While a clear feature of the 2026 Rockies is Warren Schaeffer changing up lineups depending on the opposing pitcher and analytics, one trend is emerging as a fairly regular trend: Edouard Julien in the leadoff spot.
Julien has hit in the No. 1 spot in 17 of the Rockies 29 games with all of them coming in the last 20. Jake McCarthy served as the leadoff hitter for the first five games of the season, Troy Johnston has done it three times, Tyler Freeman has done it twice and Jordan Beck and Mickey Moniak
have each hit No. 1 once.
Overall, Julien is hitting .284/.369/.392 with 12 runs scored, 10 RBI, three doubles, one homer, 10 walks, 21 strikeouts and two stolen bases in 74 at-bats over 25 games. His .369 OBP is the second-best on the team for players with at least 40 at-bats.
Julien’s numbers are even better as the leadoff hitter. He’s hitting .317/.403/.429 with 20 hits, 10 RBI, one homer, two doubles, nine walks and 15 strikeouts in 63 at-bats. His production, along with patient at-bats, which are pretty rare for the Rockies, has made him the clear choice for the Rockies No. 1 hitter.
In spring training, Julien explained that he knows who he is as a hitter and takes pride in having long at-bats and not chasing.
In the first five games of the season, McCarthy had a .158 OBP as the leadoff hitter. The lack of production likely cost him the spot and relegated him to the bench. Johnston and Moniak have proved to be outstanding regardless of their place in the lineup. Unfortunately, Beck is off to a slow start in 2026 and is not getting as much time either.
Freeman was the Rockies most frequent leadoff hitter last year with 72 games in the role. Freeman is a solid choice for his low strikeout rate of 13.5% compared to the MLB average of 22.5%. A true utilityman, he’s hit in every spot in the lineup in his career and the No. 1 spot accounts for the most at the 10.3% of his games. He’s hit .260/.336/.332 with 47 runs, 30 RBI, 22 doubles, one homer, 16 stolen bases, 33 walks and 53 strikeouts in 377 at-bats over 101 games.
Freeman has struggled with some minor health issues to start the season. He started the season on the 10-day IL with lower back inflammation and tightness and was also pulled from the April 20 game with dizziness. Bloodwork came back fine, but playing in only 16 games this far, his vacancy may have opened up a spot for Julien.
Julien, who is in his fourth MLB season and first with the Rockies, is no stranger to the leadoff role. He played the majority of his time there in his first two of three seasons with Minnesota. Including his time with the Rockies, he’s now spent 43.8% of his career as a leadoff man. In his career, he’s hitting .214/.322/.356 with 72 runs scored, 41 RBI, 17 doubles, 15 homers, eight stolen bases and 72 walks with 165 strikeouts in the role in 449 at-bats in 128 games.
After a strong series against the Dodgers, Julien explained his philosophy of putting together quality at-bats.
At least for the foreseeable future, the leadoff spot appears to be Julien’s. With the Rockies off to a 13-16 start, and Colorado going 9-8 with Julien hitting first, it should be.
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