29-year old lefty swinging Brad Hawpe will be the starting RF again for the Rockies in 2009. He played in 138 games for the Rockies last year and he was 138 for 488 (.283 avg, .879 OPS) with 69 runs scored, 25 homers and 85 RBIs. Hawpe has potential to put up better numbers than that in 2009. He is not a good defensive player as he made 9 errors in 133 games in RF last year while showing poor range. Hawpe does have a strong arm as he had 9 assists from RF last year.

27-year old righty swinging Matt Murton will back up Hawpe in 2009. Murton played in 28 games for the A’s and Cubs last season and he was 13 for 70 (.186 avg, .448 OPS) with 3 runs scored and 8 RBIs. Murton has now played in 317 games in his major league career and he has a batting average of .288 with a .792 OPS. He is a average defensive player.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: B