Colorado Rockies DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Colorado Rockies catcher Elias Diaz is getting a day of rest on Wednesday as the team takes on the Cubs in Chicago. Jacob Stallings will catch right-hander Cal Quantrill and will hit ninth in the batting order as he faces Cubs left-hander Luke Little. Diaz could probably use a day off after starting the 2024 campaign 3-for-17 (.176) with a solo home run, three runs scored and three strikeouts in 18 plate appearances in his first five games of the year. Fantasy managers shouldn't be too concerned yet after the 33-year-old backstop hit .267 with 14 home runs and 72 RBI in 2023 to make his first All-Star team. Stallings has never faced Little in his career and should probably be passed over when bargain shopping at the catcher position in DFS.

Colorado Rockies second baseman Brendan Rodgers is not in the starting lineup when his team takes on the Chicago Cubs and left-hander Luke Little. The 27-year-old has been deployed as the team's cleanup hitter this season but is off to a rough start as he is just 3-for-25 with seven strikeouts against zero walks in his 25 trips to the plate. The oft-injured former top prospect hit .258 with four homers in just 46 games in the 2023 season and has largely underperformed to this point in his big-league career. Rodgers has hit .262 with 32 homers alongside a .718 OPS despite playing his home games in the league's hitter-friendliest park at Coors Field in Denver.

Colorado Rockies outfielder Kris Bryant is playing first base and batting cleanup in the first game of the series versus the Chicago Cubs and left-hander Shota Imanaga on Monday. Bryant hit in the two-hole for the Rockies in the first three games of the season before getting Sunday's series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks off. The Rockies will try the former National League MVP in the cleanup spot as they attempt to get their offense going. Second baseman Brendan Rodgers will move from cleanup to No. 2 in the order. It's hard to recommend Bryant in any fantasy format right now, as he's opened the season up going 0-for-12 with seven strikeouts.

Colorado Rockies outfielders Kris Bryant and Charlie Blackmon will both take a seat for Sunday's series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks. It appears to be a regular off day for both veteran players. Bryant was hitless through his first three games of 2024, striking out a whopping seven times across 12 plate appearances. Blackmon fared a bit better, going 3-for-11 with three RBI and a stolen base. Bryant and Blackmon are not the fantasy stalwarts they once were, but both possess discounted upside and Coors Field exposure. In their absence, Jake Cave is starting in right field while Michael Toglia will man first base.

The Colorado Rockies placed right-hander Daniel Bard (knee) on the 15-day injured list on Thursday after he missed all of spring training following a cleanup procedure on his left knee in the middle of February. In addition to his knee ailment, the 38-year-old veteran has received platelet-rich plasma injections in his right forearm in the offseason. Bard is improving and could be ready to face live hitters in the second week of April. There's a chance that he could make his 2024 season debut before the end of April if he doesn't suffer any setbacks while on a minor-league rehab assignment. Bard again struggled with anxiety last year after recording 54 saves in 2021-22, and Justin Lawrence and Tyler Kinley are now Colorado's primary options for saves, so fantasy managers can ignore Bard.