The Colorado Rockies, almost certainly, will not be a competitive MLB team in 2023.
There are too many holes in the roster that linger from an uninspiring 2022 and little was done in the offseason to address any of them.
Much debate has been and will be had over whether or not the club is aggressive enough in a strategy to embrace the youth and therefore put themselves in a better position for the long-term future. But let’s take a step back from that even and ask a basic question that typically permeates the baseball-loving mind this time of year.
Will this team even be fun to watch?
Ask anyone who takes in 162 games a season (or as close as they can get) and they will tell you that there is a huge difference between being bad but fun, and being bad and boring. Look no further than the Rockies two most recent campaigns.
The 2021 season was bad. But their starting pitching was good-to-great with every single man in the rotation posting a park-adjusted ERA+ over the league average. This kept a lot of games close, even if the bullpen or lack of offense ended up costing them in the end, and also allowed them to dominate at home.
That team famously, or perhaps infamously, went 48-33 at home and 26-54 on the road. So if you happened to buy a ticket and head down to Coors Field for a ballgame, you had a decent chance of seeing the hometown team come away with a victory.
Contrast that to last year, 2022, when there was just nothing tangible for fans to sink their teeth into. There was a hot start which was mired by bad defense and rightly doubted, even though the June Swoon remains a strange myth.
But it wasn’t until late in the year, long after most fans had checked out, that things got interesting on the field. It began in earnest when Michael Toglia made his debut on August 30 and continued through another debut for Ezequiel Tovar and increased playing time for players like Elehuris Montero and Sean Bouchard.
Quietly, Colorado let it be known that they were already looking forward and these are some of the same players we should look for to provide a spark.
Of course, it is a bit much to ask them to immediately make the team contenders, especially with so many question marks on the mound, but let’s get back to our initial question; will this team be fun to watch?
On the surface level, they should be a lot more entertaining than last year at least.
Not only does a full season of Tovar give the Rockies a legitimate Rookie of the Year contender at a key position, his tool package brings an exciting mix of Gold Glove caliber defense and excellent base running.
Should Zac Veen make his way to the Bigs this year, he brings a similar resume that should get you excited all on its own but plenty of intriguing athletes stand to make their mark in the interim including Bouchard, Brenton Doyle, and Nolan Jones.
A pair of fireball relievers could burn out fast, but Justin Lawrence and Riley Pint will be can’t-miss TV whenever they take the hill.
If infield defense is your thing, you are in for a treat as well. This club could be the best defensive infield in baseball if Tovar turns out to be as advertised, especially if the same is true of the Helton-educated Toglia if he gets some time at first base.
So yes, the more important question is whether or not this team can use this season as a learning year that sets them on the right direction for 2024 and beyond. We should all keep our eyes glued to the behind-the-scenes maneuvering (whatever there may be) and be thinking several moves down the road.
But in the short term, sometimes it’s just nice to watch some well-played baseball that gets you out of your seat in a moment of brilliance, and these young players are more than capable of delivering on that front.
