A capable shortstop with elite hitting potential is a difficult commodity to come by, and many teams would hold on to that player for dear life. The Colorado Rockies figured that guy would be Brendan Rodgers, the number 11 ranked prospect in baseball according to Baseball Prospectus. Trevor Story would then go off for 27 home runs in less than 100 games last year before a wrist injury ended his season in late July. With Rodgers still a couple years away from being ready Story can cement himself as the Rockies shortstop of the future if he keeps up his torrid pace from last year.

Do We Really Know Trevor Story?

Just like any hitter, Trevor Story’s pop is given a boost by playing in the thin air of Coors field, but the difference in his home and road splits in 2016 was staggering. At home he hit the ball like Troy Tulowitski in his prime, owning a .313/.393/.693 slash line and a .381 Isolated power. But his road stats paint a picture of an above average power hitter and not much else. His splits on the road were .235/.292/.454, and while his Isolated Power was still well above average at .219 it is still a giant drop off from his ISO at home. These are troubling splits that could hurt interest in Story on the trade market, so it will be important to keep them in mind as Brendan Rodgers gets closer to the Bigs.

Trevor Story looked like an elite shortstop last year, at home at least, but so far this season he looks lost. Three weeks into the year he owns a .135/.262/.327 slash line and has struck out 41% of the time. There is no way that those numbers can stay that low throughout the whole season, but it is sketchy how low they are through 16 games. Story did only play in 97 games last year so his numbers still have to be taken with a grain of salt until we see a larger sample size. Trevor Story is going to have to prove that he can sustain his 2016 numbers before I label him the Rockies shortstop of the future. And Brendan Rodgers will be waiting in the wings to try and claim that title.

What can the Rockies do?

What do you do when you already have elite production coming from a spot that is being eyed by an elite prospect? Well one of them has to go if you want to maximize your teams talent. If Story stays the same player from last year and Rodgers maintains his prospect status, then they could both pull in elite talent in trades. The Rockies will always be in need of pitching. Especially if they want to compete with the gnarly rotations that feature Clayton Kershaw and the MadBum out in the NL West. No free agent pitcher wants to pitch in Coors field, so it is critical for the Rockies to build their pitchers through trades and the draft. And one of these guys is going to help bring in that talent the Rockies most desperately need.

All statistics are from Fangraphs.com