Uncustomed Heroes of 2023: Rockies

 

It was a year where three teams were expected to compete, and the one that wasn't was at least expected to chase them a bit. Which left the Rockies in last, where they stayed for a lot of the season. 

Not that anyone was really expecting anything from the Rockies this year, but with Kris Bryant and Jurickson Profar secured, the hope was that they wouldn't lose 100 games, and they did, because Bryant was hurt again and Profar underwhelmed. It also didn't help that the rotation was even more hurt than usual, with both Senzatela and Marquez down for the count, meaning that aside from Freeland and Gomber, the team needed to rely on replacement options. Hence the 100 losses. 

Profar coming in was a big deal, as he'd been a big part of recent A's and Padres successes. It is wild to me that, after breaking into the league in 2012 with the Rangers, 2023 was Profar's age-30 season. A lot of people coming up, their age-30 season is, like, their third year. Perhaps we're getting away from that now that we're bringing people up at 19 again, but Profar is a weird little unicorn, in that he was in the league at 19 and didn't start playing truly well until 25. That said, after his strong stretch of his late 20s, Profar's Rockies numbers were among the worst of his career. In 111 games, he hit .236 with 39 RBIs and 8 homers, and regressed defensively. Despite being one of the Rockies' highest-profile additions heading into the year, the team cut him with a month or so left in the season. At which point he returned to San Diego and figured out how to hit again, with a .295 average in 14 games.

2024 Prediction: Look, let's be clear, wherever he's going, he's sure as hell staying away from Denver. Honestly, maybe he stays in San Diego, he seems to do well there.

After C.J. Cron was dropped, 1st base went to usual infield also-ran Elehuris Montero. This was Montero's fullest season in Denver, and in 85 games, he hit .243 with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs. These were solid offensive numbers and when paired with passable defense, he made for a nice piece the Rox can hang the future on.

2024 Prediction: Of all of the guys the Rockies have decided on going forward, Montero has the most to prove, so I'd say he has a breakout year that brings him to the heart of the lineup.

In a season where the Rockies bullpen was one of the biggest surprises in baseball, one of their most crucial pieces was former Brewers role-player Brent Suter, who, despite the array of rotation openings, remained a bullpen piece this year. In 57 games, Suter had a 3.38 ERA with 55 Ks, his best season to date as a pure relief piece.

2024 Prediction: Gets some reps next year, but isn't as reliable as he was.

A rookie that came up late as a utility piece as Hunter Goodman, who added some power boosts with 17 RBIs in 23 games; for comparison's sake, it took Mike Moustakas 47 games to get to that amount. Goodman didn't exactly hit for average, and isn't a great defensive piece, but the Rockies could use him as a bench bat or DH going forward.

2024 Prediction: Similar use, but I think he'll have way more to do as Blackmon is phased out.

And then Brendan Rodgers also played this year. Took him a bit, as he was out til the last weeks of the year, but the perennial Rockies standout did manage to show his head late in the season, after all the hoopla had died down. In 46 games, Rodgers hit .258 with 4 homers and 20 RBIs, a total that indicates a season that was just getting going as the season wrapped up.

2024 Prediction: If he's fully healed, there'll be no problems, and he'll lead this team to something a lot better. If not...they might need to figure out what to do with him.

Coming Tomorrow- The Royals are going to look a lot different next year, and here's some of the energy they'll be leaving behind.