The Colorado Rockies are not set up to win a whole lot of games in 2021.
It’s baseball, and just about anything is possible, but on paper the boys in purple have one of the steepest uphill climbs in front of them if they want to shock the MLB world.
As we’ve often discuss on the DNVR Rockies Podcast, though, this group of players is as much unknown as they are objectively bad or untalented.
This community has witnessed some truly terrible seasons and plenty of stretches of time where watching the actual baseball was a test of endurance.
But this collection of players is already showing us, despite the losses, that they are going to be a lot more entertaining to follow than plenty of other teams with established veterans or middle-rung ability.
Up and down the roster, every single player who is suiting up for the Rockies has something about them that is both exciting to wonder about and fun to watch.
Don’t believe me? Let’s go through each and every one of them.
German Marquez is an extraordinary talent that could work his way into Cy Young conversations at any given moment.
He and Jon Gray should cement themselves this season as the second and third best strikeout artists in franchise history. And Gray is pitching for that next contract while doing it.
Nobody in this market needs help rooting for Kyle Freeland, Denver’s own and maestro of one of the best seasons in Rockie history, once he returns.
Antonio Senzatela was the feel-good story of 2020 for the pitching staff and it’s time to find out if he has really found something after a blistering 2020 campaign.
While nobody had him as the primary piece in a trade for a superstar, Austin Gomber provides youth and quality depth to the rotation that the club hasn’t seen in sometime and plenty of peripherals that suggest he could blossom into a fixture in a future rotation.
Jhoulys Chacin joins the team late to try to get a little more out of his career in the place where it all began. He still sits second in franchise history in terms of career bWAR and it should be fascinating to see if he can build up just a bit more.
Rockies fans may clench up a bit when Chi Chi Gonzalez comes into games, but a former first rounder who has been beset by injuries and a lack of elite stuff but keeps finding ways to battle at the MLB level, earning an Opening Day win against the Dodgers, is easy to feel good about.
Daniel Bard might be the easiest guy to root for in all of baseball, continuing his inspiring return to the game by pumping gas and taking names.
Setting him up, Yency Almonte is a great dude and someone who has battled through the early struggles of his career to be one of the most relied-upon relievers in the ‘pen. He could develop into a closer of the future.
Carlos Estevez has always had that ability and mindset, if he can just get healthy, he is maybe the most exciting Rockies pitcher to watch.
Jordan Sheffield brings an explosive fastball that is really easy to dream on.
Robert Stephenson brings a pedigree that is really easy to dream on.
Ben Bowden brings a total package and throws from the left side, making him the pitcher on this staff who has the biggest potential for growth.
Raimel Tapia plays the game with a joyous enthusiasm that is sadly all too rare in today’s game. It’s also hilarious to watch him annoy the hell out of opposing pitchers at the plate. He has a legitimate shot to challenge for a batting title.
Josh Fuentes has as good a Hallmark Channel story as anyone. Going undrafted, never rating out as a prospect worth mentioning, always living in the shadow of his superstar cousin. Is it finally his time to shine?
Trevor Story remains one of the absolute best players in baseball and as long as he takes the field for the Rockies, there is a reason to watch them.
Every time Charlie Blackmon trots out onto the diamond, he moves up the ranks of all-time Rockies greats, and you get to witness every moment of it. Plus, there’s the beard and all the singing.
C.J. Cron has been underrated his whole career, bouncing around the league a bit but always providing fireworks with the bat. He could quickly become a fan favorite with a few 450-foot blasts.
The potential in Ryan McMahon isn’t a secret to anyone at this point. He has all the tools and seems primed to put them all together and become the next star-level player for this club.
A perennial underdog, like his team, Garrett Hampson makes the most of his undersized frame and lack of power by being an exhilarating speedster in the field and on the base paths. He can wow you at any moment.
As can Sam Hilliard with the speed and the pop. He will hit a few this season that have fans wondering if it will ever come down. He’s already hit one of the hardest balls of the season and will likely end up on that list again.
Elias Diaz has a decent shot to be the best-hitting catcher the Rockies have had in over a decade, maybe even ever.
And Dom Nunez is right there to contribute to that cause as well, bringing perhaps the most exciting all-around package Colorado has seen behind the dish in its history.
Yonathan Daza is the best defensive centerfielder the Rockies have seen in a while and may end up being proof that having such skills goes a long way in their home ballpark.
Chris Owings was a decent contributor early last season, brings a very good middle of the infield glove, above average speed, and is an easy guy to root for. Opening Day is proof that he can become the folk hero for this team, too, if the time calls for it.
And this is all before you get to young players yet to join the team and debut in MLB like Ryan Rolison and Colton Welker.
Sure, the Rockies are likely to lose a lot of tough games this season and don’t have the top-end talent to hang with the best in baseball. Probably.
But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to watch for on a daily basis and it doesn’t mean that we won’t see the emergences of key pieces of the future.
Not all bad teams are the same. Some are bad because they’ve got too much money tied up in veterans that clog the roster. Some are bad because of purposeful rebuild. The Rockies are likely to be bad because of a lack of depth but not a lack of exciting options.
Every time any one of these players steps on the mound, or into the batter’s box, there is something to learn… and someone to root for.
