The weekend is a great time to kick back and reflect. This Week in Purple is the place to catch up on the news from our team at Purple Row. You’ll find links to Rockpiles and other content below as well as a platform for community discussion in the comments.
★ ★ ★
While we’re in the thick of the AL and NL Championship Series, there are some other awards that will be handed out soon. On Tuesday, MLB Pipeline announced its All-Rookie Teams. Rockies OF Nolan Jones was named to the All-Rookie First Team, along names such as Corbin Carroll, Gunnar Henderson and James Outman.
On Wednesday, Rawlings announced their Gold Glove finalists. Ryan McMahon earned his third-consecutive nod at third base (and Nolan Arenado was not a finalist for the first time in his career). Rookies Ezequiel Tovar and Brenton Doyle also earned nods. The winners will be announced on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” on Sunday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. MT.
Finally, the winners of the American and National Leagues will be crowned this week. Will the NL West-rival Arizona Diamondbacks top last year’s NL-champ Phillies? Will Jon Gray and the Texas Rangers knock off reigning World Series champion Houston Astros?
Meanwhile, here’s what our writers had to say this week!
To Read (Rockpiles)
For the Monday Rockpile, Kenneth suggested the Rockies make some more big-name trades. Specifically, he identified Brendan Rodgers as a potential trade chip. They are in desperate need of pitching while they await the return of Germán Márquez and Antonio Senzatela. Could a Rodgers trade finally make sense?
Rockies fans, there’s a new Nolan in LoDo | Renee Dechert
For the Tuesday Rockpile, Renee suggested that Nolan Jones is the new face of the franchise, despite the Rockies’ best efforts to place that upon Kris Bryant after the disastrous Nolan Arenado trade. She lays out reasons why the 2023 breakout star should be considered: his on-field baseball skills, his personality, and how quickly he was able to integrate both with the Rockies team and the fanbase. What are your thoughts, fans? Is NoJo the new face of the Rockies?
The roster crunch looms for the Rockies | Skyler Timmins
As is annual tradition, a roster crunch is looming for the Rockies. As of Wednesday, they had outrighted three arbitration-eligible veterans, who all elected free agency. They also have five players on the 60-day IL, three pending free agents and players needing protection from the Rule 5 draft. For the Wednesday Rockpile, Skyler looked at each group and how they might factor in for 2024. Who will make the 2024 40-man roster?
All that glitters is gold glove finalists | Evan Lang
On Thursday, Evan did a deep dive into the Rockies Gold Glove finalists compared to their fellow finalists. He also looked at the left fielders, since Nolan Jones was left out due to not playing quite enough innings in left field for consideration. Will any of them win?
Lessons of Gray: The value of stable starting pitching | Joelle Milholm
On Friday, Joelle caught some “Jon Gray nostalgia” and decided to look back at the Rockies’ ace/not-ace and how the Rockies botched his tenure. They started 16 different pitchers in 2023, mostly due to injuries, but somehow walked away from Gray in 2021. While he didn’t pan out quite like everyone thought he would, Gray was still an excellent pitcher and a great human to have around the clubhouse. Could he have helped the 2023 Rockies? Regardless, we at Purple Row wish Jon Gray the best in the 2023 Postseason!
To Read (Ranking the Rockies)
Brian Serven and Jorge Alfaro played a combined 21 games for the Rockies in 2023
Yonathan Daza had a sad likely-end to his Rockies tenure
Justin Bruihl appeared and then disappeared from the Rockies roster in 2023
Pierce Johnson’s brief time in Colorado resulted in two prospects from midseason trade
Coco Montes made his MLB debut in 2023
To Listen
Affected by Altitude: The 2023 Positivity-Cast
This week, Evan and Skyler are joined by Kenneth Weber to discuss the positives of the 2023 Colorado Rockies season. We start with the bullpen, which went above and beyond to carry the load for a very thin rotation and the lineup had some standout performances. General Manager Bill Schmidt also made his mark in his second full year as GM, and the Rockies farm system is filled with players that give us hope for the future even if it’s a little bottom heavy.
Weekend Discussion Topics
Who do you think will win 2023 Gold Gloves and why? Sound off below!
★ ★ ★
Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!
Loading comments...