The Colorado Rockies might have just blossomed their newest superstar.

Infielder-turned-outfielder Nolan Jones put together a 106-game campaign in 2023 that was about as good as we have seen from this club in a long time.

He posted 4.3 Wins Above Replacement, hit 20 home runs, stole 20 bases, and recorded a franchise-record 19 outfield assists.

His offense was good for a league and ballpark adjusted OPS+ of 138. 

For reference, players who have never posted an OPS+ better than that for the Rockies in a season include: Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, Dante Bichette, and Vinny Castilla. Meanwhile, Andres Galarraga, Charlie Blackmon, and Matt Holliday only ever eclipsed that number once in Denver.

If you extrapolate his numbers over a 150-game season, Jones would have eclipsed 6 WAR and could have seriously challenged for a 30 HR, 30 SB, 20 assist season. 

In fact, in 145 games combined this year between Triple-A and MLB, he slashed .310/.414/.587 with 35 doubles, 32 homers and 104 RBI with 25 stolen bases and 22 outfield assists.

The most impressive statistics for Jones, especially for anyone who knows their Rockies history, are his remarkable splits.

He actually has a higher batting average (.314) against left-handed pitching and an OPS of .902 which is a little bit lower than his .945 OPS against righties but is still impressive and for much of the season had been reversed.

The best news, though, is his road production where his OPS away from Coors Field was a few points higher than his OPS at home.

This is extraordinarily rare for Rockies players, and given that, it’s fair to expect it to change, but the fact that he has been able to handle the Coors Field Hangover Effect so well, so early, is extremely promising.

And based on his raw skills, Jones should only get better.

Baseball Savant ranks his arm as the best in the game, his bat as among the best in the game (94th percentile) and his overall defense and speed as both well above the league average.

Interestingly, it is the parts of his game that haven’t rated well yet that show where he could truly take the leap into superstardom.

His whiff and K rates sit in the bottom 14 percent of MLB and his overall range was limited due to slow jumps and a few bad routes.

In other words, if he can make a bit more contact, strike out a little bit less, and grow more comfortable and confident in only his second year as a full-time outfielder, 2024 could be a monster season for the Rockies newest star.