Rox Need to Make Room for Stewart

The Colorado Rockies are facing a serious dilemma whether they understand the dire circumstances or not.

With only a week and a half of Spring Training left, top-notch power prospect Ian Stewart is beginning to mash the ball in such a way that it would be nearly impossible, if not irresponsible, to keep him off the Opening Day roster.

The problem is, Ian Stewart remains a man without a position.

A third baseman by trade, Stewart is blocked on the big league club by Garrett Atkins, who has been one of the Rockies' most consistent offensive performers in the last four years.

When trade rumors swirled this past offseason about Atkins heading to a myriad of teams around Major League Baseball, Stewart was seen as the man who made Atkins expendable.

Ever since bursting onto the scene in 2004 with the Single-A Asheville Tourists by putting up some seriously prodigious numbers (.319, 30, 101, .398 on base percentage, 19 steals), Stewart received an invitation to big league camp in 2006 and put on another eye-popping performance.

In twenty-two games, Stewart hit .396 and slugged five home runs on his way to being named the Rockies' Spring Training MVP.

Much ado was made about Stewart's potential with the big club and while his subsequent Minor League numbers never quite approached his Asheville level, Stewart's power could not be denied.

He eventually reached the Major Leagues for a cup of coffee in 2007 and got a serious look in 2008 when Todd Helton's health became an issue.

In his first stint in 2008, Stewart struggled under the bright lights and posted a paltry .218 batting average with three home runs and five RBIs in eighteen games before packing his bags and heading back down I-25 to Triple-A Colorado Springs.

When Helton's back finally gave out on him in early June, Stewart was once again recalled as Atkins moved across the diamond to supplant Helton at first base.

This time, the results were much more encouraging.

After striking out a whopping 28 times in his first 56 at-bats in 2008, Stewart worked diligently on improving his swing and timing at the plate. The hard work soon started to pay off.

The lefty Stewart batted .270 in the second half, including an utterly ridiculous .370 clip against left-handers that proved to the Rockies' brass that he wasn't just a one-dimensional right-on-left slugger.

A .365 on base percentage is solid for a corner infielder, but could obviously still be improved upon and most of his ten home runs were of the oh-my-god-did-you-see-how-far-that-ball-went variety including a triple decker at Coors Field against the Brew Crew in June.

His average was up around the .290 mark before a late-season slide sent him to his final statline of .259, 10, 41 for his first (mostly) full season in the big leagues.

With Atkins entrenched at third base for at least one more season before he becomes a free agent, Skip Hurdle and Dealin' Dan tried to find a spot for their powerful product around the diamond.

They experimented with the 6'3", 205 lb beast at second base, though his body type doesn't exactly match the stereotypical second-baseman build. In twelve games at second base, Stewart played admirably considering he'd never manned the position before, committing only one error in 55 chances.

They told him to take fly balls in left field over the winter, to which he obliged, though he didn't see much action there during the spring as Seth Smith had a hold on the job before the first pitch was even thrown and has done nothing to lose his grip since.

Initially Hurdle said that Stewart's days as a second baseman were done with but recently has changed his tune as Stewart has been seen taking ground balls at second while his bat has started to heat up this spring. He brought a .294 average into Tuesday's tilt with the Cubbies with two home runs and seven RBIs in 14 games.

Herein lies the crux of the problem for Colorado.

With Atkins at third (barring his groin injury from lasting into the season's opening weeks), a healthy Helton at first, and Seth Smith getting a shot to replace Matt Holliday in left, Stewart presumably becomes the odd man out.

Sending Stewart to Triple-A at this point would do him no good. He has already validated everything he needed to prove in the Minor Leagues and needs consistent big league at-bats to become the star the Rockies believe he will blossom into.

My solution is to allow him to start the season at second base ahead of Clint Barmes.

While Barmes is a solid player and a good fielder, he will never come close to approaching the numbers Stewart could put up with 500 at bats in a season.

Barmes would be better used to replace Jeff Baker as the team's super-utility man since he can play every infield position and even center field if called upon.

Adding Stewart as an everyday option in the Rockies' lineup not only makes the starting nine much more dangerous, it allows Stewart the opportunity to develop his natural ability and adapt to a second base position that he proved he could manage last season.

A lineup with Ian Stewart joining Ryan Spilborghs, Troy Tulowitzki, Todd Helton, Garrett Atkins, Brad Hawpe, and Chris Iannetta gives the Rox a starting nine that has a serious shot to boast seven players with at least twenty home runs by season's end.

That's a stat that could strike fear into the heart of even the heartiest NL West hurler.

Let's hope that Hurdle and O'Dowd realize the opportunity they have on their hands to not only help in the effort to replace the production of Matt Holliday, but to make their offense one of the most potent in baseball.