We all love some hope right? For Rockies fans it feels like that is just about all we have been able to hang our hats on these past six seasons– hope.
With another Rockie-less October breezing by, it’s time for our yearly dose of ‘hope’ to hold us over for the long winter. But this year, hope has a chance to feel a little… different. Here’s 4 reasons Rockies fans can be optimistic about next year.
There’s no question that a lot has to go right for the Rockies to be a competent team next year, let alone a playoff team. Although many people inside the Rockies clubhouse will say they have their sights set on the playoffs next year, the reality of the situation is much more complex.
How do you build a successful team, in the toughest division in baseball, with a looming Kris Bryant contract, in a place that doesn’t have much reputation for winning in recent years? Well, that’s the problem the Rockies are trying to solve this offseason.
To be successful, the Rockies will have to approach this offseason in motion. What that looks like specifically is a different article for another day. But there’s a reason the vibe in the clubhouse felt slightly better this September than in previous years.
“This year it feels different,” says Rockies pitcher Kyle Freeland. “Every guy out there has a sort of excitement to get the baseball right now. They want to go out there and compete.”
Freeland is referencing a young Rockies bullpen that burst onto the scene late August and was the lone bright spot in a very dull second half.
1. The Gas Station
After years of questions regarding the Rockies ability to acquire and maintain pitchers, it finally feels like we are starting to see some light coming out of the pen. Although it is way too early to formally nickname a bullpen that has done nothing of note yet, it’s worth pointing out the subtle name Rockies TV analyst Ryan Spilborghs gave the young pen during a broadcast in late September: The Gas Station.
The ‘Gas Station’ references the most promising feature of this Rockies young bullpen: the fastball.
Rockies relievers averaged 98.2 mph on their fastball in the month of August, ranking 2nd in MLB. Reliever/closer combo Seth Halvorsen and Victor Vodnik regularly chuck it 100+ mph, while Jaden Hill, Luis Peralta, and Angel Chivilli sit somewhere between 96-99 mph.
Although a lively fastball is fun for the fans, a true baseball follower is painfully aware that a 100 mph fastball can only go so far in today’s league. The real reason this bullpen has given us a chance to be optimistic is due to their ability to get outs.
For example, in his first 13 innings pitched at the big league level, Luis Peralta did not allow a run. That was the longest scoreless streak to begin a career by a Rockies reliever in franchise history.
Entering the final road series of the season the Rockies rookie relievers Luis Peralta (0.00), Seth Halvorsen (0.00), Jaden Hill (4.50), Jeff Criswell (2.30) and Angel Chivilli (3.29), all age 24 or younger, combined for a 2.62 ERA (68.2 IP, 20 ER) with 66 strikeouts.
Small sample size aside, they did this against some of the best teams in all of baseball this year (NYY, MIL, PHI, LAD, SD). It’s why the Rockies young bullpen is first on my reasons to be optimistic for next season.
2. Bring the BOOM
“When you’ve got four or five players in your lineup that can hit 20+ home runs… pitchers are going to throw to you a little differently,” said Bud Black.
2024 was not a season to remember for the hitters. In almost every offensive stat category the Rockies were historically bad. Especially with strikeouts. But out of all that bad, there was in-fact a little bit of good: Power.
For the first time since the 2017-2018 seasons (both playoff years) the Rockies had 4+ hitters in the lineup with 20+ home runs. Ezequiel Tovar, Brenton Doyle, Michael Toglia, and Ryan McMahon all notched 20+ homers on the stat sheet.
This feels like it should be mandatory when playing at Coors Field, given the amount of big-flies we see each year in the mile high city, but for the past few seasons that has not been the case.
After guaranteeing $182 million to a player that was expected to bring some power back to Coors Field, the Rockies have realized that their best chance at being a home run hitting team isn’t with their older veterans but instead with who? You guessed it. The youths.
If the Rockies can continue to hit the longball, while improving their strikeout rate and average, the offense could bounce back incredibly fast after a down year.
3. Gold Glove Defense
Amidst a year of dull hitting and pitching from the Rockies, their defense stood out like gold in a coal mine.
For a team that has lost 100+ games in back-to-back years the Rockies have remained one of the most competitive and cohesive defensive lineups in the National League. The 2024 season was no different.
Three Gold Glove finalists lead the charge for the Rockies; Brenton Doyle (CF), Ezequiel Tovar (SS), and Ryan McMahon (3B). But that’s not where it ends defensively for the Rockies. Their first baseman, a man who is known more for his home runs, has flown under the radar defensively as being one of the most promising young first baseman’s in MLB.
“He shows a quickness defensively you don’t see very much out of big guys like that” Hall of Famer Todd Helton told me in August when speaking on Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia. “He is really light on his feet. It took me awhile to look like that when I started out” added Helton.
Toglia didn’t meet the minimum requirements to be nominated for a Gold Glove this year but according to his manager Bud Black, he fully expects to see Toglia’s name in gold soon. Even as soon as 2025, after some minor adjustments.
Toglia is great, but he is only a piece in what is one of the best defensive lineups in the NL. Over the course of the ‘24 season the Rockies ranked 4th in the NL in runs saved and were tied for 7th in the majors with a .986 fielding percentage.
They had 26 outfield assists, tied for 5th in the majors and 2nd in the NL. They also led all of MLB in double plays.
In a world full of brutal inconsistencies the Rockies defense has been the constant. I don’t expect that to change in 2025.
4. Break Out The Farm
If the prospects of a good bullpen and an even better defense don’t get you feeling some kind of way, how bout I add in there that the Rockies currently have some dudes waiting for their shot right now in the minors.
Some of the top rated prospects across all of Major League Baseball reside in the Colorado Rockies organization. This year already proved that there are some gems hidden in the farm system (Halvorsen, Blalock, Hill, Peralta, to name a few), but there are still some guys who have yet to even get a shot at the bigs yet.
Top of the list: Chase Dollander.
I fully expect to see Dollander in a Rockies uniform next season. He is the Rockies number two prospect (No. 20 in MiLB) and a guy who could be a Godsend to this very questionable returning starting rotation.
He has a lot to prove at the big league level of course, but his start in the minors has been nothing short of superb. Dollander cruised through High-A in Spokane with 111 Ks through 70 innings. He carried that momentum into Double-A Hartford with 58 Ks in 48 innings with a 2.25 ERA.
Dollander joins a star studded list of prospects that could make their way to Denver within the next year.
Aside from some individual prospects, the Rockies minor leaguers are collectively balling out as well. In 2024 Rockies minor league affiliates concluded their seasons with a combined record of 374-342, ranking 9th across all MLB teams.
The High-A affiliate Spokane Indians also won the Northwest League Championship in September.
All that being said, I want to be clear that I’m well aware how daunting this offseason still feels given the severity of the past few losing seasons. You can find plenty of reasons to say this team won’t be a winner next year, and let’s be honest, Rockies fans don’t need me to tell them the team has sucked for a long time now.
But instead of griping about the past, let’s do what Rockies fans have had to do nearly every October and turn our sights towards the future. A future that, for now, could hold more winning than fans might think.