Well, they’re not all going to be positive. That’s starting out a post on the right foot about as well as Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot. Before Ryan McMahon talk, let’s talk about the Rockies in general. This is a team that screwed me (this time it’s personal!) with Raimel Tapia, David Dahl and Tom Murphy, and that’s only from this past year! In the past, they’ve refused to play Eric Young, Ian Stewart, Charlie Blackmon (for 3 years!) while opting at times for Clint Barmes, Seth Smith, and Ty Wigginton. I know, those first names don’t jump out as amazing, aside from Chazz Noir, but we’ll never know because they just weren’t played. In five years, we may say Raimel Tapia isn’t good either if he gets at-bats like Eric Young, which was rare to never. First base is especially littered with vets who the Rockies chose to go with over rookies: Helton (four to five years too long), Justin Morneau, Giambi and Mark Reynolds. Not saying these were all bad, okay, they were mostly bad, but Mile High makes mountains out of molehills. If the Rockies gave, say, Ben Paulsen a real chance at 1st base, maybe he would’ve done better. Which brings us back to Ryan McMahon, who the Rockies moved to first because The Torenado’s got 3rd on lock, and he’s a star. 3rd lock from the sun? So, what can we expect from Ryan McMahon for 2018 fantasy baseball?
In Double-A in 2016, McMahon was a wretched retching mess. By the way, is it me or does the word wretched remind you of every Mumford & Sons songs? Meh, maybe it’s me. We don’t need to belabor how bad McMahon was in 2016; he wasn’t good, we’ll leave it at that. Okay, one more point on it, he was getting accustomed to a new position, first base. I almost wrote, “…he was getting accosted with 1st base,” but maybe that’s because I was reading about Kevin Spacey. How standing on 1st vs. actually fielding at 3rd makes someone do worse at bat? Well, that’s up there with what kind of Communist doesn’t like Pumpkin Spice Lattes. In 2017, McMahon turned it all around anyway. He hit .374 with 14 HRs and 4 SBs in only 70 games in Triple-A, after demolishing Double-A earlier in the season. He even received a call-up, though, of course, he wasn’t played, but, ya know, it’s something. His Ks have come way down in the last two years too — 30% to 17%. Making contact: it’s the American way (still on that Spacey thing). His stroke (McMahon’s!) still looks long to me, and uppercutty (totally a word!). But you know what all of this comes back to, right? Will the Rockies play him? Because if they do, he could be a top 15 1st baseman, thanks to Coors. By the way, outside of baseball, no one has ever thanked Coors for anything. Mark Reynolds should be gone (fingers crossed he’s not re-signed), and the Rockies don’t really have anyone else (watch them play ‘It’s Pat!’ Valaika). So, for 2018, I’ll give Ryan McMahon the projections of 61/19/69/.267/5 as he bats seventh or eighth for 424 ABs. More upside is there, but a ton of downside too; have I mentioned Raimel Tapia, David Dahl and Tom Murphy?
