Here’s something that caught my eye last week.
Just Baseball is another site I write for, and I was surprised when this graphic showed up on their Instagram feed.
This typo of Brenton Doyle’s name aside, I was intrigued by the premise.
There is, I suspect, a good bit of trolling going on here. (C’mon: Gerrit Cole is not coming to Colorado, and Cal Quantrill is not winning a Cy Young.) But you all are the folks I wanted to talk with about this.
So, here’s my take on the 2025 Colorado Rockies.
1B — Will Kris Bryant be the Rockies first baseman in 2025? Probably, yes. However, There’s no way he hits 40 home runs. (I think most of us would be overjoyed with half that number, but as Michael Baumann pointed out in May, Bryant’s power numbers are down. Oddly enough, his future is probably as DH.)
Now, if the Rockies would find a way to consistently play Elehuris Montero and/or Hunter Goodman (No. 15 PuRP) at first, I could see 40 homers, but there’s no indication that’s happening with Bryant on the roster.
2B — Yes, I can see Adael Amador (No. 3 PuRP) at second, though I’m not ready to commit to the Rookie of the Year just yet. (Also, if Brendan Rodgers is still with the Rockies by the end of the 2024 season, I’ll be surprised — in fact, an offseason trade seems more likely.)
3B — You know, I don’t know that we’ll still see Ryan McMahon with the Rockies by 2025. One of the things that gets overlooked is how Nolan Jones has upset a lot of planning. Despite some stellar defense, McMahon just can’t seem to find offensive consistency. (Interesting comparison: in 2023, McMahon hit 23 homers in 627 PA; Jones hit 20 home runs in 424 PA.) If you’d told me before July that I thought McMahon might be traded, I wouldn’t have believed you. But I do now.
Who does that leave at third? Sterlin Thompson (No. 7 PuRP). He was torrid in Spokane, slashing .323/.399/.520 before missing spending time on the IL. When getting in some postseason work, Thompson was equally impressive in the Arizona Fall League, earning a spot on the All-Arizona Fall League Team. Over 21 games, he had nine extra-base hits and seven stolen bases.
I realize Thompson played the outfield in the AFL, but returning to third seems like an easy adjustment, and I don’t see Nolan Jones going back to third because he’s been so good in the outfield.
SS — Ezequiel Tovar as an All-Star shortstop? No brainer. That’s absolutely happening.
OF — I’m going to group to the outfielders together.
There is no way the Rockies will stop playing Jones in the outfield. Could he hit 40 homers and 120 RBI? Yes to the former, but the RBI are beyond his control. Still, Jones will be the King of Coors Field in the near term.
Yanquiel Fernandez (No. 3 PuRP) in a corner with ROY attention? I can see it. In 2023, he slashed .265/.313/.486 with a .799 OPS, and he’s only going to get better. (I take comparisons to Yordan Alvarez seriously.)
Brenton Doyle? Maybe, but he has to get some consistent offense going, and Coors Field is going to age a center fielder quickly. So accepted with some caveats — and a lot of hope that this happens.
Zac Veen (No. 2 PuRP) has, oddly enough, become a player I’m less bullish on. Granted, he’s young, and he was injured in 2023, but I really see Jordan Beck (#5 No. 5 PuRP) slotting in there sooner. Plus, Benny Montgomery (No. 8 PuRP), another All-Arizona Fall League Team member, has shown improvement. And don’t forget Sean Bouchard.
Good news! The Rockies outfield is stacked.
C — There is no way — zero, zip, nada — the Rockies sign Will Smith. Drew Romo (No. 6 PuRP) is the catcher of the future. Can I see him contributing to a World Series-caliber team? Absolutely.
SP — Germán Márquez and Kyle Freeland are back for sure, and Antonio Senzatela will fit in with that mix. However, the folks at Just Baseball disregard Ryan Feltner, a player I believe in. We’ve also yet to see what Noah Davis, Peter Lambert, and Gabriel Hughes (No. 9 PuRP) can do. As for Chase Dollander (No. 4 PuRP), I want to believe.
RP — This will be another area of strength for the Rockies, something that’s completely overlooked here. But the Rockies will have Justin Lawrence as a closer, Jake Bird as a set-up man, a lots of other young talent to deploy.
In addition, I expect Bill Schmidt to bring in some pitching during 2023.
Is this a World Series team? Maybe. But the Rockies will need to get their offense started again and begin hitting like the Blake Street Bombers because that’s going to be essential for this team to be competitive. In short, they must weaponize Coors Field and put to good use that pitching lab we’ve been hearing about.
So that’s what I think. Ozarkbear shared a projected 2025 list in the comments of Saturday’s Rockpile, and I’m eager to hear the thoughts of everyone else.
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Colorado Rockies top prospects for 2024 | Just Baseball
Aram Leighton released his ranking of the Rockies top prospects, which I thought might interest you. He refers to the Rockies as having “one of the most exciting systems in baseball,” which seems to me a move in the right direction. His number one prospect? Adael Amador followed by Yanquiel Fernandez and then Sterlin Thompson.
Check out that headline! Andrea Arcadipane notes that Montero looks “much more comfortable with his timing at the plate.” He is hitting the ball with authority, which is excellent news.
2023-24 offseason preview: NL West | Pitcher List
I always enjoy reading these kinds of articles because I’m curious as to how much the author understands the Rockies. Pablo Figueroa overlooks the young talent the Rockies are bringing up, but there is much to consider.
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