Colorado Rockies news and links for Thursday, December 26, 2024
Well, here we are. The year is almost up, and we’re all probably laid up in a food coma as a result of recent festivities. While we’re fighting off the meat sweats, it can feel like our bodies are just about on the brink of shutting down, but we can take solace knowing that our bodies will eventually return to form and bounce back to normalcy.
Speaking of bouncing back, our beloved Colorado Rockies have a few players on their roster that would love to recover in a similar way. Whether they’re coming off of an injury-plagued season or just looking to get their groove back, let’s end this clunky-but-charming introduction here and start talking about some Rockies set to revitalize in 2025.
Justin Lawrence
J-Law’s story is well-known at this point. After an excellent 2023 campaign in which he accumulated 1.4 fWAR. Unfortunately, 2024 did not see that success repeated as Lawrence struggled throughout last year. I’m fully Lion of Panama-pilled, though, and believe that he has the repertoire to become a top-flight relief talent.
FanGraphs projects the right-hander to record a 4.63 ERA and a 4.38 SIERA, both of which would be improvements. While these would be acceptable numbers, I actually think J-Law will be even more effective if he can retool his wipeout sweeper, a pitch that’s keeping hitters to a sub-.200 batting average against and helped him garner one of the league’s best ground ball rates. His advanced metrics also paint some of his difficulties as the result of bad luck (when comparing expected stats), so we’ll see if he can get more favorable results next year.
Many have seen Lawrence’s signature weapon as yet to reach its full potential, and I’m hoping that 2025 will be the year we see it happen. I like him as Colorado’s primary setup man by the second half of the season, reclaiming the late-inning role he lost.
Nolan Jones
Arguably the most obvious pick for this list, Jones busted out in ‘23 with one of the most impressive rookie seasons in recent Rockies history but cooled off significantly in his sophomore campaign, owed in large part to a high strikeout rate and some nagging ailments. This was a steep drop for someone that had been in possible consideration for Rookie of the Year honors, and it was disheartening for Coors faithful to see the fan favorite outfielder struggle so mightily.
The good news? It’s not likely to last, at least to that degree. Jones’ batted ball profile actually paints him in a better light, showing productivity not too far off from teammate Ezequiel Tovar, one of Colorado’s best players last season. He’s hitting the ball hard, and he remains one of the team’s most imposing power hitters. There’s a hot bat there ready to do damage now that he’s had time to readjust.
I’m not just saying that, either – NoJo has been open about the work he’s done to prepare himself for next year, and there’s reason to believe that kind of mental fortitude will help rejuvenate the former Guardian get back to doing what he does best at the plate – hitting dingers.
If his offensive production can catch up to his stellar defense, he’ll rightfully reclaim his spot as one of Colorado’s most feared hitters. Cutting down on the Ks will be priority 1A in this endeavour, but he appears to be on the verge of breaking out and returning to his 2023 form. Fangraphs projects him to finish with a 2.3 fWAR, and that certainly seems achievable for NoJo.
Antonio Senzatela
Oh hey, another return from injury!
Senzatela has only appeared in five games over the last two seasons thanks to knee and elbow afflictions. Last season was more a test to see that his arm still worked more than an actual look into his stuff, so 2025 will be our first true look at where he’s at after so much time away.
The brief glimpse we got last year showed us that Senza’s plan of attack remains the same – fastball fastball fastball, with a few offspeed pitches thrown in once in a while. The good news is that his heater is a very solid offering, or at least it was prior to his injuries. It’s for this reason that I, maybe optimistically, have got “Senza” pegged for a comeback this coming year: like Mario grabbing a heart in Bowser’s castle, Senzatela’s back to full health.
He previously served as one of Colorado’s most efficient ground ball specialists, and it’s my suspicion that he’ll do it again in ‘25. Now that the Venezuelan righty has had time to get his body back in order, he can get back to inducing weak contact and keeping his fielders engaged. With Gold Glovers up the middle and capable defenders all over the diamond, Senzatela is primed to pick up where he left off.
While his chance to take the title of staff ace may have passed him by, Senzatela is still a capable arm that will be depended on next season. I believe he’ll rise to the occasion and show that all of his rehab work has paid off.
Who do you think is primed to bounce back next season? Let me know in the comments below!
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Everything to know about 2025 Rockies tickets | MLB.com
Are you itching for the boys of summer to return? Me too. Plan ahead for your own trip back to the ballpark with this handy guide through next year’s ticket offerings at Coors Field.
Each team’s prospect whose stock improved most in ‘24 | MLB.com
Every team has a young star waiting in the wings, and all are trying to impress the front office in hopes of reaching the bigs. But who did the most work last year? Check out MLB’s list of MLB hopefuls who turned the most heads, including a Rockies prospect that may not be the one you think.
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