Rockies: It is time we make Charlie Blackmon a top-5 pick

Charlie Blackmon ranks as one of the top fantasy performers for the Rockies But, is it finally time we make him the top-5 selection that he is performing as?

The Rockies lost a heartbreaker to the Diamondbacks in this week’s NL Wildcard game. They had a tremendous 2017 season, but their early exit was predictably no fault of the offense. There has been no better offensive catalyst this season than, Charlie Blackmon.

It is hard to think that Blackmon could be better than his .324/29 HR/82 RBI/17 SB/.933 OPS line in 2016, but he did just that. He ended the 2017 campaign with a monster 137 R/.331 AVG/37 HR/104 RBI/14 SB/1.000 OPS line over 159 games for the Rox.

All around, there was no better fantasy player this season. Back in Jan., we opined that he was a first-round pick heading into the 2017 year, but he blew that out of the water and became its top performer.

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Blackmon lead the NL in plate appearances, Runs, Hits, Triples, batting average, and total bases. He was simply a one-man wrecking crew, and even though the steals were down to 14, he easily made up for it.

The Coors stigma has plagued and been attached to many hitters that have had tremendous seasons. Blackmon is a career .264 hitter away from Coors Field, but posted a .276 AVG/13 HR/44 RBI/.784 OPS line on the road this year.

Is he a better power hitter in the mile high air, yes. Is he a slouch on the road, no. He continues to dispatch this theory, further building his stock and cementing his fantasy value for the Rockies.

If we dig deeper into his batted ball data, Blackmon’s profile continues to impress. He notched 22% LD, 37% FB, 44% Med and 39% Hard contact rates. He even bumped his BB rate near 10% while posting a career-best 65 total.

He did post a 41% GB rate, yet his ability to consistently square the ball was evident once again all season. What makes him such a quality performer is his ridiculously high floor and his track record.

According to ESPN’s Home Run Tracker, Blackmon averaged 409.8 ft per homer this season, an 11 ft difference from last season. All the more impressive considering he had eight more homers this season than last.

For fantasy owners, now is the time to finally ignore the team he plays for and know that Blackmon has calmed any and all concerns. There is still room for the speed to bounce back some, he was caught stealing 10 times this season, and just imagine if half of triples or doubles (49 in total) would have went for homers.

He would be flirting with 50 HR.

Next: Fantasy Baseball 2018: Jose Altuve the top batter?

This all may seem obvious after such a monster season, but there is nothing in his profile that points to him taking a step back next season either. He still has a who’s who of hitters behind him as usual, so the counting stats will be in abundance. Make Charlie Blackmon a top-5 pick next season.

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