Headed into 2025, there isn’t a ton for Rockies fans to look forward to this year. The club has just a 0.1% chance of making the postseason this year according to Fangraphs, which is tied with the White Sox for the lowest in baseball. Projected for a 65-97 record this season, the Rockies’ path back to relevance appears long and arduous given the stronger clubs ahead of them in the NL West.
Bleak as things may seem in Colorado, however, the Rockies do have some interesting young players worth dreaming on. Michael Toglia crushed 25 homers in his first full season as a big leaguer last year and figures to serve as the club’s everyday first baseman this year. Ezequiel Tovar won a Gold Glove award last year, led the NL in doubles, and is in town long-term after signing an extension that keeps him under team control for the next seven seasons. Brenton Doyle is among the most talented center field defenders in the sport and enjoyed an above-average offensive season last year, even after adjusting for the offensive environment at Coors Field.
That collection of interesting young hitters could receive a new addition this year, as the retirement of Charlie Blackmon has opened up regular playing time at DH for Kris Bryant. Things are looking rather unsettled for the club in the outfield this year, with no certainty in the corners even as Doyle is locked in as the club’s regular center fielder and Sam Hilliard appears poised to retain his role as the club’s fourth outfielder after performing well in that role last year. Despite that lack of certainty, there’s a number of interesting options available to handle regular playing time.
26-year-old Nolan Jones is the overwhelming favorite to serve as the club’s regular left fielder, even after an injury-marred 2024 campaign where he was limited to just 79 games and hit a lackluster .227/.321/.320 in the games where he was healthy enough to take the field. That’s because Jones is just one season removed from a stellar 2023 campaign where he posted a .297/.389/.542 slash line in a year where he put together a 20/20 season. That proven upside should be enough to get him the first crack at everyday reps in left field, leaving the main roster battle to be held in right.
2022 first-rounder Jordan Beck entered Spring Training as the favorite for the right field job. Beck, 24 next month, struggled mightily in 55 games for the Rockies last year with a paltry .188/.245/.276 slash line. A broken bone in his left hand sidelined him for much of the summer, and the lingering effects of that injury may have impacted his return to action over the season’s final six weeks, when he struck out in 34% of his trips to the plate and hit just .187/.282/.242. He’s also got plenty of pedigree as a former top-100 prospect who raked at every stop on his way through the minor leagues, suggesting the underlying talent for a quality regular is there. However, he’s looked out of sorts this spring with strikeouts in more than 30% of his plate appearances, and his numbers prior to last year’s injury were actually even weaker than his performance down the stretch.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if those deep struggles opened the door for another player to squeeze their way into the right field job, and two players in particular have made the most of the opportunity. One is Sean Bouchard, who at 28 years old is the oldest of the corner outfield options mentioned here. Bouchard made his debut for Colorado back in 2022 and has appeared in each of the past three seasons, but has never received regular playing time in the majors to this point in his career. He didn’t hit much last year, but his overall body of work at the big league level is fairly impressive with a .251/.368/.443 (115 wRC+) slash line in 248 trips to the plate across the past three years. Those solid numbers come with a slightly inflated .339 BABIP, however, and his 29% strikeout rate in the majors offers some cause for concern. On the other hand, Bouchard has done nothing but rake at both the Triple-A level throughout his career (with a career 1.012 OPS at the level) and in Spring Training this year, where he’s slashed .378/.395/.757 in 15 games.
Perhaps the most intriguing option available to the Rockies is calling up former top prospect Zac Veen. Veen, 23, is the youngest of the club’s options and was considered a top-30 prospect in the sport as recently as last year. However, he’s suffered through back-to-back injury marred campaigns with 111 games played across all levels of the minors since the start of the 2023 season. He hit a solid .258/.346/.459 across all levels of the minors when healthy last year and ultimately reached Triple-A, but his struggles in 21 games at the level last year could suggest he’s not quite ready for the big leagues. On the other hand, Veen has joined Bouchard in putting on an offensive clinic this spring, with a .317/.304/.610 slash line in 20 spring games.
As presently constructed, the Rockies appear to have enough roster spots available to carry only three of these four corner bats. Jones is essentially guaranteed a roster spot given that he’s out of options, but each of Bouchard, Veen, and Beck all have options remaining. Given the prospect pedigree and high ceilings both Beck and Veen seemingly have to offer, it wouldn’t make much sense to keep either player on the roster in a pure bench role. The right-handed Beck and left-handed Veen could certainly work out some sort of timeshare that gets both the at-bats they need to develop, though it’s also possible the club could opt to give either player regular reps in the minor leagues while rostering Bouchard. Bouchard’s right-handed bat could also provide additional value off the bench if the lefty-swinging Jones, who hit just .205/.283/.265 against southpaws last year, needs a platoon partner to maximize his own development.
Who would you send to the minors to open the season if you were in Colorado’s shoes? Would you give Veen more time to develop in the minors despite his strong spring and exciting upside? Would Beck’s struggles last year bleeding over into Spring Training be enough to turn you away from including him on the roster to open the season? Or perhaps you’d include both youngsters and send Bouchard to the minors as depth despite his relative success in the majors? Have your say in the poll below:
If I was in Colorado’s shoes? They make shoes big enough to fit an entire state?
Snowshoes. Lead-filled.
I prefer my metaphors shaken, not stirred.
It’s a team (Owner) without a plan, short term or long.
Surprised at the results — Beck clearly isn’t ready and I don’t think it’s the brightest idea to push him into a role he’s clearly going to flounder in.
Instead of picking one guy, the Rockies could treat the outfield like a team of stocks and play the long game to get the most value.
Send Beck to the minors—he’s striking out a ton and hit poorly last year (.188), so he’s not ready. Keep Veen (left-handed, hitting great this spring) and Bouchard (right-handed, also crushing it) on the big team. Together with Jones, who struggles against lefty pitchers, they cover all bases—lefty and righty matchups—making the outfield stronger as a unit. Then, throughout the season, move Veen or Bouchard up and down as needed, depending on who the Rockies face or if someone gets hurt. Meanwhile, let Beck get better in the minors and boost his trade value.
By summer, if Veen or Bouchard shine, trade one plus Beck—who might look good again—for a young pitcher the Rockies desperately need (their pitching was awful last year). If someone flops, swap them out with Beck and try again. This way, the Rockies don’t just pick a winner—they keep all their options open and turn a losing team into a sneaky way to build for the future.
Michael Toglia – Chris Carter with a glove
I like Doyle, but you’d get the same output from a dead alligator and a shopping cart than the other guys they want to trot out there.
Why waste a full year service time on this season. Just sign an Alex Verdugo or two for cheap and actually try to flip them at the deadline.
It’s a dirty job but someone has to do it.
Yes bro, they have fans. Be cool Rey.
I am a Padres fan, so I voted for Beck.
@Reynaldo’s
Yes, sir. Best team in the MLB.
they are and they deserve better
They deserve much better. It’s old Oakland A’s dilemma. Stop attending games and try to force Montfort to make a real attempt at fielding a good team and risk him trying to relocate after bad attendance or continue the status quo and hope that some day the old moron kicks the bucket and some with half a brain takes control.
Yeah man, don’t be a dick
Mistake in the poll was not including Hilliard as a choice.
Hilliard has no options so they would have to DFA him. And I think he would be their backup CF; Jones and Veen can play there but not very well.
317/304/614 is a batting line?
Must be a Sac fly in there, and no walks.
Or HBPs! Statistical oddity yet possible.
Or, just plain wrong. His batting line this spring over 21 games is actually .318/.400/.591. No SFs. Not sure it’s statistically possible to have a higher BA than OBP..
It is possible, because sac flies count in the denominator for OBP, but not for BA. So you see it occasionally in small sample sizes for guys who don’t walk (and don’t get HBP).
Nailed it Rox, good job!
You are missing something important. Keep in mind, a SF is counted a PA, but not as an AB. Easy proof: in 10 PAs, player has three base hits, no BBs, and one SF. The SF is not counted as an AB, so his BA and OBP are both 3/9 or .333. You can keep adding SFs to the formula and his OBP and BA are still going to be exactly equal.
BTW, the stats posted here for Veen were, in fact, a typo.
Dropped swinging strikeouts are a net positive for OBP, but obviously a negative on the BA. There are ways… even though I understand the typo issue!
In looking at the formula for OBP, I see in the denominator that is uses ABs (which subtracts SFs, BBs, etc. from PAs) and then adds SFs back in. So this is confusing.
Article was tl;dr but Zac Veen got my vote with the coolest name. Zac Veen!
Coors field is such a great ballpark. A family can still attend a game and not go bankrupt.
Tough 2024 notwithstanding, I think Bouchard has earned a real shot this year.
I’ve lived in Colorado for a long time, and was very happy when we finally got a team in the MLB. I have always been entertained by the players we have put on the field. The last few years I have often wondered why fans of other teams come here to badmouth the Rockies. Do you bully disabled people? Playing baseball at altitude is a challenge. Nevertheless, the team they can field this year have potential, with proven MLB players at every position and a pitching staff that potentially could perform well. Bouchard is a proven average major leaguer. Beck and Veen have great potential. I think Beck will play right field until he fails to perform, then Veen will get a shot. We all wish for consistency from Hilliard, but he has great power, hustle and is good on defense. Go Rockies!
People bad mouth the Rockies organization for the processes and decision they’ve made.
That is totally fair and deserved. They’ve at least stayed away from stupid contracts since KB and haven’t been dealing prospect capital away. It’s a good step but they have a long way to go in that division.
They aren’t badmouthing the team as much as criticizing their decisions. They do the same with every team. Have you read the Angels and WS threads?
Rockies fan from day one. What never gets brought up in the conversation about what the Rockies do wrong is strength and conditioning. Aside from De la Rosa, all the starters fall off or end up needing tj after 600 innings. And the manner in which they deploy their team needs to be addressed. Putting guys into spots that fit their strengths etc. This is the moneyball question for the Rockies