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Can the Rockies shock the NL West and win the division?

Brad Mills / Reuters

It's been more than seven years since the Colorado Rockies last made the postseason, and even longer since their monumental and surprising run to the World Series in 2007.

Since then, the fans in Colorado have watched as franchise cornerstone Troy Tulowitzki was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, Todd Helton - arguably the greatest player in team history - retired, and a new wave of talent cemented itself as what the franchise is building around.

Nolan Arenado, Carlos Gonzalez, Charlie Blackmon, Trevor Story, DJ LeMahieu, and David Dahl combined to create the best offense in the National League last year, and the club also added slugger Ian Desmond into the mix with a long-term deal during the offseason.

The Rockies will be an exciting club to watch in 2017, but can they shock the NL West and win the division?

Here are three reasons why they just might be able to.

Terrifying offense

Led by two-time All-Star and perennial MVP candidate Arenado, the Rockies head into 2017 with an established offense which was responsible for the highest team batting average, most RBIs, and best OPS in baseball last season. Add the athletic Desmond and his 132 career homers into the mix, and the Rockies look primed to dominate opposing pitching once again in 2017.

Projected starting lineup

ORDER PLAYER PA HR RBI OPS
1 Charlie Blackmon 641 29 82 .933
2 DJ LeMahieu 635 11 66 .911
3 Nolan Arenado 696 41 133 .932
4 Carlos Gonzalez 632 25 100 .855
5 Ian Desmond 677 22 86 .782
6 David Dahl 237 7 24 .859
7 Trevor Story 415 27 72 .909
8 Tony Wolters 230 3 30 .723

The Rockies will have to improve their hitting away from the friendly confines of Coors Field if they want to rise up the standings, however, as the team only managed a .700 OPS - good for 13th in the NL - on the road, where they posted a 33-48 record.

Improved bullpen

No bullpen in baseball was worse than the Rockies last season. Their 5.13 ERA was good for last in the majors, opposing teams hit .273 off of them, and they only managed to convert 37 saves in 65 chances. Aside from signing Desmond, general manager Jeff Bridich targeted the bullpen as an area that needed improvement, so he spent $26 million to bring in Mike Dunn and Greg Holland. The return of Adam Ottavino, who missed time last year recovering from Tommy John, should also provide the 'pen with a boost. The 31-year-old has pitched fairly well during his time with the Rockies, posting a 3.36 ERA and 9.6 strikeout-per-nine-inning rate in five seasons with the club.

The rotation ain't bad

Considering the Rockies' projected rotation of Jon Gray, Chad Bettis, Tyler Anderson, Tyler Chatwood, and Jeff Hoffman threw 334 2/3 of their innings at Coors Field, the young and budding arms in Colorado weren't too shabby a season ago, and they presumably will be better with new coach - and former big-league starter - Bud Black manning the helm.

Gray has swing-and-miss stuff that was on display several times last season, which included six double-digit strikeout performances. Bettis led the team in wins and innings pitched. Anderson posted the lowest ERA (3.54) of the entire starting staff in his rookie year. Chatwood posted a career-high 12 wins to go along with his 3.87 ERA and was an impressive 8-1 with a 1.69 ERA on the road, and Hoffman's stuff may be on par with Gray's as the best among the five pitchers projected to start.

The Rockies' young starting guns won't need to shut out every opponent in their path - and they probably won't be able to - but having the support of such a powerful offense should make life easier.

If they can keep enough runs off the board to get to the aforementioned bullpen, Colorado may be able to compete in a tough NL West alongside the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants, who are once again the favorites to capture the division crown.

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