29-year old lefty swinging Brad Hawpe will be the starting RF again for the Rockies in 2009. He played in 138 games for the Rockies last year and he was 138 for 488 (.283 avg, .879 OPS) with 69 runs scored, 25 homers and 85 RBIs. Hawpe has potential to put up better numbers than that in 2009. He is not a good defensive player as he made 9 errors in 133 games in RF last year while showing poor range. Hawpe does have a strong arm as he had 9 assists from RF last year.

27-year old righty swinging Matt Murton will back up Hawpe in 2009. Murton played in 28 games for the A’s and Cubs last season and he was 13 for 70 (.186 avg, .448 OPS) with 3 runs scored and 8 RBIs. Murton has now played in 317 games in his major league career and he has a batting average of .288 with a .792 OPS. He is a average defensive player.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: B

29-year old righty swinging Ryan Spilboroghs has waited a long time to be an everyday player but his time appears to be ready to take over in CF for the Rockies. Spilboroghs played in 89 games for the Rockies in 2008 and he was 73 for 233 (.313 avg, .875 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 6 homers, 36 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. He didn’t make any errors in 17 games in CF last season for the Rockies while showing poor range. Spilboroghs will also be the leadoff hitter for the Rockies and the expectation is that he will play well for them in 2009.

23-year old lefty swinging Carlos Gonzalez was one of the players the Rockies received for Matt Holliday. He played in 85 games for the A’s last year and he was 73 for 302 (.242 avg, .633 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 4 homers, 26 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He only made 2 errors in 69 games in CF for the A’s last season while showing outstanding range. He has a really nice upside for the future.

23-year old switch hitting Dexter Fowler is the #1 rated prospect in the Rockies’ organization according to Baseball America. He played in 13 games for the Rockies last season and he was 4 for 26 (.154 avg, .339 OPS) with 3 runs scored. Fowler also played in 108 games in AA-ball last year and he was 141 for 421 (.335 avg, .946 OPS) with 92 runs scored, 9 homers, 64 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. He didn’t make any errors in 9 games in CF with the Rockies last season while showing poor range. Like Gonzalez, Fowler has a big time upside.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: B

Either 26-year old lefty swinging Seth Smith or 24-year old lefty swinging Ian Stewart will get the chance to replace the departed Matt Holliday. Smith played in 67 games for the Rockies last season and he was 28 for 108 (.259 avg, .785 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 4 homers and 15 RBIs. Smith got some huge pinch hits during the Rockies’ run to the World Series in 2007 and it’s likely that Clint Hurdle has not forgotten that. Smith didn’t make any errors in 8 games in LF last season while showing outstanding range.

Ian Stewart is a 3B by trade but the Rockies want to get his bat into the lineup somewhere. He played in 81 games for the Rockies last year and he was 69 for 266 (.259 avg, .804 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 10 homers and 41 RBIs. It’s expected that Stewart would be about an average defensive LF.

33-year old lefty swinging Scott Podsednik offers the Rockies a lot of speed off the bench. He played in 93 games for the Rockies last year and he was 41 for 162 (.253 avg, .655 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 1 homer, 15 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. He didn’t make any errors in LF in 10 games there for the Rockies last season while showing average range.

27-year old Matt Murton could also get some P.T. in LF for the Rockies this season. He played in 17 games in LF for the Cubs and A’s last season without making an error and showing good range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: D+