Chicago Sports Today

Chicago Sports News continuously updated

One Week In: Evaluating the Rockies’ Early Season Progress

by

The Rockies are off to a 1-5 start, falling behind early in a tough NL West.

It is already a week into the Colorado Rockies season, and it’s been a largely rough start. They are coming off a 1-5 road trip against the Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies. There is plenty to talk about when it comes to how the Rockies have fared so far. Even the most ardent fans could not have predicted the rotation’s stellar performance to this point. However, the 1-5 record points to performances from the rest of the ball club that are all too familiar for Rockies fans, performances that will make the rotation’s great play meaningless if it continues.

Rockies Rotation Has Been Stellar Despite 1-5 Start

There were worries about the rotation even shortly before the season started. Left-hander Austin Gomber, who was one of the best options in the rotation last season, went on the 15-day IL with left shoulder inflammation shortly before the season started. This meant that the Rockies would have to survive with a four-man rotation until Gomber could make his debut, with the oft-injured Antonio Senzatela and Germán Márquez comprising half of that rotation. But so far, it has been great.

LHP Kyle Freeland, coming off a disastrous start to last season, has been one of the best starters in baseball through his first pair of outings. He should be sitting at 2-0, but due to a porous bullpen and anemic offense, Freeland is 0-1. He has posted an excellent 2.13 ERA with 10 strikeouts and no walks in 12 2/3 IP. The Rockies, as a whole, struggled mightily with giving free passes last season. Freeland’s zero walks are a sight for sore eyes.

Freeland is also striking out batters at a high rate. Too often last season, Rockies pitchers could not make the one pitch to put batters away. This would allow innings to get out of control. In arguably the best moment of Freeland’s strong start to the season, Freeland struck out Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm, and Kyle Schwarber to get out of a bases-loaded, no-outs situation unscathed.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Freeland left that game after 6 2/3 innings, allowing only three runs against the high-powered Phillies offense. But again, his excellent start was wasted. The offense mustered only one run and the bullpen gave up two runs in a 5-1 loss. Despite the disappointing outcomes, Freeland’s start to the season is still very encouraging for the Rockies. The Denver native showed ace-level stuff when he finished fourth in the National League Cy Young Award voting in 2018. He has seen his fair share of bumps since, including an option to Triple-A Albuquerque as part of a disastrous 2019. But if Freeland can get close to his 2018 form and continue to perform like an ace, it could do wonders for a Rockies rotation that has been beleaguered the last couple of seasons.

A Healthy Senzatela & Márquez

Two integral members of the Rockies rotation are finally back after prolonged injury issues. Righties Senzatela & Márquez have played in a combined 10 games over the past two seasons. Both getting through spring training healthy was no small feat. In his first start against the Phillies, Márquez looked like his old self.

In six shutout innings, Márquez held the Phillies to just four hits with four strikeouts. It was a performance so routine for Márquez during his 2021 All-Star season. However, in the limited time he has been available the past couple of seasons, Márquez did not show the excellent control he had possessed throughout his career. He was walking batters at an alarming rate and was laboring to get through innings. But a lot of that could be attributed to fatigue and the inability to gain any consistency due to injuries. With his first normal offseason in a couple of years, Márquez looked great to begin the season.

Márquez and Freeland pitching like this was a major part of the Rockies making the postseason in 2018. However, Charlie Blackmon, Nolan Arenado, and Trevor Story are not walking through the door. The Rockies sorely need offensive production to supplement their rotation. The rotation has had to be almost perfect and it still hasn’t been enough. In his two starts, Senzatela has somehow managed to limit the opposition to zero earned runs, despite lots of traffic.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The Rockies’ only win came in Senzatela’s first start of the season against the Tampa Bay Rays. Senzatela gave up a whopping nine hits and two walks over just 4 1/3 innings. But the Rockies posted one of the best defensive efforts you will ever see to pick up their pitcher. However, even that effort was almost wasted as the Rockies barely won, 2-1. While still very early, the rotation is pitching at an All-Star level. It’s time for the bullpen and offense to step up.

The Bullpen Hasn’t Changed

The Rockies’ bullpen has not broken stride since last season, in which they were a distant last in Major League Baseball with a 5.41 ERA, per Covers.com. Through six games, the bullpen is dead last in Major League Baseball with a 9.77 ERA. This was a worry coming into 2025, as they did little to improve the unit this offseason. Unlike the rotation, the bullpen is handing out free passes. They are 22nd in the MLB with 12 walks handed out, combined with 13 strikeouts, which ranks last in the league. Both were major issues that plagued the Rockies’ pen last season. They will have to be fixed if the bullpen hopes to improve. Even if the rotation continues to pitch like one of the best in baseball, the Rockies quite simply can not compete with an unreliable bullpen.

Per Thomas Harding of MLB.com, the Rockies set a modern-era record in 2024 for most blown saves (6) in games in which they had a lead of five or more runs entering the 9th inning or later. They have not suffered a meltdown like that this season, but wasted no time in blowing a lead. After Freeland held the Rays scoreless for six innings with seven strikeouts on Opening Day, reliever Tyler Kinley immediately gave up three runs after entering in the seventh, and the Rays took a 3-2 lead. It’s arguably the worst result the Rockies could have had on Opening Day following last season.

But it is still very early. Promising young closer Seth Halvorsen won a battle with Victor Vodnik in the spring for the role. However, he has had only one save due to the Rockies consistently trailing. The plus side of the bullpen all have unsightly ERAs in limited work to this point. However, if Halvorsen can perform when called upon, it would do wonders for a ‘pen that lacked a consistent ninth-inning option last season. Also, while a bullpen is expected to put up zeros consistently, they can’t be relied upon to do that every game. This is especially the case at Coors Field. Which brings us to the offense.

Offense Nowhere To Be Found

Hitting coach Hensley “Bam-Bam” Meulens has made noticeable progress with the Rockies during his two seasons in Colorado. However, he knows the club’s consistent strikeouts are a major issue if it comes without power. The Rockies are tied for 27th in MLB with 68 strikeouts. When it came with improved home run production last season, it wasn’t as big of a deal. But to start this season, the Rockies have just three home runs in six games. Catcher Hunter Goodman owns two of them. He has continued his strong spring into the regular season. Goodman is one of only three Rockies to currently have a batting average over .300. He leads the Rockies in almost every offensive category.

While Goodman’s two homers have highlighted his prodigious power potential, the Rockies need way more from the rest of their lineup. Star shortstop Ezequiel Tovar is hitting well below the Mendoza line and has combined with fellow star center fielder Brenton Doyle for just two RBI. First baseman Michael Toglia, one of the most exciting Rockies to follow heading into this season, has managed a measly .087/.125/.130 slash line in 23 at-bats. Kris Bryant, who will have to play well if the Rockies want to improve, has continued his awful tenure in purple pinstripes. Over 14 at-bats, Bryant has hit .071/.188/.071 with six strikeouts.

Offense Has To Perform on the Road

The Rockies could very well hit multiple home runs and score double-digit runs against the Athletics in their home opener tomorrow and make all this look meaningless. This lineup showed last season that it can produce homers and stolen bases. It will also only be a matter of time before Doyle and Tovar start to heat up. Hopefully for Colorado, some home cooking boosts Bryant’s performance as well. He arguably needs a good stretch in a Rockies uniform more than anyone else on the roster.

But the Rockies can’t count on just producing at Coors to save them. Meulens showed last season that he can get this offense to produce on the road. The first two series should be the easiest for the Rockies’ offense all season, because they have not played at Coors yet and did not have to adjust to the drastic change in ball movement. But hopefully the Rockies’ anemic start on offense had more to do with the fact that they were facing an excellent Phillies rotation. If it is indeed more so a sign of how the Rockies’ offense will perform, it will be another long season in the Mile High City.

 

Photo Credit: © Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The post One Week In: Evaluating the Rockies’ Early Season Progress appeared first on Last Word On Baseball.