Colorado Rockies news and links for Friday, April 25, 2025
Twenty-four games into a brutal start to the 2025 that’s shaping up to be the worst in franchise history by a mile with a 4-20 start, it seems like a good time to search for signs of hope. For my own sanity and to avoid another depressing diatribe, I thought I would look to see how the most unknown position coming into the season — the outfield — is looking nearly 15% into the 2025 campaign.
Before the season started and certainly throughout the games so far, the only constant has been change. In 24 games, there have been 12 different outfield combinations to start games.
Guess who has the most starts?
Mickey Moniak with 15 (10 in center field and five in left field).
Doyle is behind him at 14, after missing games due to an injury and bereavement leave, followed by Nick Martini at 13. Knowing the Colorado outfield was packed with prospects and looking for the outfield to build a future on, it’s been a strange development to see two players who weren’t in the Rockies organization until after the 2024 season ended be in the top three in outfield starts so far in 2025. In order to better understand what’s going on in the outfield, we have to start with how we got here.
Crowded outfield
With a roster loaded with outfielders and numerous prospects knocking at the door, the Rockies needed to use spring training this season to figure out who should stay and who doesn’t figure into the long-term plans.
Just like how gardens have to be thinned to allow the best plants to have enough room to grow, which can be a challenging quality-over-quantity process of removal, the Rockies entered the 2025 season with serious decisions to make. Especially after an offseason where they added free agent Nick Martini in January and super utilityman Kyle Farmer in November.
Shortly before the season started, the Rockies surprisingly traded Nolan Jones on March 23. Three days later signed free agent Mickey Moniak in a head-scratching move that kept the outfield crowded. By the time the season started, the Rockies opted to keep Martini and Jordan Beck with Breton Doyle as the starting outfield with Moniak and Sean Bouchard as backups. Sam Hilliard was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque and Zac Veen started the season with the Isotopes as well.
Through April 24, the Rockies have also sent down and brought back Beck, brought up and sent down Veen, who is currently back with the Isotopes.
Who’s seizing the day?
Despite missing 10 games, Doyle is continuing his Gold Glove ways in center field, while hitting .300/.364/.500 with three homers, three doubles, 12 RBI and eight runs scored as one of the best hitters on the team. So Doyle, who turns 27 on May 14, is back and good to go and the only constant in the outfield.
Jordan Beck changed everything on Thursday when he hit three homers in the doubleheader against the Royals. The knocks were his first of the year and provided the only bang to a lackluster offense.
Beck was sent down to Triple-A on April 7, but since being called back on April 19, which also, coincidentally, was his 24th birthday, he’s gone 6-for-16 with three homers, a triple, six RBI, two walks and seven strikeouts in five games. Beck is now hitting .250/.341/.556, and, at least for now, he’s reclaimed left field.
His slashline isn’t great at .217/.288/.500, but Mickey Moniak might best option right now as the third outfielder. Moniak, who was the No. 1 MLB Draft pick in 2016, has fallen off a bit, but still is tied for second on the team with three homers, which happens to tie Doyle and Beck behind Hunter Goodman’s four. He’s also tied for the Major League lead in triples with three. He’s tied with Goodman for a team-best 10 runs scored and is third in RBIs with nine. All of the numbers are low for a team who’s played 24 games, but Moniak is standing out among his peers. While his near outfield collisions and communication blunders have had Rockies fans collectively holding their breath, Moniak, who turns 27 on May 13, has been one of the best hitters this season.
Whose stock is falling?
Veen has made 10 starts in the outfield, evenly split between right and left field. I, like many Rockies fans, was disappointed to not see Veen, 23, make the Opening Day roster. However, in the time he was called up from April 8-23, he wasn’t able to capitalize on the opportunity. He went 4-for-34 with 14 strikeouts. Even though one of those hits was a homer, it came during an even worse stretch of his last seven games where he went 1-for-15 with eight strikeouts. Veen, the Rockies first-round pick from 2020, brings the kind of personality and energy the Rockies need and the speed the offense could really use, but Colorado couldn’t justify having him on the roster with that kind of production.
After a hot start, Martini, who turns 35 in June, has dropped off significantly. In his first nine games with the Rockies, Martini hit .350/.435/.350, going 7-for-20 with three walks, two runs scored and one RBI. His average has plummeted in 12 games since to .255 after going 2-for-17 in his last seven games with one RBI, two runs scored and three walks. Going into the Rockies three-game series against the Reds at Coors Field, which begins on Friday, Martini has only started two of the last five games.
Sean Bouchard has made five starts in the outfield and one start at first base. His utility makes him appealing to the Rockies, who love utility players in a quantity-over-quality way that doesn’t prove to be effective. I was high on Bouchard for his ability to draw walks and his on-base percentage, but, so far, Bouchard is not taking advantage of making the roster and the playing time he’s getting. Hitting .205/.311/.333, Bouchard, who will turn 29 in May, has 17 strikeouts in 18 games with one homer, five RBI and five runs scored. Outside of his limited starts, Bouchard has also pinch-hit nine times and totaled three hits in seven at-bats with one RBI. While having a solid pitch hitter at the ready is great, it’s certainly not what Bouchard or the Rockies were hoping for.
What’s next?
Beck is hot right now, but will it last? If Beck can keep reducing his strikeouts and bringing the power, he’ll earn a starting and consistent spot in left field. Moniak doesn’t deliver enough power to make up for a .217 average, but he could get hot again. He’s not playing well enough to dominate a spot, but neither is anyone playing well enough to take it away. If Veen can reduce his strikeouts during this stint with the Isotopes, perhaps the absence of a dominant starter will give him the opportunity to make a comeback, earn a spot and become an everyday player. A Beck-Doyle-Veen outfield would feature a 27-and-under cast of speedsters who could cover a lot of ground on defense, steal a lot of bases to create more opportunities to score and still provide the pop to lead the team in the home run department. Whether or not Moniak will claim the spot or leave an opening will be interesting to watch.
★ ★ ★
On the farm
Triple-A: Reno Aces 8, Albuquerque Isotopes 7
Julio Carreras went 4-for-5 with a run, Warming Bernabel hit a two-run double on a two-hit night, Owen Miller went 3-for-5 with two RBI and Zac Veen added two hits with one RBI and one run scored with no strikeouts, but it wasn’t enough to edge the Aces. The Isotopes had a 7-6 lead after seven innings, but Jefry Yan started off the eighth inning by hitting Jake MCarthy and walking Jordan Lawlar. Since Yan pitched a scoreless seventh, Diego Castillo came into try to close it out, but give up a two-run RBI single that gave the Aces the lead. Anthony Molina had a rocky start, giving up five earned runs (six total) on seven hits and three walks, while walking three and striking out none.
Double-A: Somerset Patriots 2, Hartford Yard Goats 0
The Yard Goats were held scoreless and were limited to two hits in Thursday’s loss. Gabriel Hughes gave up one solo homer in the first inning, but rebounded with four scoreless innings with six strikeouts and only one walk. Braiden Ward and Jose Torres each hit a single for Hartford.
High-A: Eugene Emeralds 9, Spokane Indians 5
The Indians matched the Emeralds in hits with 10 in the game, but they couldn’t make them count like Eugene did. Andy Perez also hit a solo homer, his third of the year on a three-hit night, while Jared Thomas hit his third homer of the season, a solo shot. Aiden Longwell singled and doubled and drove in a run, while Jean Perez went 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored. Konner Eaton took the loss, giving up three runs on five hits in four innings.
Single-A: San Jose Giants 5, Fresno Grizzlies 1
Tommy Hopfe homered for Fresno’s only run in the ninth inning. The Grizzlies were held to four hits on the night and they struck out 11 times. Bryan Mena fell to 0-2 on the season after giving up four runs on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts in 5/23 innings. Felix Tena, Luis Mendez and Juan Castillo each hit a single to account for the remainder of Fresno’s offense.
★ ★ ★
‘I just synced up’: Beck’s 3-homer day in DH a welcome sign | MLB.com
Jordan Beck found the rhythm and it help him fix his swing and hit three homers on Thursday. Thomas Harding has quotes from Beck on how he discovered the fault in his swing and worked to correct it.
Rockies off to historically futile start to season | Yardbarker
It’s as bad as it feels right now. As David Hill notes, the Rockies are 4-20 and that puts them as the sixth-worst start in MLB history since 1901.
★ ★ ★
Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!