Tovar-ish

 

Here is how disastrous the Rockies' 2025 season has been for the development of this team. Going into this season, there were immediate next steps of who'd be leading this team soon. Ezequiel Tovar was coming off a gold glove season where he got MVP votes, Jordan Beck was looking like the next everyday catcher, and Zac Veen was next down the pipe to take over the offensive end.

And now...what the hell do we even know? Tovar was hurt half the year, and while he's been here he's a slightly above-average bat, hitting .265 with 8 homers and 23 RBIs in 63 games. Is he THE guy for this team anymore? It's been called into question. He's still very good but he's not as reliable as he was last year. Meanwhile, Romo has yet to see the majors this year, and while he's been above average in Albuquerque, Hunter Goodman's rendered him obsolete at the moment. Veen was here for a sec, but Jordan Beck and Mickey Moniak have just done his job better this year. So...even the stuff that was being set up last year seems to have been rolled back.

So now the question is 'well what's being set up for next year, and is it gonna actually mean anything?'

The most impressive thing about this season for the Rockies is you can actually see a young rotation taking shape. Chase Dollander, Tanner Gordon, Carson Palmquist and McCade Brown are all up in the majors and have contributed to this team's success. Because they have to play in Coors Field, they don't have ERAs lower than 5, but they're at the very least being relied upon more and more. Marquez-Freeland-Senzatela worked well when they were all healthy, but really only Freeland's any good anymore. And with Ryan Feltner still hurt, you need guys like that. Gordon, on paper, is the most successful one so far, with a 6.07 ERA but 41 Ks in 11 starts. Gordon seems the most like a durable, respected starting option, and of these guys I see him sliding into an open 2026 spot the most. Dollander's been alright as well, he's got 75 Ks in 19 starts, despite 11 losses. Given a better team this could be a better rotation. It's just...I dunno how long until this will be a better team.

You've also seen Kyle Karros, Warming Bernabel and Ryan Ritter take to this team pretty smoothly, and that certainly helps considering how relying on replacement level guys like Jacob Stallings, Thairo Estrada, Kyle Farmer and Tyler Freeman has worked so far. If they can develop a base of young, talented guys to run this team so they don't have to sign cheap free agents, that'll be a step up. At the very least the farm system is working some magic, and getting Roc Riggio from New York at the deadline was a sneaky move that might have ramifications on the lineup as soon as next year.

This is what this season's events are telling me. But like last year I could be way off.

Coming Tonight: Most likely an Orioles pitcher, but I may have to slide in a riper subject if I want a good starter for a reflection post.