Colorado Rockies Trevor Story: Heir Apparent?

By Brad Kelly | Mar 14, 2016

Mar 1, 2015; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Colorado Rockies infielder Trevor Story poses for a portrait during photo day at Salt River Fields. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Trevor Story looks primed to take advantage of the unforeseen opening at shortstop for the Colorado Rockies. With a hot start already in spring training, could he swing his way into being worth a draft day flier?

For years the Colorado Rockies had Troy Tulowitzki entrenched at their shortstop position, but after being traded at the deadline last season, the Rockies officially turned the page. The Rockies thought that their stop gap was going to be the acquired Jose Reyes, but after his serious lapses in judgment this offseason, Reyes will be lucky to set foot on a MLB field again.

All of this transition and turmoil opened the door for someone to step up and take the job this spring and that is what exactly, Trevor Story, is doing so far. Story was a first round pick for the club in 2011, so expectations have always been set at a high bar. He has steadily been ranked as one of the top 100 prospects in MLB the last three seasons, but his path to the bigs was blocked by Tulo.

Story has found success throughout the minor leagues, climbing his way all the way to AAA at the prime age of only, 22. Story’€™s ascent to now being in consideration as a major league option, started in 2014 when he made a mechanical change with his swing, allowing him to showcase his tremendous bat speed and decent pop.

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In 2014 Story posted a, .263 AVG/14 HR/48 RBI/23 SB/.841 OPS line, eventually reaching AA ball by the end of the season. His AVG was hindered by his 144 K total, which is his Achilles heel, but he did walk 60 times. Between AA and AAA in 2015, he further increased his stat line and took another step forward in his development. His, .279 AVG/20 HR/80 RBI/22 SB/.863 OPS line, is the type of season that entices fantasy owners and why we are even having this discussion now.

Story’€™s bat speed and refined plate approach makes the 20 HR pop look legitimate, not to mention the Coors Field effect, which should only further buoy it. He does not have plus speed, but a career 88% SB success rate, shows that he knows when to pick his spots and is fast enough to take a bag when necessary.

Chasing spring training totals is a futile task, but Story has already shown what he can bring to the table. He currently has a, .294 AVG/3 HR/7 RBI/1.282 OPS line, over twenty plate appearances. Story needed a hot start to make his presence felt on the big league coaching staff, so hopefully he can continue his torrid start to the point where it forces the Rockies hand.

Story surely faces competition in both solid switch hitting minor leaguer, Cristhian Adames and journeymen, Daniel Descalso. Adames is more of a utility type of player whose offensive upside is capped, but he did post a .311 AVG in AAA last season. Descalso is the fallback option as he serves as the Rockies Swiss Army knife. His offensive upside is nonexistent as well, but both players could be looked to as starting options.

Clearly, Story has the most upside out of the current options in the mix, and fantasy owners should continue to monitor the battle, because he has 15 HR/15 SB potential, all for the price of a late round pick. Fantasy owners are always scrambling for under the radar MI options, so Story could be an excellent late round flier. Story is well worth the low level investment if given the job, and in a perfect world he could even find his way up in the lineup, helping his counting stats.

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Fantasy drafts are fast approaching and more and more position battles are beginning to solve themselves. Story already looks the part of a spring training star, and if his scorching start is any indication, we could very well have a late round MI gem unearthed in Mile High.

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