Predicting Story’s future and Arenado’s season with Cards
The Rockies will hold their first full-squad workout of spring training Tuesday. Given that, now is the perfect time for my way too early 2021 predictions:
• Shortstop Trevor Story will win his first Gold Glove.
• He won’t win it wearing a Rockies uniform because he’ll be traded at the July 31 deadline, if not before.
• Nolan Arenado will win his ninth consecutive Gold Glove, but this time he’ll do it wearing Cardinals red.
• When Arenado returns for a series at Coors Field on July 1-4, 62% of the fans will wear red. Or thereabouts.
• Arenado will receive a standing ovation and it will move him more than he expects it to.
• Arenado will hit .293, smack 32 home runs and drive in 108 runs. Not to be specific or anything.
• Arenado’s Cardinals will qualify for the playoffs but make an early exit.
• Garrett Hampson will win the starting job in center field for the Rockies and become a fan favorite. My crystal ball sees a .282 average, 12 homers, 26 stolen bases, timely bunts and several great catches. Not to get specific or anything.
• The Padres will dethrone the Dodgers in the National League West. And not just because Alanna Rizzo no longer does TV for the Dodgers.
• Fernando Tatis Jr., the Padres’ $340 million man, will have a little bit to do with it.
• Take note disgruntled Rockies fans, the Padres and Dodgers will be two of baseball’s most exciting teams. Might be worth a trip to Coors Field to watch them?
• Dick Monfort won’t sell the Rockies.
• Monfort won’t fire general manager Jeff Bridich. At least not during the season.
• Not to get specific or anything, but 73% of the fans who are planning to boycott the Rockies this season will end up going to a game at Coors Field once it’s opened to fans.
• I’ll get several nasty emails about the above prediction.
• If my memory serves me, I correctly predicted a DodgersRays World Series last year, and picked the Dodgers to win it all. So trust me when I say that the Padres will beat the Yankees in the 2021 World Series.
• The Nationals’ Juan Soto will be the NL MVP.
• Mike Trout will win another AL MVP and his Angels will actually make the playoffs.
• The Rockies leader in pitching victories will be Antonio Senzatela with 12. German Marquez will have the lowest ERA among Colorado starters, posting a 3.22 ERA. Not to get specific or anything.
• Right-hander Jon Gray will have a bounceback season but he’ll be traded at the deadline.
• Charlie Blackmon will lead the Rockies with a .318 batting average.
• Blackmon, Story and Marquez will represent the Rockies in the All-Star Game — if Story is still in Colorado.
• The Rockies bullpen will be better. After putting up a 6.77 ERA last season, how could it not be?
• That said, I will have to rewrite several games in the ninth inning at Coors Field, I’ll get stressed out, and my wife, Nancy, will say to me, “Remind me why you do this for a living?”
• For which I predict I won’t have a worthy comeback.
• I’ll take at least a half-dozen photos of stunning sunsets at Coors Field this summer.
• The Rockies have never lost 100 games and that won’t happen in 2021.
• They will go 72-90 and finish in fifth place in the NL West, 27 games behind the first-place Padres.