Colorado Rockies news and links for Tuesday, March 25, 2025
It’s happening!
The 2025 season has started, and we’ll have Colorado Rockies baseball this weekend. And that means, it’s time for my yearly SWOT analysis. (Read last year’s here.)
As a refresher, my preference is to write a (very rough) SWOT analysis that examines strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
So here’s my best attempt to evaluate the 2025 Rockies.
(And for those of you who do this professionally, please bear with my amateur application of the form.)
Strengths: Characteristics that give an organization an advantage over others
The predictions for the team are not good. (See here, here, and here, for example.) I mean, I get the pessimism. That said, there are some strengths in the organization.
- The starting rotation should be better — While this year’s rotation of Ryan Feltner, Kyle Freeland, Austin Gomber, Germán Márquez, and Antonio Senzatela is not projected to set the world on fire, replacing Dakota Hudson and Cal Quantrill probably represents a net improvement. Feltner, we know, is largely overlooked, but he was the Rockies best pitcher in 2024, and Gomber had the best season of his career. Meanwhile, Senzatela and Bradley Blalock have been lights out in spring training. What happens with Freeland and Márquez is unclear, and there are questions about Gomber’s slow start due to shoulder soreness, but the rotation should be improved in 2025.
- The Rockies have improved their pitching depth — When Bill Schmidt began making trades in 2023, he was clear that his goal was to add to the Rockies stock of pitchers. In that, he has been successful. For example, Blalock, Victor Vodnik, and Luis Peralta all came to the Rockies in trades and look to be key parts of the bullpen moving forward. And that’s not counting the near-ready talent on the farm: Zach Agnos (No. 23 PuRP), Chase Dollander (No. 1 PuRP), Gabriel Hughes (No. 11 PuRP), Carson Palmquist (No. 9 PuRP), and Sean Sullivan (No. 8 PuRP). Barring something truly weird, we will see these players at Coors Field this year, and for the Rockies, that’s a strength.
Photo by Kyle Cooper/Colorado Rockies/Getty Images
- The Rockies have improved their bench depth — Like the pitching, Schmidt emphasized during offseason the Rockies needed to have a deeper bench that would allow players an occasional day off. The most notable add here was veteran Kyle Farmer. (Last year, the Rockies used Alan Trejo and Aaron Schunk in this role.) Soon enough, we’ll know if Nick Martini can continue at his spring training pace. In addition, on Saturday, the Rockies traded for Tyler Freeman. Are these game-changers? Probably not. But they are a step in the right direction, assuming these are short-term arrangements intended to last only until the prospects are ready.
- The defense should be stellar — Brenton Doyle and Ezequiel Tovar are coming off Gold-Glove winning seasons while Ryan McMahon continues to be a Gold Glove finalist. Even though the defensive metrics hate Michael Toglia, he’s the Rockies best defensive first baseman since Todd Helton. What happens in the outfield corners, who knows? But the defense should be solid.
- The farm continues to improve — Most of the farm system rankings don’t reflect this, but that championship won in High-A Spokane suggests that good things are coming: Adael Amador (No. 3 PuRP), Cole Carrigg (No. 10 PuRP), Yanquiel Fernández (No. 7 PuRP), Kyle Karros (No. 12 PuRP), Zac Veen (No. 4 PuRP) — you get the idea.
Photo by Chris Coduto/MLB Photos via Getty Images
Plus, the Rockies had a good draft in 2024. Once again, it will be a great year to watch the Rockies on the farm.
Weaknesses: Characteristics that place the organization at a disadvantage relative to others
- Kris Bryant’s contract is an albatross — Last year, I categorized Bryant as an “opportunity.” Not anymore. The last two years tend to speak for themselves. In addition to the cost of his contract and lack of productivity, Bryant is blocking prospects that need playing time. Hopefully, his rigorous training during the offseason pays off, and he moves into the “opportunity” column, but right now, I’m not there. If Bryant’s 2025 unfurls like his previous two seasons, I think during the offseason, the Rockies front office will reconsider his place on the team.
- The offense is still bad — In 2024, the Rockies were ahead of only the Chicago White Sox in wRC+ (82). They ranked 15th in home runs (179), 25th in stolen bases (85), 25th in BB% (7.5%), first in K% (26.8%), and fourth in GIDP (126). None of these numbers are good, and there is no indication there have been substantial improvements during the offseason. they have signed Nick Martini and are clearly banking on Jordan Beck finding his swing and offensive output from contact hitter Tyler Freeman. But for the most part, it’s difficult to see significant offensive improvements.
- A lack of analytics and innovation — The data here is thin. Who’s still in the organization? We don’t know, and there are questions as to how much the Rockies put them to use. Moreover, the weekend’s baffling moves — both to trade Nolan Jones for another utility player and their decision to send Zac Veen (No. 4 PuRP) to Triple-A suggests an organization with no clear plan.
- An exhausted fanbase — That Rockies fans have had enough is clear. A visit to Coors Field is still amazing, but too often, visiting fans outnumber those wearing purple. But, hey, attendance is attendance, right? Denver is a serious sports town, and a lackluster baseball fanbase in Denver has nothing to do with fans; rather, it’s about management and their fidelity to a front office that refuses to compete or even make sense. What should be an strength, the Rockies organization has transformed into a weakness.
Opportunities: Elements in the environment that the organization could exploit to its advantage
- Players who were down in 2024 make a comeback — Márquez and Senzatela may return to form and contribute to a revived rotation; Tyler Kinley and Jake Bird may provide stability to a young bullpen. (I had included Nolan Jones here, but, well, you know!)
- The Rockies will have players to deal at the trade deadline — One thing the Rockies have done over the last two years is accumulate effective players at the trade deadline. This season, they have the opportunity to do that again and set the team up for the next window of contention. One clear trade candidate is Scott Alexander. If Márquez has a successful recovery, he would be a player to move as would Kinley and Gomber.
Photo by Kyle Cooper/Colorado Rockies/Getty Images
And maybe this is the year Ryan McMahon is dealt. (Yankee blogs have already started pondering this possibility.) He’s stayed with the Rockies as an infield leader though whether they will need him in that role going forward is something to watch given that Kyle Karros may be the future at the hot corner.
- The bullpen may be really good (or not) — Last year’s bullpen was not good, but that began to change at the end of the season. Can the Rockies continue to make progress on that front?
- Coors Field should be weaponized — We’ve talked about the “Coors Effect” ad nauseam, so I’ll spare you the details. The Rockies talk a lot about the challenges of playing at elevation, and I don’t dispute that. But they also need to use Coors in a way that benefits them and terrifies visiting teams.
Threats: Elements in the environment that could cause trouble for the organization
- The NL West is a juggernaut — That the Los Angeles Dodgers will be formidable is clear, and don’t overlook an-already-good-and-now-improved Arizona Diamondbacks. Plus, don’t sleep on the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres (though when the Rockies play the Padres, anything can happen). Every pre-season ranking has the Rockies finishing last in the NL West, and I can’t say as I disagree.
Payroll imbalances — I don’t see this as a threat, but others do, so I’ll mention it here. Dick Monfort has been clear that he sees the vast differential in team payrolls as detrimental to the well-being of MLB and teams like the Rockies.
Closing thoughts
So, that’s my assessment, and now to predictions.
Until last weekend’s roster moves, I thought this was a better team than the Rockies have fielded in a while — not playoff-good, but better. But I’ve changed my mind on that. My prediction: The Rockies will go 61-101.
Freeman, I think, will be better at elevation than he was with the Guardians. It won’t be a staggering change, but it will be notable.
Feltner continues as the Rockies best pitcher, though he barely beats out Chase Dollander, who makes his MLB debut early in the season.
Like Dollander, I expect Veen to make his MLB debut sooner rather than later. After taking some time to settle in, he claims his spot on the roster.
Brenton Doyle and Ezequiel Tovar make a trip to Atlanta as All-Stars, and Michael Toglia will be a Gold Glove finalist.
And I expect to see a lot of players moving between the farm and Coors Field. If you like to watch prospects, this will be a pretty terrific season to be a Rockies fan.
Plus, celebrating Coors Field’s 30th anniversary will be great fun. And, to be fair, Coors Field has earned all the accolades.
★ ★ ★
MLB’s Rock Bottom: Will The Colorado Rockies Ever Be Good? | Bleacher Report
Daniel Waldman examines the Rockies’ long-running woes and wonders if improvement is possible.
Rockies, Dick Monfort need thinking cap, not salary cap, in 2025 | Denver Post ($)
Sean Keeler questions the Rockies approach to baseball.
Bold new rules have reshaped baseball. Could more changes save starting pitching? | AP
Our friend Mario has been asking for changes to the game that encourages starting pitchers to go deeper into games. Steve Megargee has some ideas about how that might happen.
★ ★ ★
Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!