, and then watch as he explodes for his new team. There’s magic in them there waters and Robertson has the eyewear to dive right in.

As the reader will undoubtedly imagine, Carson Cistulli receives quite a bit of fan mail here at FanGraphs Headquarters. Some of it (i.e. the fan mail) is just your usual, garden variety-type stuff. “Big up yourself,” people write, or “Sweet jokes”: that sort of thing. Some of it, I’m a little embarrassed to admit, is — how do I say this exactly? — is of an intimate nature. This sort of parcel — because that’s how it arrives — frequently contains some variety of lady’s undergarment accompanied by a note that proposes, in no uncertain terms, how the author and I might pass a weekend, and in what ways, exactly, we might contort our respective bodies. I won’t say I dislike these missives, but they do challenge my modesty.

Regardless of these matters, almost all the correspondence I’ve been receiving lately has led to the same question: “When, oh when, can we expect the thrilling conclusion to the All-Joy Team?”

Right now, is my triumphant response. Just below these words.

A note before we begin: owing to the nature the five sacred criteria, the All-Joy Team is by definition, a work in progress. Just as one can neither take the blue from the sky nor put the wind in one’s own pocket, so, too, is it impossible to truly conclude the formation of the All-Joy Team.

UTIF: Zack MacPhee, Arizona State

On a recent edition of the pod, Messrs Allen, Cameron, and Smith each summarily rejected the notion that scrappy wunderkind Zack MacPhee would make even a single All-Star appearance during what I can only imagine will be a long and important Major League career.

In related news, the triumvirate also confessed to “kinda liking the Redcoats” in the American Revolution and also “not really minding the shadowy spectre of Communism.” Probably vegetarian, all of them.

Anyway, through 23 games so far this college season, the sophomore MacPhee is slashing .459/.564/.865 to go along with 9 triples, 4 homers, a BB:K of 18:8, and a stolen base record of 10/10. I believe the word you’re looking for is “Booyakasha!”

UTOF: Peter Bourrrrrrjos, Los Angeles (AL)

On account of my status around here as Semi-Reliable Copyeditor*, I have access to most of the writing you see on the site before it goes live. So one thing I know that most everyone else in the world does not is that, in an early version of Erik Manning’s celebration of Angel farmhand Bourjos, the former appended to the body of that post, “Peter! I heart you real bad! Call me: 555-1234!”

*Which reminds me: in the event that the reader happens upon any usage errors in these electronic pages, he should feel free to — instead of harrassing the author — just email me at ccistulli@yahoo.com.

A couple notes on that. First, having had to call him for pod-related reasons, I can verify that Mr. Manning’s phone number does, indeed, include a 555 exchange. This is mostly to do with the fact that Erik Manning is an imaginary person, merely one of the seven or eight pseudonyms under which Dark Overlord David Appelman conducts his business*. Second, and more relevant to this discussion, is the fact that Bourjos really is a fascinating player. Not only did he improve his plate discipline dramatically from 2008 to 2009, but — more interestingly — he appears to be one of the better glove men in all the minors.

*Nor should you discount the fact that David Appelman is, indeed, the man writing these very words.

According to his Minor League Splits page, Bourjos has been good for somewhere around 20-30 runs per 150 games each of these past three years. This year, CHONE has him projected for 11.1 runs above average in center despite only 421 plate appearances. He appears headed to Triple-A Salt Lake to begin the season.

C: Brayan Pena, Kansas City

If you’re the sort of person who both (a) ponied up $7.95 for the Second Opinion and (b) made it to the piece entitled Fringe Benefits, then you’ll know that there’s some overlap between the All-Joy Team and the players listed in that article. The reason for this is clear: the criteria for that fake team are not so different than the ones for this other, equally fake team.

As for Pena, specifically, there’s reason to believe — given both scouting reports and Matt Klaassen’s heroic efforts — that his defense is suspect, which is why I’d feel uncomfortable making him the starter for the present Team. That said, his plate discipline, rate of contact, and power would likely place him among the league’s better offensive backstops were he given a starting position. On account of he’s playing for the Royals, and on account of how that team has decided to give Jason Kendall the majority of PAs at catcher, this will very likely not be Pena’s year.

SP: Colby Lewis, Texas

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that, in certain extreme cases, the only honorable way for two virile men to resolve their differences is by means of a dance battle. That being the case, the reader might very well be seeing Marc “Prospect Maven” Hulet and Carson “America’s Sweetheart” Cistulli involved in an elaborate brand of fisticuffs before too long.

The reason for our dispute? Colby “Big in Japan” Lewis. Hulet contends that Lewis is merely a Quad-A sort whose silly K:BB numbers in the NPB (369:46 in 354.1 IP) is merely the product of inferior competition. I contend that Hulet is full of it. What “it” is, I can’t say for sure, but I wouldn’t sprinkle it on my morning cereal.

In any case, CHONE calls for Lewis to post a 3.99 ERA across 167 IP this season.

SP: Gio Gonzalez, Oakland
SP: Felipe Paulino, Houston
SP: Freddy Garcia, Chicago (AL)

In case you missed it the first time, I sent a whole bunch of nerdy love letters to both of these guys’ peripheral numbers back in December. Furthermore, I intimated to every liberal American (via their online meeting den) that, were Brian Moehler to win a starting role over Felipe Paulino, I’d commit a very public suicide in protest.

Before you have time even to ask the question, “That thing about suicide he just wrote, is that decidedly sans taste?” allow me to answer immediately: yes and no. Yes, because people have actually committed very public suicides in support of actually meaningful causes. But also, no, because for Houston — a club with little hope for playoff baseball this season — for a club like that not to give a young player an extended look.

Of course, it will give us more reason to make fun of the Houston Astros. But I’m quoting myself when I say that snark isn’t an end in itself; it’s just the mode to which we resort when we are powerless to protest in any other way.

As for Garcia, he generated the highest percentage of whiffs on balls offered at outside the zone. It’d be nice to see him put a season together.

RP: R.J. Swindle, Tampa Bay

Swindle pitched at the Triple-A All-Star game last year, and struck out Colorado farmhand Jorge Padilla on a 55-mph curvepiece. That’s enough for me to hire him for LOOGY work.

Nor am I the only one who thinks so. Steve Slowinsk of D-Rays Bay is on this particular boat, as well:

At the end of the “Cult Classics” piece, I decided that Kelly Shoppach would most likely become my cult hero this season since we’ve been missing a larger-than-life swing ever since Jonny Gomes left. Somehow, though, I had completely forgotten about another player that easily climbs to the top of my “Cult Hero” meter: R.J. Swindle. We’ve discussed Swindle here on DRB before but for those unfamiliar with him, Swindle is a side-armed lefty reliever that hits 84 MPH with his fastball and 55 MPH with his curveball. While the obvious comparison to Casey Fossum (!!) can be made, Swindle is actually good.

Yeah, so it turns out that, anytime he’s pitched at least 17 innings at a particular level, Swindle has posted a FIP below 3.00. All that’s earned him is 11.1 Major League innings. Come on, people! Give both peace and R.J. Swindle a chance.

RP: Mark Lowe, Seattle
RP: Lance Cormier, Tampa Bay
RP: Burke Badenhop, Florida

Just as in real baseball, relievers are a fungible group for All-Joy consideration, too. Translation: these picks could change at the drop of a 59/50-brand baseball cap. So, instead of getting super-attached to my last two relievers, I’m just using these picks as an excuse to celebrate some sweet Pitch f/x work that Jeremy Greenhouse has been doing lately over at Baseball Analysts.

In the event that you haven’t spied with your little eye Greenhouse stuff, you should abso-frigging-lutely get yourself over there, stat. In the meantime, here’s what you need to know about it: Greenhouse, piggy-backing on some cool work by Chris Moore at the selfsame site, has been looking recently at the best pitches in baseball per Pitch f/x data. If you’re suspicious, that’s fine. I maybe was, too. But on account of the numbers confirm that All-Joyer Kevin Jepsen is awesome, I became a convert pretty quickly.

The guys I have listed — Lowe, Cormier, and Badenhop — have the most improved pitch, best cutter, and best changepiece, respectively. I’m not sure I’m burning on fire to see them this year, but this definitely raises my curiosity level.

All this brings us to a complete 25-man roster. Behold the joy:

C	Kurt Suzuki
1B	Brian Myrow
2B	Kelly Johnson
3B      Alex Gordon
SS	Ben Zobrist
LF	Chris Heisey
CF	Ryan Sweeney
RF	Daniel Nava
DH      Juan Francisco
B	Adam Rosales
B	Zack MacPhee
B	Peter Bourjjjjjjos	
B	Brayan Pena

SP	Colby Lewis
SP	Gio Gonzalez
SP	Felipe Paulino
SP	Freddy Garcia
SP	Billy Buckner 
Swing	Jason Godin
RP	Brandon League
RP	Kevin Jepsen
RP	R.J. Swindle
RP	Mark Lowe
RP	Lance Cormier
RP	Burke Badenhop

In conjunction with Tangotiger and insidethebook.com, we’ll be hosting the results of the Projection Challenge this year, but the great news is that you’ll be able to (optionally) see how your individual fan projections rank against the rest of the field!

If you want to participate, you have one week left to fill out your fan projections with as many players as you want. The cutoff time to enter projections will be Sunday the 4th at 6pm Eastern Time.

We hope to award prizes to the top 10 FAN Projectionists and we’ll have more details on that later.

When we talk about player development machines, the Braves and Twins are usually the first two organizations everyone mentions. However, the Rockies have one of the most home grown teams in recent history, and their core of players developed from within look to be ready to put their stamp on the National League.

On days when Seth Smith starts over Carlos Gonzalez, every single position player on the team will be playing for the only organization they’ve ever known. And of course, Gonzalez was acquired for Matt Holliday, who the Rockies developed internally. Dan O’Dowd and his staff should be incredibly proud of the work they’ve done in building this team from the ground up.

Of course, you don’t win a title for having the most players come up through your farm system, but the Rockies are certainly contenders for the big trophy handed out in November. They are a well balanced club that is capable of winning in a lot of ways. They have good hitters, good fielders, and a really good starting rotation. The bullpen is a question, but it’s also the easiest thing to fix. On paper, the Rockies are right there with the Dodgers as co-favorites for the NL West title, and they could make all kinds of noise in October if they earn a playoff berth.

However, for all the things the Rockies have done well, I still question whether they’ll make the right moves to capitalize on their window. Their management does far more good than bad, but some of the bad things are just head scratching. Why is Brad Hawpe still on this team? Why won’t they let Chris Iannetta play more often? Why does Huston Street, frequent visitor of the disabled list, get a three year deal? Why spend $3 million on Jason Giambi and Melvin Mora, but ignore opportunities to bolster the bullpen in a market where relief pitching was cheap?

The Rockies have a real opportunity to throw a parade with the core they have in place. To cash in and win it all, however, they’ll need to maximize their return on investment, and that hasn’t been a strength of the front office. With a few minor tweaks, this could be the best team in the NL – I’m just not sure why those tweaks weren’t made this winter.

The Colorado Rockies club is one of the most self-sufficient organizations in baseball. With the exception of Carlos Gonzalez in left field, the club projects to feature a starting lineup of players that were all originally signed by the organization. There is also a lot of young talent to be found, including Troy Tulowitzki (25) at shortstop, Ian Stewart (24) at third, Chris Iannetta (26) behind the dish, Dexter Fowler in center field (24) and the aforementioned Gonzalez (24). On the pitching staff, the club boasts the likes of Ubaldo Jimenez (26), Franklin Morales (24), and Manny Corpas (27). All three pitchers are members of the Rockies’ international scouting efforts.

That is an impressive collection of talent… but wait – there’s more to come. Pitchers Christian Friedrich, Jhoulys Chacin, Esmil Rogers, Casey Weathers, and Sam Deduno are not far away from helping the big league club. If you like offense, Eric Young Jr., Hector Gomez, and Mike McKenry could all be in the Majors within the next year or two.

The club also had an outstanding ’09 amateur draft, which netted No. 1 pick Tyler Matzek (arguably the best prep arm), college pitcher Rex Brothers, outfielder Tim Wheeler, and third baseman Nolan Arenado. The only negative to the organization’s collection of talent is that it lacks a true can’t-miss, impact bat. The club’s drafting efforts have improved with each of the past three drafts. As mentioned, the club has also had a lot of success with mining the international market despite not shelling out for the perceived top talent.

The organization obviously believes in stability amongst it’s front office. General manager Dan O’Dowd has held his position since late 1999 and the club’s scouting efforts have been overseen by Bill Schmidt since 2000. Marc Gustafson continues to direct the club’s minor league system as senior director of player development. He’s been overseeing the Rockies’ prospects since 2001.

After almost a decade, the organization is still having a lot of success with developing its own talent and there is no reason to expect anything to change in the near future.

Any team making its home at Coors Field is going to look superficially like it is all hitting and no pitching. Once the run environment is taken into account, a more nuanced picture of the Colorado Rockies becomes available. It would be a bit of a stretch to say that the Rockies project as a defense-and-pitching team. More accurately, this is a balanced team with two under-appreciated stars, some young players with upside, a number of above-average performers, and useful role players. Taken as a group, the Rockies are one of the most talented teams in the National League.

The Rockies don’t have any one player that projects as an offensive monster once Coors is taken into account. What they do have is a number of players who are good at the plate and in the field. Among the position players, the undoubted star is 25-year-old shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. 2008 can’t be ignored, but Tulowitzki still projects as very good hitter, and while his defensive ratings have been up and down, he’s average at worst. Todd Helton is still a useful piece who hits well and is good defensively at first base. Third baseman Ian Stewart is enigmatic, but projects as at least average and is only 25. Clint Barmes is truly awful offensively, but he’s also outstanding enough defensively to be a stopgap second baseman. Chris Iannetta is a good, offensively oriented catcher.

The Rockies also have some talent in the outfield, although it remains to be seen if they’ll be deployed optimally. The best combination of three is probably Carlos Gonzalez in center, with Seth Smith and Ryan Spilborghs on the corners. While Gonzalez (just 24) hasn’t had a huge impact yet, he profiles as a very good outfield defender with a developing bat who is at least above average now and potential to be much more. The underutilized Smith is a good hitter who is at least average in the field. Spilborghs is older and inferior to Smith, but he’s got enough of a bat and glove to be about average over a full season. Sadly, the Rockies may still go with Gonzalez in left; Dexter Fowler, a fast guy who is a poor hitter and hasn’t impressed in the field, either, in center; and… wait for it… the legendary Brad Hawpe in right. Much virtual ink has been spilled over Hawpe’s dreadful fielding. Suffice it to say that while Hawpe has a good bat, if Adam Dunn (a superior hitter) can’t come close to being a league average player while putting up -30 seasons in the field, Hawpe can’t either. Some sort of arrangement putting Gonzalez in center, Smith in left, and platooning Hawpe and Spilborghs (with judicious use of Fowler) would likely give the Rockies at least one more win in a tight divisional race. Surely it has crossed someone’s mind.

The Rockies have made impressive strides in finding the right pitchers for their home park. Their rotation is both a skilled and deep. Ubaldo Jimenez‘s excellence should be more widely acknowledged; at the moment he’s on the same level with more celebrated pitchers like Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley. Aaron Cook continues to defy the odds with few strikeouts but tons of grounders. Jorge de la Rosa, obtained after the Royals lost patience with him, has managed to get it together and become an above-average starter. Jason Hammel is also close to average, and once Jeff Francis’s return from injury is figured in, the depth of the rotation is impressive indeed. Huston Street, Rafael Betancourt, and Manny Corpas are key parts of a good bullpen.

It would be inaccurate to say that the Rockies have no stars — Tulowitzki and Jimenez certainly qualify. But the Rockies aren’t totally dependent on their production, as they have many other skilled players around the diamond and on the mound, as well as a useful bench. Colorado will probably be in a tight NL West race with the Dodgers during which pretending like Fowler and Hawpe are everyday players isn’t a great idea. Even so, the Rockies are probably the best team in the division at the moment, and Los Angeles is the only serious competitor in 2010.