The Colorado Rockies are loaded at third base

The Colorado Rockies enter spring training with the good fortune of having one of the top players in all of baseball manning the hot corner. Better yet? One of the organization's most highly touted prospects is waiting in the wings as well. Barring catastrophe, the Rockies should be pretty set at third base and fans should be treated to another year of terrific baseball from the position.

Incumbent starter

Nolan Arenado

The Rockies starter at third for 2016 — and hopefully for a good deal longer — is, of course, Nolan Arenado. The 24-year-old, who finished 8th in the NL MVP voting, was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dreary season. Arenado's phenomenal season was rightly rewarded with the third baseman receiving his first All-Star nod, third consecutive Gold Glove Award, and his first Silver Slugger Award.

Arenado played in 157 games for the Rockies last season, making him a seeming rarity among Rockies players. Offensively, Nolan absolutely mashed, laughing at opposing pitchers while slashing .287/.323/.575 in a terrific all-around performance, tying NL MVP Bryce Harper with 42 home runs. To put that into perspective, through 981 plate appearances in his first two seasons, Nolan hit 28 homers. In 665 PAs in 2015, Nolan went yard 42 times. 42! He came around to score 97 runs as well, in addition to knocking in 130. He even stole 2 bags, consistent with each of his last two seasons. Lest his offensive output seem like some sort of anomaly, consider the fact that his BAPIP was a career-low .284 (.296 in 2013, .294 in 2014). Adjusting for park, Nolan's wRC+ was a career-high 119. The dude can plain hit.

Defensively, Nolan Arenado was an absolute sieve, looking like a pylon at times as the ball dribbled past him. Oh wait, did I have that wrong? Right, he nabbed his third Gold Glove Award in three years flashing his glove, superior instincts, and a cannon of an arm. Nolan makes plays that shouldn't be made. His range is crazy, and he makes plays that look straight out of a video game on a daily basis. Balls hit in his general direction more often than not end up as outs, and Nolan routinely robs batters of should've been hits. Paired with his stellar offensive ability, Nolan had a career-high 4.5 WAR. With the departure of Troy Tulowitzki *tears*, Nolan is the face of this franchise and undoubtedly the organization's best player. The next few years will, hopefully, see him cement his status in the league as one of the game's absolute best.

MLB-quality depth

Daniel Descalso

With Cristhian Adames presumably manning shortstop, Descalso will likely be Arenado's primary backup. As the primary utility infielder on the roster, Descalso will hopefully not see too much time at third. Rockies fans will be hoping Arenado can play in 157 games like last year, not because Descalso is bad (he is), but because as we've seen in the past with Tulo and his backups, the drop off in talent from Nolan to Descalso is massive.

Daniel Descalso's offensive performance last year with the Rockies was... putrid. I'm honestly having difficulty in thinking of appropriate adjectives to describe just how awful he was at the plate. I suppose I'll let the numbers speak for themselves. He slashed a dreadful .205/.283/.324 with a staggering wRC+ of 43. Yes, you read that correctly. He also struck out at a career-high clip of 21.5%. Yikes! All in all though, he's a serviceable backup and can play anywhere in the infield, which is always nice as it allows the Rockies to keep an extra reliever.

Cristhian Adames/DJ LeMahieu

Presumably, Cristhian Adames and DJ LeMahieu will be starters for the Rockies at shortstop and second for a decent portion of the season — in DJ's case, likely the entirety of the season barring injury — but both could conceivably see time at third should it be necessary. There's the very real possibility that Trevor Story takes over at shortstop sometime this season, which would then make Adames our go-to utility infielder. Adames has always been solid defensively and will hopefully develop into an average hitter at the major league level, as he struggled in his limited appearances last season. For the near future, however, it is likely neither of these players will see much time at third as both will be starters for the Rockies.

On the farm

Ryan McMahon

5th on our prospect ranking and with appearances on a bevy of other lists, McMahon is a tremendous prospect who possess an above-average glove and can absolutely rake. Last season with Modesto, McMahon slashed his way to a line of .300/.372/.520 with 18 home runs and 75 RBIs, good for a wRC+ of 141. McMahon is still likely a couple years out and the presence of Nolan Arenado at third would likely necessitate a change of position to accommodate such a highly touted player. If Nolan is here for the long haul (fingers crossed), it's likely McMahon shifts to either first or a corner outfield position. As the Rockies system is lacking prospects who can play first, McMahon could be the answer.

Brendan Rodgers

The Rockies highly regarded shortstop prospect will likely make the position his own in a few years, but there has been some talk of the possibility of moving him to third. Rodgers projects to be an above-average player at shortstop, but would be a plus third baseman. Wherever he ends up, his bat will be his calling card as he'll be able to hit for both power and average. Rodgers still has a long road of development ahead of him, but all signs point towards the Rockies having in him a tremendous player who will make a huge impact for them.

Emergency options

Rafael Ynoa

I suppose Ynoa technically could be under the MLB-quality depth section, but I'm hesitant to label him as "MLB-quality." Harsh? Maybe, but with some combination of Story, Adames, and Descalso available for the position, there will hopefully not be a need for Ynoa. In the event of the catastrophic, however, Ynoa is an internal option who is a serviceable defender that can play pretty much wherever. He's also an incredibly "tough out," so... yeah, watch out league!