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.
★ ★ ★
School is starting up for many students across the country, but the Rockies are in the middle of a 10-game road trip. They have already played the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers, and they are in the middle of a four-game set against the Los Angeles Dodgers. So far, they have gone 3-5. They won the series against the Cardinals, lost the series against the Brewers and have thus far lost their first two games of the Dodgers series. Of their remaining 11 opponents, eight have records above .500 — only the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox and San Diego Padres are below.
After the trade deadline, young players are seeing more playing time and making the most of it. Nolan Jones and Ezequiel Tovar each have 11 home runs, which makes them the third pair of rookies in Rockies history to hit at least 10 home runs in a season. They join Luis Gonzalez and Matt Holliday (2004) and Garrett Atkins and Clint Barmes (2005).
Even though he’s not a rookie, Ryan McMahon also continues to shine. McMahon’s 17 dDRS lead all third basemen and are the third-most in the majors. He has also reached base in 20 of his last 22 games, and had a career-best 17-game on-base streak from July 16-August 6. Could this be the year that McMahon finally wins a Gold Glove?
In the meantime, here’s what our writers had to say this week!
To Read
- For his Monday Rockpile, Kenneth Weber looked at Kris Bryant and his (lack of) playing time since signing his seven-year, $182 million contract in March 2022. Since signing that contract, Bryant has only played 107 total games (42 in 2022, 65 in 2023) and has spent five separate stints on the IL. He is currently dealing with a fractured left index finger suffered on July 22. So... what’s the path forward with Kris Bryant and the Rockies?
- For her Tuesday Rockpile, Renee Dechert reviewed Tim Brown’s new book “The Tao of the Backup Catcher: Playing Baseball for the Love of the Game,” written with Erik Kratz. She highlighted such backup catchers as Tony Wolters, Drew Butera and Jonathan Lucroy, but spoke with current Rockies backup catcher Austin Wynns about his role on the team and the demands of being a backup catcher.
- For his Wednesday Rockpile, Skyler Timmins wrote about recently-called up Cole Tucker. Mr. Vanessa Hudgens was signed in December to a minor league contract after spending time with the Pittsburgh Pirates and his hometown Arizona Diamondbacks (although he never made the MLB roster). His contract was selected by the Rockies on Monday, and he has played in two games so far, going 1-for-4 with one RBI, one walk, one strikeout and two runs scored. Tucker just turned 27 on July 3, so what can he bring to the table for the Rockies?
- For his Thursday Rockpile, Evan Lang once again spotlighted a minor leaguer who is surging. This week, he highlighted catcher (also 1B/DH/OF) Hunter Goodman, who was recently promoted from Double-A Hartford to Triple-A Albuquerque. Goodman has been tearing the cover off the ball, including a grand slam for his first Triple-A hit. Could he be called up before season’s end?
- Finally, for her Friday Rockpile, Joelle Milholm highlighted the Rockies’ success in extra innings in 2023. The Rox have played a total of eight extra-inning games, and have gone 5-3. Joelle summarized each game and offered some takeaways, including drawing 12 walks (two intentional) compared to surrendering only four (two intentional), turning two double plays and not hitting into any, and their pitching success.
To Listen
There are no new episodes of Affected by Altitude or Every Rockie Ever this week! Stay tuned for next time! In the meantime, you can find your favorite episodes here.
Weekend Discussion Topic
The Rockies are celebrating their 30th Anniversary season by inviting numerous players back from previous years such as Carlos González, Todd Helton, Larry Walker and Ubaldo Jiménez (among others). If you were able to choose a more obscure Rockies player to invite to a 30th Anniversary Celebration, who would you choose? Sound off below!
★ ★ ★
Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!
Loading comments...