The Rockies’ 2024 season saw the team from Denver lose 101 games and finish in the bottom of the NL West. There were a lot of issues with the Rockies last season, as Colorado’s pitching staff finished in the bottom of the league in many categories. But, there were some good things that happened, including the continued progression of Brenton Doyle and Ezequiel Tovar. Here’s our recap of the 2024 Colorado Rockies’ season.
The Offense
| Stat | Number | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Runs Scored | 682 | t-19th |
| Home Runs | 179 | 15th |
| OPS | .704 | 15th |
| Whiff% | 29.8% | 30th |
| Hard Hit% | 39.5% | 12th |
The Pitching
| Stat | Number | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Starters’ ERA | 5.54 | 30th |
| Relievers’ ERA | 5.41 | 30th |
| Strikeouts | 1,118 | 30th |
| Whiff% | 21.9% | 30th |
| Chase% | 25.7% | 30th |
The Good
The Rockies lost 101 games last season, meaning that there weren’t many positives on the MLB roster. However, there were a few, mostly on offense.
Brenton Doyle was the Rockies’ star last season. Doyle hit .260/.317/.446 with 23 home runs and 30 stolen bases. His plus speed helped him cover plenty of ground in center, leading Doyle to finish second in the MLB last year in Outs Above Average (+16) and win his second NL Gold Glove.
Doyle made major strides in limiting whiffs last season. In his rookie season, Doyle whiffed over 30% of the time and had a 35% K%. But in 2024, he cut down the strikeout rate to 25.6%.
While Doyle was arguably the Rockies’ best player in 2024, Ezequiel Tovar set the tone offensively. Tovar led the Rockies in SLG (.469), RBI (78), and led the National League in doubles (45).
How much impact Tovar will have over the coming years will depend on whether his whiff/chase problems affect how much he strikes out. Tovar ranked among the worst in baseball last season in Chase% (44.1%) and Whiff% (33.5%), although his strikeout rate (28.8%) wasn’t impacted that much. Still, 200 strikeouts is a lot, no matter what era it is.
Four Rockies had 20+ home run seasons, including Michael Toglia. Toglia only hit .218 last season but walked enough to post a .311 OBP and hit enough to record a .767 OPS, above the league average. The Rockies first baseman hit 25 home runs.
The Bad
It was a strange year overall for the Rockies’ offense. Sure, Colorado ranked in the middle of the pack in many offensive categories last season. But, that’s a significant problem when taking into account how much the Rockies have to outhit their opponents to stay competitive in Coors Field.
Colorado scored 682 runs in 2024, fewest in franchise history over a full 162-game season and third-fewest overall. Only the 1994 (573) and 2020 (275) Rockies scored fewer runs than their 2024 counterpart.
Injuries were a major problem for the Rockies. Kris Bryant played 37 games last season, the third-straight season Bryant played less than half a season for the Rockies. Bryant has four more seasons left on the seven-year deal he signed in the 2021-22 offseason.
Nolan Jones, arguably the Rockies’ best story from 2023, hit .227/.321/.320 with three home runs and 17 extra-base hits over 79 games. It was a strange season for Jones, who saw his year-to-year Barrel% drop from 15.7% to 5.9%. The drop in production wasn’t necessarily because of aggressiveness, even though that was a problem at times. Rather, a lot of rolled-over contact; his GB% increased to 52.1%, an eight-point increase.
As for the Rockies’ pitching staff, it was another season of seeing opposing offenses have fun at Coors Field.
Rockies pitchers gave up 221 home runs last season, most across MLB. Out of those 221, 111 were given up at home, second-most behind the Reds (113). And just one of Colorado’s regular starters, Ryan Feltner (102), had an OPS+ above 100.
Colorado’s pitching staff lacked hit-and-miss, power stuff. The vast majority of their pitching staff last season, including the likes of Austin Gomber, Kyle Freeland, Cal Quantrill, and Dakota Hudson, were pitch-to-contact arms who heavily leveraged sinkers and/or cutters to jam hitters.
The problem with that approach, though, is that the lack of overpowering stuff can lead to bleeders or hard-hit balls if a mistake is made. In the case of 2024, both types of contact hurt the Rockies. Rockies pitchers gave up the most total barreled contact (374) last season, most batted balls (4,573), and ninth-worst Barrel% (8.2%) last season.
Early Projected Lineup for 2025
- C: Drew Romo/Jacob Stallings
- 1B: Michael Toglia
- 2B: Kyle Farmer
- 3B: Ryan McMahon
- SS: Ezequiel Tovar
- OF: Nolan Jones (LF), Brenton Doyle (CF), Jordan Beck (RF)
- DH: Kris Bryant
- SP: Kyle Freeland, German Marquez, Austin Gomber, Antonio Senzatela, Ryan Feltner
- RP: Victor Vodnik, Tyler Kinley, Lucas Gilbreath, Anthony Molina, Jake Bird, Justin Lawrence, Angel Chivilli, Seth Halvorsen
The Rockies opted not to retain several pieces from their 2024 team, as Colorado non-tendered Cal Quantrill and Brendan Rodgers in November. Quantrill (97 OPS+) did fine under the circumstances of pitching in Coors Field and leading the NL in walks (69). Rodgers, meanwhile, hit for below-average power and never developed into a star after was drafted third overall in 2015.
Colorado added Kyle Farmer in November, coming over from the Twins. Farmer didn’t play as much as expected when Minnesota acquired him in 2022, before the Twins re-signed Carlos Correa. He hit .240/308/.387 over two seasons in Minnesota.
The team’s offense is likely set for 2025, and could see youngsters Zac Veen and Adael Amador break through at some point next season.
As for the Rockies’ pitching staff, again, don’t expect much in terms of potential additions. However, one interesting plotline to watch heading into 2025 is who will be Colorado’s closer: Victor Vodnik or Seth Halvorsen? Both throw hard, although Halvorsen’s four-seam/sinker/split/slider combo might give him the edge, as he pitched very well (1.46, 13 K over 12.1 IP, 2 SV) late last year.