Restoring the rosters: No. 7 - Colorado

This is part of a series of articles examining what every team’s roster would look like if given only the players it originally signed. I’m compiling the rosters, ranking them and presenting them in a countdown from Nos. 30 to 1. No. 30 - Cincinnati No. 29 - Kansas City No. 28 - San Diego No. 27 - Milwaukee No. 26 - Baltimore No. 25 - Chicago (AL) No. 24 - Chicago (NL) No. 23 - Pittsburgh No. 22 - Detroit No. 21 - Tampa Bay No. 20 - New York (NL) No. 19 - Houston No. 18 - Oakland No. 17 - St. Louis No. 16 - Florida No. 15 - San Francisco No. 14 - Texas No. 13 - Cleveland No. 12 - Minnesota No. 11 - Arizona No. 10 - Los Angeles (AL) No. 9 - Toronto No. 8 - Boston The Rockies’ presence in the top 10 may surprise many, but they boast one of the deepest lineups of any team and an underrated starting rotation. If only they could do something about the pen. Rotation Aaron Cook Ubaldo Jimenez Jeff Francis Jake Westbrook Franklin Morales Bullpen Manuel Corpas Mark DiFelice Jamey Wright Jason Jennings Sean Green Matt Daley Jhoulys Chacin Cook and Jimenez are both legitimate No. 2 starters, with Jimenez potentially on his way to being something more, and Francis could again jump into the same boat if he’s able to get healthy. Mix in a strong innings-eater like Westbrook and a still promising youngster in Morales and it’s a fine group. The problem is depth. Only untested prospects like Chacin and Christian Friedrich are behind them. The bullpen is a real problem, but the breakthrough seasons experienced by DiFelice and Daley help somewhat. It’s still a terribly shallow group, and I’m not sure it wouldn’t be a better arrangement to have Morales in a key late-inning role and Chacin in the rotation. Lineup 2B Chone Figgins 1B Todd Helton LF Matt Holliday SS Troy Tulowitzki RF Brad Hawpe C Chris Iannetta 3B Ian Stewart CF Dexter Fowler Bench OF Juan Pierre INF Garrett Atkins INF Craig Counsell OF Ryan Spilborghs C Josh Bard How about that for a nice top-to-bottom lineup? Two legitimate stars hitting third and fourth and two more players with 900 OPSs this year in Helton and Hawpe. The top six are all clearly above average regulars, and Stewart and Fowler aren’t far away from fitting into the same category. Plus, just look at the bench. Pierre and Atkins could resume playing regularly next year, and Counsell’s solid OBP and excellent defense make him very valuable. It’s such a strong group that Seth Smith, Clint Barmes, Jody Gerut and Jeff Baker all failed to win spots. Summary 7th out of 30 in developing talent, yet never once first out of five in the NL West race. In 16 seasons, the Rockies have finished second twice. Since the Diamondbacks made it a five-team division in 1998, they’ve finished fourth or fifth nine times in 11 years. Of course, things have gone a lot better lately. The Rockies lost the World Series in 2007, and after a very disappointing 2008, they’re back in contention now. Still, it shouldn’t have taken so long. A ballpark that made it incredibly difficult to win on the road took a heavy toll, but so did poor management. GM Dan O’Dowd used to pick a plan and stick with it for a good three weeks or so. I’m still not completely convinced that shouldn’t have gone in a different direction long ago, but O’Dowd has done more good than harm the last few years. The Rockies are in fine position for the future if they keep their current pieces in place.