The first half was amazing; the second half, less so
You’re reading the 2024 edition of Ranking the Rockies, where we take a look back at the season had by every player to play for the Rockies in 2024. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the least amount of rWAR and end up with the player with the most.
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No. 3, Ryan McMahon (2.5 rWAR)
A few days ago, my compatriot Sam wrote an article about Cal Quantrill and his distinct two halves. Ryan McMahon is a similar case.
As one of the more elder statesmen position players on the Rockies now, he’s seen the trials and tribulations that come with playing at the game’s highest level. He knows that it’s necessary to constantly refine your game to keep up with the ever-changing landscape of MLB pitching.
That’s why it was so thrilling to see him seemingly turn a corner and change his swing at the beginning of last season. At the end of May, “Mac” was slashing a blistering 321/.397/.495, a completely different line than we’re used to seeing out of the slugging third baseman.
He seemed to be more focused on line drives and hitting to the gaps as opposed to aiming for the long ball. That led to newfound success for McMahon, and his efforts were rewarded with his first career selection to MLB’s All-Star Game.
It was great to see the fan-favorite fielder finally receive national recognition for his work, and the hope was that he could maintain this momentum through season’s end.
Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out that way.
McMahon struggled through the season’s latter months. After recording an unreal .351 batting average in July, he hit just .181 and .241 through August and September, respectively. He ended up with a slash line very similar to his last few seasons, It was, frankly, a regression to the norm for RyMac.
Now, there’s reason to hope he can get back to that early season form. He still tallies high marks in exit velocity, hard hit percentage, and barrels. He swings a strong bat, and when he connects, the ball tends to travel. The issue, of course, is that Mac tends to strike out at a high rate, and this remains the biggest hurdle for him to overcome.
If he can cut down on the K’s, McMahon seems primed to become one of the game’s best hitting third basemen. I say hitting specifically because he already holds his position as one of baseball’s finest fielders. While he was once again snubbed for a Gold Glove last season, he’s still one of the absolute finest defensive players in the major leagues, and one hopes that 2025 is when he’ll finally be given the prize that he so richly deserves.
McMahon will once again be expected to man third base on Opening Day and likely slots in as one of their middle-of-the-order hitters. He’s one of the longest-tenured Rockies, now, and will hopefully act as some sort of leader to a Colorado team that’s only getting younger. With two years remaining on his contract, RyMac’s only got so much time to blossom into the franchise cornerstone that the Rockies want him to be. The team itself seems to be fully invested in him, as even a trade to the vaunted Yankees was blocked in favor of retaining his services.
We’ll see if 2025 is the year that McMahon puts it all together. He’s got the skill set to be a star and the crowd and team are behind him. Now it’s up to him to make it happen.
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