This number kind of shocks me based on the play of the Rockies last season. Las Vegas must think that the hot streak the Rockies had to end the season was a fluke. I am not along with that line of thinking. The Rockies have a super deep bullpen and they can hit the hell out of the baseball so I’m thinking the Rockies win way more than 83 games. In fact, I might be willing to bet the house on it.

29-year old lefty swinging Brad Hawpe has turned into the player everyone always thought he could be. He played in 152 games for the Rockies last season and he was 150 for 516 (.291 avg, .926 OPS) with 80 runs scored, 29 homers and 116 RBIs. He didn’t play as well on defense as he made 6 errors in 142 games in RF while showing below average range. Look for another big year from Hawpe with the bat in his hands.

Ryan Spilboroghs will also likely get some playing time in RF as he played 20 games there without making an error but he showed poor range.

27-year old righty swinging Jeff Baker will also likely get some P.T. in RF this season. He played in 85 games for the Rockies last season and he was 32 for 144 (.222 avg, .643 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 4 homers and 12 RBIs. He also played in 13 games in RF without making an error while showing above average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B+

26-year old righty swinging Willy Taveras will get the bulk of the time in CF for the Rockies in 2008. He played in 97 games for the Rockies last season and he was 119 for 372 (.320 avg, .749 OPS) with 64 runs scored, 2 homers, 24 RBIs and 33 stolen bases. He’s also a solid defender as he made 4 errors in 86 games while showing above average range.

28-year old righty swinging Ryan Spilboroghs got to play a lot in CF last season when Taveras was injured. He played in 97 games for the Rockies last season and he was 79 for 264 (.299 avg, .848 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 11 homers and 51 RBIs. He played in 46 games in CF last season and he made 1 error while showing poor range.

28-year old lefty swinging Cory Sullivan is also a solid CF. He played in 72 games for the Rockies last season and he was 40 for 140 (.286 avg, .722 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 2 homers and 14 RBIs. He played in 51 error-free games in CF for the Rockies last season while showing average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B-

28-year old righty swinging Matt Holliday is one of the best players in all of baseball, period. He played in 158 games for the Rockies this season and he is 216 for 636 (.340 avg, 1.012 OPS) with 120 runs scored, 36 homers, 137 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. He only made 3 errors in 157 games while showing league average range. Look for Holliday to have another outstanding season in 2008 as he will be a candidate for the N.L. MVP job.

32-year old lefty swinging Scott Podsednik will battle for a reserve job on the Rockies this season. He played in 62 games for the White Sox this season and he is 52 for 214 (.243 avg, .668 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 2 homers, 11 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Before 2007, Podsednik averaged 53.0 steals per season the last 4 years. He made 4 errors in 54 games in LF while showing outstanding range.

Ryan Spilboroghs will also get some P.T. in left field this season. He played in 15 games there last season and he didn’t make an error while showing slightly above average range.

25-year old lefty swinging Seth Smith had some big hits in the post season for the Rockies on their run to the World Series last season. He played in 7 games for the Rockies last season and he was 5 for 8 (.625 avg, 1.500 OPS) with 4 runs scored. He played in 129 games in AAA ball last season and he was 143 for 451 (.317 avg, .909 OPS) with 68 runs scored, 17 homers and 82 RBIs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: A+

28-year old Garrett Atkins has made the hot corner his own in Colorado. He played in 157 games for the Rockies last season and he was 182 for 605 (.301 avg, .853 OPS) with 83 runs scored, 25 homers and 111 RBIs. Atkins played in 154 games at 3B last season for the Rockies and he made only 13 errors but showed poor range. Look for Atkins to put up All-Star numbers with the bat again in 2008 for the Colorado Rockies.

27-year old righty swinging Jeff Baker will back up at both outfield and infield corner positions for the Rockies in 2008. Baker played in 85 games for the Rockies last season and he was 32 for 144 (.222 avg, .643 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 4 homers and 12 RBIs. He only played in 2 games at 3B for the Rockies last season and he didn’t make an error but showed poor range.

If anything happened to Garrett Atkins the Rockies would probably hand 3B over to top prospect Ian Stewart. Stewart played 11 games at 3B for the Rockies last season and he didn’t make an error while showing outstanding range. It is possible that Stewart could win the starting job at 2B this season for the Rockies.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: A