Uncustomed Heroes of 2024: Rockies

 

From May 9th until May 15th, the Colorado Rockies had an impressive seven-game winning streak. During this weeklong period, they scored nine runs against the San Francisco Giants, then swept the Texas Rangers by scoring 15 runs against them, and then swept the San Diego Padres with 19 runs scored against them. 

Those 7 wins make up 11% of the wins the Colorado Rockies had in 2024. And those 19 runs make up 3% of the runs scored by the Colorado Rockies this season. 

What else can one say but 'oof'?

The Rockies were the sole NL West team to not compete in 2024, and thus their 100 loss status came as a shock to no one. While they are slowly building something, and with both Ezequiel Tovar and Brenton Doyle having great seasons they're closer than they were previously, a lot of this season was a wash because of the number of below-average, replacement and inexperienced performers that still populated the team. Many players were great for a two month stretch and unhelpful otherwise. Both Marquez and Senzatela made brief appearances but were of no overall help.

And speaking of being no help, former NL MVP Kris Bryant, three years into a long and fruitful deal with the Rockies, had yet another disappointing, limited season. In 37 games, he hit .218 with 2 home runs and 15 RBIs, what the hell can anyone say about that? D'you think Rendon, Bryant, Baez and Strasburg all go out for drinks?

2025 Prediction: Bryant will be 33 and probably healthier than ever. I say his numbers improve and he actually plays a decent role in this team. Maybe it's wishful thinking but I'd love for something to happen.

This sums up the Rockies' season perfectly for me: Ryan Feltner was one of the Rockies' most utilized starters this year, appearing in 30 games, and pitching in 162 innings. He went 3-10 with a 4.50 ERA and a team-leading 138 strikeouts. This was Feltner's best season to date. Something I do want to point out that's always tickled me is his ERA against the Phillies is 6.75, higher than his ERA against division rivals the Padres, Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Giants. The Phils have a way of completely annihilating this guy, as I saw a couple years ago in a start he had against us at CBP. 

2025 Prediction: An improvement. A 4 ERA against the rest of the league and a 10 ERA if he pitches in Philly.

Speaking of Philadelphia, Jake Cave, a crucial bench bat for the 2023 Phils, was cut at the end of Spring Training and quickly brought over to the Rockies, who could use an extra OF bat. Cave's big claim to fame might be that the Yankees traded him to the Twins for a young fireballer named Luis Gil. In Colorado, Cave had his highest RBI total since his rookie year, with 37, along with 7 homers and a .251 average. He wasn't terribly useful otherwise, he was a pretty standard replacement guy for this team, but I think the fans enjoyed having him around.

2025 Prediction: Does something moderately amusing in the Korean Leagues.

Sam Hilliard came up with the Rockies as an extra outfielder, spent a season with the Braves as a pretty nice bench bat, then came back to Colorado. In 58 games, Hilliard hit .239 with 10 home runs and 27 RBIs. He was also a slight upgrade in the outfield from Jones and Cave.

2025 Prediction: Does a lot during the first half but is phased out a bit once the Rockies actually answer some questions at key OF positions.

And finally, longtime catching prospect Drew Romo made his long awaited debut in August, and hoped to be a trusted answer to the team's future catching questions. It was also a big deal that Romo's promotion came in the wake of the Rockies releasing longtime catcher Elias Diaz. Romo's early numbers didn't do a ton to justify that, as he hit .176 with 6 RBIs in 16 games. Defensively, though, Romo seems to be exactly as advertised.

2025 Prediction: It's not gonna be immediate success, as Tovar was, but slowly Romo's gonna get more and more playing time, and by the end of the season he'll be an integral part of the lineup.

Coming Tomorrow- I thought I'd have more Royals left, but I really did knock out a lot of them during the season. Still, quite a few to show for their first competitive playoff year in about a decade.

Caving to Mediocrity

The Minnesota Twins should just change their slogan to 'Who Needs Consistency?'

2014: 5th place.
2015: 2nd place, snubbed of a playoff spot at the last second.
2016: 5th place.
2017: 2nd place, lost a Wild Card spot
2018: 2nd place...10 games under .500, and with their core dissected by September.

I don't even think it's Paul Molitor's fault, really. I think he's been a very steady manager, and I think he's done a good job of bringing the youth of the team to the forefront, and reorganizing the team around people that aren't Joe Mauer. Only problem is the youth didn't stay healthy this year- Buxton and Sano, the two that have been said to hold the Twins' future in their hands, couldn't stay off the DL, leaving for several replacement call-ups that only did so well. The pitching only survived for so long with only Jose Berrios and Kyle Gibson. A lot was wrong with this team, especially after the better players left.

There's still a lot to hope for, like Willians Astudillo, a short, larger guy who runs like hell, and imports like Logan Forsythe and Tyler Austin, as well as the few young players who are doing well, like Jake Cave and Mitch Garver. But...it's not a wholly great team, and with Joe Mauer rumored to be leaving rather soon, there's going to need to be a lot of restructuring needed. A whole bunch. Because of the teams in this division who look like they can make a leap next year...I'd say the White Sox and Tigers before I'd say the Twins.

Coming Tonight: A Cubs leader type, which gives me a fantastic opportunity to talk about the NL Wild Card race.