#28
The Colorado Rockies are stuck in one of the toughest divisions in all of baseball (there seem to be a lot of those this year...). Will they be able to make a little noise in the top heavy NL West in 2024?
#27
MIH - Kris Bryant
MIP - German Marquez
PTW - Ezequiel Tovar
FP - Charlie Blackmon will not end the season in a Rockies uniform.
2023 Results
#28
Highest WAR (Position) - Nolan Jones
Highest WAR (Pitcher) - Kyle Freeland
The arch of the 2023 Colorado Rockies was not a good one. Two of their most established pitchers went down with Tommy John surgery mid-season, most of their lineup struggled to be average, and their big budget star has struggled to stay healthy, only playing in 122 games over 2 seasons. Even when he is healthy, Kris Bryant has been inconsistent at best. In 2023, he was just bad. The one bright spot in 2023 was the emergence of Nolan Jones, who looks like a star in the making.
Additions / Subtractions
When you are a rebuilding team in a strong division with a megadeal contract weighing down your payroll, there's not much to do in the off-season besides develop the young talent you have. They barely made any fringe moves to accent their roster with veterans. The most notable adds this off-season were starting pitchers Cal Quantrill and Dakota Hudson, filling in the spots of German Marquez and Antonio Senzatela as they recover from the dreaded elbow surgery. There aren't really any notable subtractions, and the offensive personnel is pretty much the same as they ended last year with.
Most Important Hitter
Nolan Jones
After a true breakout year in 2023, many people are now talking about Nolan Jones as the "best player you haven't heard of." Although the expectations are warranted after a 138 OPS+ in 2023 with 20 homers, 20 steals, 62 RBI's, and a .297 average in just 106 games, that is a high bar for someone with just 134 total big league games under their belt. With that said, if Nolan Jones is able to continue his growth and truly becomes the star many are expecting, he could be a face of the franchise moving forward.
Most Important Pitcher
Dakota Hudson
Dakota Hudson is probably the most interesting flier the Rockies are taking this year. Once a highly-touted prospect, Hudson showed flashes of brilliance over the last 6 seasons in St. Louis, but he could never develop much consistency in performance or health. Now he has a fresh start entering his age 29 season. With the injuries in the Rockies rotation, Dakota Hudson is going to have every opportunity to prove what he can do. If he does, he could stabilize a rotation that never has any stability.
Prospect to Watch
Zac Veen
The Rockies currently sport the 19th best farm system with 4 Top 100 prospects, but none of them are expected to be ready this season. However, a former Top 100 prospect could be ready in Zac Veen. With the 9th overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, the Rockies went with this high school prep outfielder that looked poised to be a star. The start of his professional career showed that promise, but a wrist injury last season slowed his progress. Now that Veen is healthy again, look for his swing to come back, his growth to continue, and for him to be manning a corner outfield spot opposite Nolan Jones before the end of the season.
2024 Prediction
5th in NL West
The Rockies are stuck in the cellar. Their best case scenario in 2024 is to develop some of their young talent, establish a respectable rotation, watch Nolan Jones become a star ... and get beat up by the rest of their division. In a few years, this could turn around, but not yet.
Fearless Prediction
Kris Bryant wins the 2024 Comeback Player of the Year.
You get a feeling that Kris Bryant has been so unreliable in his first two seasons in Denver that any contributions they get from him in 2024 are just a bonus to the player development they are working on with the rest of the roster. However, you have to think Bryant still has something left in the tank. He just has to stay healthy. He's slated to be the everyday first baseman to try and keep him healthy. If he plays over 100 games, he has a shot at the comeback title, which is one of the only awards Kris Bryant hasn't won in his crazy up-and-down career.
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