The Rockies recently became the first team officially eliminated from the playoffs, and they did so with a marginally better record than the Angels, who haven't been eliminated yet but will be in the next 24 hours. Both teams have an outside chance of reaching 100 losses, but it's not guaranteed yet.
I mean, first of all, let's step back for a moment and think about the fact that there's probably more of a chance of the Brewers reaching 100 wins than the Angels reaching 100 losses. Both may happen but it's nice that there won't be discourse about there being more 100 loss teams than 100 win teams [or any at all].
The Angels are probably more likely to reach the mark first because they're up to their ears in replacement-level guys. The number of guys that only hit well against the Yankees has grown to two, as Vaughn Grissom has joined Christian Moore as an in-house Yankee killer without doing much else against the other 28 teams. Grissom is hitting .249 with 10 homers and 59 RBIs as a baseline infield fill-in guy, far from where he thought he'd be about four years ago. Inches from succeeding Dansby Swanson in Atlanta, he was passed over for Orlando Arcia, traded for Chris Sale and never achieved any sense of MLB stability...until this year, where he's an everyday guy for a last place Angels team. The Angels tried a lot of gambits for roster roles this year [Nick Madrigal, Jeimer Candelario, Trey Mancini, Alek Manoah, Michael Fulmer] but Grissom might be the most successful. I don't think this means he'll have a true rebound, but if the Angels continue at this very worrying pace, he could be a good placeholder piece.
Then again I am seeing a lot of those the more I look around this Angels team. I do think Denzer Guzman is a placeholder guy, as he's not hitting much at all despite having third base, but...he's also 22. Same with Moises Ballesteros, who's shown none of his Cubs-era finesse and is limping along, hitting .179 with barely any offensive production. Christian Moore isn't doing much else, he's hitting .162 in 19 games. The idea is for these guys to inherit the team. Y'know, like Caden Dana was supposed to. Eventually something is going to work, but I still think that timeline is a-ways off. They'll go ahead with Schanuel, Meckler, Urena, Joyce and, I'm guessing, Mike Trout, but I don't think they'll actually be intimidating again while Trout is still here.
The Rockies, meanwhile, do have some solid bats to work with, which is why the 100 loss mark isn't a guarantee just yet. Hunter Goodman, Cole Carrigg, Jake McCarthy, T.J. Rumfield, Zac Even, Troy Johnston and somehow Connor Norby and Adael Amador have continued the relatively decent upward momentum of the Rockies lineup. Goodman's at 36 homers, and he could hit 40. Carrigg's very much at home in the majors, and has an .808 OPS. Johnston is the ideal slap contact guy, even with only 48 RBIs; he's on-point, relatively consistent, and does what he's supposed to. Same with Norby almost. Filling the bench with contact guys is a very nice way to get further towards competition, and assuming Johnston and Norby stick around, they could pad the roster while Carrigg, Karros, Rumfield, Goodman and Even get the everyday glory. It's also very refreshing that Adael Amador has finally learned to hit at the MLB level. He'd be very useful as an everyday second baseman, and moreso now that Willi Castro's gotten hurt.
Pitching is obviously going to be an issue going forward. Ryan Feltner, Gabriel Hughes, Mason Adams and Chase Dollander will be the main starting options, as I'm assuming Sugano will find a better environment for his craftsmanship and the Freeland contract will finally be over. To be honest...you could do worse with a homegrown base. Hughes has a 6.19 ERA, but surprisingly he's got a 3.81 ERA at Coors. Half his starts have been home starts, and they're not bad at all. You get a Feltner or a Lorenzen who's equally bad both home and away, but having young, impressive guys like Hughes, Adams and Dollander who could potentially carry the rotation is...a start. They just need to come into their own without pressure, which I think next year could be good for. I'd recommend grabbing one cheap free agent to pad things [Chris Bassitt? Miles Mikolas? Jordan Montgomery?], but letting those kids go could be a nice start.
I don't think either team will compete as soon as next year, but the Rockies might do so sooner than the Angels. Not White Sox rebuild levels of turnaround but...the seeds have been planted, and you never know when that team will take off.
Coming Tomorrow- A rookie who was traded at the deadline, made his debut and might be making the playoffs anyway.
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