It’s too bad that 26-year old righty swinging shortstop Troy Tulowitzki missed so many games to injury last season because he played the best ball of his career in 2010. Tulowitzki played in 122 games for the Rockies last season and he was 148 for 470 (.315 avg, .949 OPS) with 89 runs scored, 27 homers, 95 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. He almost carried the Rockies to the playoffs due to a monster September. Tulowitzki is averaging 98.0 runs scored, 27.7 homers, 95.3 RBIs and 12.7 stolen bases per year when he plays in over 122 games in a year (he’s done it three times). This could be the year that Tulowitzki wins the MVP Award in the N.L. if he can just stay healthy. Tulowitzki made 10 errors in 122 games at SS last season while showing out of this world range. He is probably the best all around shortstop in all of baseball right now.

33-year old switch hitting Alfredo Amezaga will likely back up Tulo in 2011 as long as he proves he’s healthy this spring. Amezaga played in 1 game in AA-ball last season and he was 2 for 2 (1.000 avg, 2.000 OPS) with 1 run scored and 1 RBI. He was rehabbing from a knee surgery almost all of the 2010 season. He has played in 544 games in the majors over 8 years and he has a .251 batting average with a .652 OPS. Amezaga can play anywhere but 1B in the infield and anywhere in the outfield so he would bring nice versatility to the Rockies’ roster if the makes the team out of spring training.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE ROCKIES SHORTSTOPS IN 2011: A+++++++++++++

The Colorado Rockies will have a fresh new look at 2B in 2011. They signed 27-year old righty swinging Jose Lopez over the winter to take over as the starting 2B in 2011. Lopez played in 150 games for the Mariners last season and he was 142 of 593 (.239 avg, .609 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 10 homers, 58 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He’s a better hitter than he showed last season as he is a .266 career hitter (.697 OPS) in his first 873 games of his major league career. Lopez has good power for a middle infielder as he has reached double figures in homers 5 years in a row. He will likely see a boost in production playing half of his games at Coors Field. Lopez is a natural 2B but the Mariners moved him to 3B in 2010. He had 18 errors in 142 games at 3B last season while showing outstanding range. The Rockies would likely be happy with Lopez if he played average defense at 2B in 2011.

33-year old righty swinging Ty Wigginton can handle 2B whenever Lopez needs a day off. Wigginton played in 40 games at 2B for the Orioles last season in which he made 6 errors while showing good range. Like Lopez, Wigginton has a lot of power for a middle infielder.

26-year old switch hitting Jonathan Herrera is likely #3 in line for P.T. at 2B for the Rockies in 2011. Herrera played in 76 games for the Rockies last season and he was 63 of 222 (.284 avg, .694 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 1 homer, 21 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Herrera is a good contact hitter with very little power, so the Rockies probably wouldn’t feel too comfortable playing him for long stretches. Herrera made 4 errors in 57 games at 2B for the Rockies last season while showing excellent range. He’s a hard nosed kind of player that will help the Rockies off the bench if given the chance.

27-year old lefty swinging Tug Hulett had a pretty stinky year in AAA last season. He played in 105 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 78 for 350 (.223 avg, .710 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 7 homers, 41 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Hulett made only 3 errors in 53 games at 2B last season so he’s not too bad with a mitt on his hands. Hulett will have to hit in the minors at the start of 2011 for the Rockies to even consider giving him a chance in the majors.

28-year old righty swinging Matt Macri played in 98 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 85 of 338 (.251 avg, .727 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 9 homers, 36 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He made 4 errors in 34 games at 2B in the minors, so he’ll need to tighten up his defense if he wants to get back to the show.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE ROCKIES 2B IN 2011: C+

The Rockies have signed 29-year old righty starting pitcher John Maine to a minor league deal. Maine pitched in 9 games (all starts) for the Mets last season and he was 1-3 with a 6.13 ERA and a 1.82 WHIP. He has now pitched in 108 games (105 starts) in his first 7 years in the majors and he is 41-36 with a 4.35 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. This was a good low risk/high reward signing for the Rockies because if Maine is healthy, he will be an asset to the Rockies at the back end of the starting rotation.

The Rockies have signed 33-year old righty reliever Jesus Colome to a minor league deal. Colome pitched in 12 games (0 starts) for the Mariners last season and he was 0-1 with a 5.29 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. He has now pitched in 341 games (0 starts) in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 19-27 with 6 saves, a 4.69 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. Colome has always had a great arm (and he still does) but he has never really learned how to pitch. If the Rockies can coach him up they might have something in him.

The Rockies have signed 32-year old righty reliever Chris Sampson to a minor league deal. Sampson pitched in 35 games (0 starts) for the Astros last season and he was 1-0 with a 5.93 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. He has now pitched in 174 games (33 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 20-15 with 3 saves, a 4.42 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Before last season, Sampson wasn’t too bad of a middle reliever and the Rockies will give him a chance to earn a job in the pen this spring.