This Time Next Year Though...

 

So, to recap: top infield prospect Amael Amador, top base-stealing prospect Greg Jones, top pitching prospect Tanner Gordon, top outfield prospect Jordan Beck and top catching prospect Drew Romo...have accumulated a combined -1.7 WAR. Comparatively, Kris Bryant has a -0.7 WAR. It's embarrassing. Signing one of the biggest free agent hitters did not work. How about bringing up the prospects? That didn't work either. I...can't fathom the Rockies luck sometimes. 

But I will say, what 2024 has taught us so far is that if a rookie is completely divebombing for you, there's a chance he may come around the following year. Because the best performers of 2024 have been people who came up last year and struggled. Michael Toglia wasn't ready last year, and now he's got 20 homers and a .489 SLG. Brenton Doyle played sloppily last year, now he's a foundational piece with 60 RBIs and 24 steals. Ezequiel Tovar was more 'decent' than anything last year, and now he's fully come into his own hitting .272 with 140 hits. 

And what's great is that the veterans on this team can tell you the same thing. Everyone remembers how hyped Ryan McMahon was at the start of the 2017 season, he was supposed to be what Trevor Story was the previous year. He wasn't. It took him two years to actually figure out contact hitting, and he's become the most important player on the roster. Brendan Rodgers also struggled during his 2019 call-up, and realized he needed to earn his place on the roster. Since then he's had some incredible seasons, including a 2022 gold glove campaign. 

The issue with Rodgers, though, has been his injury-plagued campaigns recently. He missed most of 2023, and spent a lot of this year rehabbing as well. I think now Rodgers has finally reached the point where he's fully back, as he's hitting .279 with 112 hits and 45 RBIs. His defense isn't what it was in 2022, but he's still a very helpful piece of a team that's trying desperately to reinvent itself.

And even if the kids do eventually develop, a lot of the same problems will persist. The Rockies spent all that money on several injured starters and a late career Kris Bryant who won't stay healthy. They have all that dedicated roster space and basically have to hope everyone else is cheap. I have no idea what this rotation will look like next year, because while most of these guys are sticking around, it's unclear who'll be healthy. Will Senza or Marquez be back? Will Feltner be ready? Or will it just be another steep drop-off?

At the very least, this tiered development strategy will ensure that the lineup eventually replenishes and that we get a fuller, more impressive Rockies team. It just may not happen overnight.

Coming Tonight: Dude just won his 150th game, and has finally managed to find his mojo again.