Colorado Rockies
2024 record: 61-101
Fifth place, NL West
Team ERA: 5.48 (30th in MLB)
Team OPS: .704 (15th in MLB)
What Went Right
Very little, as you can probably guess from the standings. The Rockies continue to struggle to find pitching while playing in Coors Field, registering some of the worst ERA, WHIP, Hits/9 innings, and Strikeouts/9 innings of any team in baseball for both their starting rotation and their relievers. Offensively, they did finish near the middle of the league in home runs, batting average, and OPS, which is nice but they still struggle on the road. In road games, the Rockies finished second-to-last in the league in OPS, second-to-last in batting average, and second-to-last in runs scored. However, while the offense as a whole continued to struggle, there were some nice steps forward from a few key hitters. Ezequiel Tovar set career-highs in home runs, runs scored, RBI, and batting average. He continues to be a free-swinger who sports a high strikeout rate, but his offensive steps forward with his elite defense at shortstop make him a clear building block for this franchise at just 22 years old. The Rockies also got a career-best year from 26-year-old Brenton Doyle, who hit .260/.317/.446 with 23 home runs, 82 runs, 72 RBI, and 30 steals despite ending the year playing through an injury that saw him hit just .167 in 19 games in September. Doyle made impressive strides in his plate discipline and also plays Gold Glove-caliber defense in center field. The emergence of those two players gives the Rockies two key cornerstones up the middle for years to come, which is better than nothing.
What Went Wrong
Pretty much everything else. Their pitching staff was the worst in baseball. Not only did their rotation have the worst ERA in the league, but their bullpen finished with a 5.41 ERA, which was significantly worse than any other team with Toronto the closest with a 4.84 bullpen ERA. The team didn’t have a single pitcher with an ERA under 4.00 and had seven players record a save but only one of those pitchers struck out over a batter per inning or produced an ERA under 4.50. On the offensive side, Nolan Jones followed up his breakout 2023 campaign by battling back injuries throughout much of 2024 and hitting just .227/.321/.320 in 79 games with three home runs, 28 RBI, five steals, and a 30.6% strikeout rate. He was playing through a back injury for much of the season and performed slightly better in 29 games after the All-Star break, so the Rockies will need to decide this offseason how dedicated they are to Jones in left field moving forward. The team also refused to trade Ryan McMahon at the deadline after he produced elite results and then watched as he hit .188/.283/.309 over 58 games in the second half with six home runs, 20 runs scored, 20 RBI, and a 29.5% strikeout rate. They may sincerely regret not moving him when his value was at its peak. Same for the decision to release starting catching Elias Diaz while he was hitting .265/.313/.382 instead of trying to trade him earlier in the season when other teams had an interest in acquiring him.
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Fantasy Slants
– We mentioned both Ezequiel Tovar and Brenton Doyle before, but they are the cream of the crop when it comes to fantasy value on this roster. Both of them have some plate discipline concerns, but they are young hitters who have shown growth in key areas and whose elite defense will keep them on the field in everyday roles.
– Michael Toglia emerged as an everyday player for the Rockies down the stretch and hit 25 home runs to go along with 10 steals in 116 games. Those are great for fantasy managers. However, he also struck out 32% of the time, which led to a .218 batting average. Considering he also grades out as a below-average defensive first baseman, it doesn’t seem like a profile that fantasy managers can count on heading into 2025. However, if he were to secure a starting job, his power could be useful in weeks when the Rockies play games at home.
– Brendan Rodgers stayed healthy for 135 games, which is just the second time in his career that he’s played over 102 games in a season. He hit .267/.314/.407 with 13 home runs, 67 runs scored, and 54 RBI on the year. Those are fine numbers for a deep-league middle infield target. On the other hand, he also stole just one base (his first career steal), so he won’t give you any value there, and if the Rockies lineup doesn’t improve, his counting stats will remain capped around 70 runs and RBI each.
– Greg Jones, who came over from the Rays in a pre-season trade, stole 46 bases in 86 games in Triple-A this season while batting .269/.346/.460 with 16 home runs and 78 runs scored. Jones was a first-round pick in 2019 and has elite athleticism and the ability to play multiple positions, but he has struggled with strikeouts throughout his minor-league career. His speed obviously makes him an intriguing fantasy target, and if he were to improve his plate discipline in the way that Brenton Doyle did this year, he could be a sneaky draft target in 2025 if he were to find a regular spot in the lineup.
– As we mentioned above, the Rockies had seven players record a save with Tyler Kinley leading the way with 12. However, Kinley also registered a 6.19 ERA and walked 4.64 batters per nine innings. That’s not going to cut it as the closer. The Rockies’ best option during the season was Victor Vodnik, who registered nine saves while posting a 4.28 ERA but had a 1.48 WHIP and just an 8.8% K-BB%. Perhaps the 2025 closer is not on the roster currently, but one name to watch is 24-year-old Seth Halvorsen, who threw just 12.1 innings in the big leagues in 2024 but had a 1.46 ERA (2.75 SIERA) with an 0.81 WHIP, and a 23.9% K-BB%.
– Can Chase Dollander finally give the Rockies an ace? The 2023 first-round pick was electric in 2024, pitching to a 2.59 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and a 169:47 K:BB ratio in 118 innings across High-A and Double-A. At just 22-years-old, he’s unlikely to make the rotation out of spring training, but perhaps he can pitch well enough to start the year to force his way to the big leagues over the summer. If he was in any other organization, he would be discussed with the excitement of Noah Schultz or Andrew Painter.
Key Free Agents
Daniel Bard, Jacob Stallings, and Charlie Blackmon announced his retirement.
Team Needs
Pretty much everything. The Rockies will likely head into next season with Ezequiel Tovar at shortstop, Brendan Rodgers at second base, Brenton Doyle in center field, and Nolan Jones in left field, but the other spots could be up for grabs. Perhaps the Rockies finally decide to trade Ryan McMahon over the off-season? Maybe Jordan Beck, who struggled in his MLB call-up in 2024, can emerge as a regular right fielder. On the pitching side, the Rockies’ entire starting rotation is either under contract or arbitration-eligible for 2025, which makes it unlikely the team will make any drastic changes there, unfortunately. However, the team could explore a low-cost option and move one of the current starters to the bullpen considering the bullpen itself could also use an infusion of talent. Many small market teams have had success in signing relievers to one-year contracts and trying to trade them at the deadline for future value. Maybe the Rockies should try that or, like, anything.
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