The Rockies are expanding their research and development staff

Rockies beefing up research and development staff | MLB.com

Thomas Harding reports that the Rockies are in the process of expanding their research and development staff. The Rockies, according to Harding, have one of the smaller research and development staffs in the majors, and the hires they plan to make soon will help the club interpret and translate the information available. Assistant general manager Zack Rosenthal also assured Harding that "it doesn't mean the club will be run by soulless computers," which I suppose is a nice thing to know, if not really a fear any reasonable person has.

It's easy to point to this staff expansion and commend the Rockies for their progressive ways; however, every team in baseball has a research and development staff. We're well beyond the point where simply having people thinking about baseball problems through an analytical lens provides an advantage. Everything comes down to how the information is ultimately used. Given the success the Rockies have had with implementing the shift, in terms of runs saved as well as getting players used to it, I'm hopeful that they'll use it well.

Colorado Rockies: 2017 Lineup, CarGo's Ranking and More | Rox Pile

Kevin Henry takes a stab at predicting what the Rockies' lineup will look like in 2017. What is most interesting about this exercise is how predictable it is. That's a good thing. It shows that the Rockies are already in a good place. They still need somebody to play first base, and there's still a possibility that an outfielder will be traded, but the Rockies should feel pretty good about where the lineup stands right now—health permitting, of course.

Sunday Notes: DH Dilemma, Indians, Gallardo, Glasnow, HoF Managers, more | FanGraphs Baseball

There is a Rockies' nugget in David Laurila's weekly column. First, he references the Rockies' and Diamondbacks' managerial openings, and he floats Bud Black, Torey Lovullo, and Dave Martinez as "names being bandied about." He suggests that if he were compelled to choose, he'd go with Martinez. I would as well.