Less than a day away from the Rockies’ season-opener against Arizona in Denver and both teams remain in flux. Neither lineup is set, with questions abounding on both sides.
The Rockies’ first lineup depends on the status of three players. If Ian Stewart starts at third base for Colorado as expected, he likely would hit in the sixth spot behind Todd Helton.
Stewart today will play a minor-league preseason game in Scottsdale, Ariz., fielding third base and hitting third.
If Stewart doesn’t start, Ty Wigginton would play in his place.
The Rockies’ other question rests on who will start at second base: Jonathan Herrera or Jose Lopez. If Herrera plays, he likely would hit second behind lead-off Dexter Fowler.
If Lopez gets his first start in a Rockies uniform, he likely would hit seventh.
Seth Smith, in right field, would hit either second or seventh, depending on the second baseman.
Rockies manager Jim Tracy was not available for comment Thursday.
For Arizona, standout shortstop Stephen Drew likely will not play on opening day because of an abdominal injury. The Arizona Republic this week reported that the Diamondbacks had sent Drew for an MRI exam after the lingering injury grew worse.
That leaves the Diamondbacks’ lineup messy. It could go in several different directions, depending on the match-ups manager Kirk Gibson chooses to highlight.
Rockies projected opening-day lineup:
CF Dexter Fowler
2B Jonathan Herrera or RF Seth Smith
LF Carlos Gonzalez
SS Troy Tulowitzki
1B Todd Helton
3B Ian Stewart or 3B Ty Wigginton
RF Seth Smith or 2B Jose Lopez
C Chris Iannetta
RHP Ubaldo Jimenez
