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2033 Opening Day Bullpen: Rockies Go Back to Neighbors, Add More Youth, and Build a Relief Corps Around Power, Groundballs, and Flexibility

The Colorado Rockies are not opening 2033 with the same bullpen plan they carried into 2032.

That is not automatically a bad thing.

A year ago, the late-inning picture was built around Devin Williams. Colorado had just been swept in the World Series by Houston, and Williams was brought in as the veteran closer who could give the Rockies a clean ninth-inning answer if they got back to the sport’s biggest stage. The logic was clear at the time: the Rockies had not lost that World Series because of blown saves, but a contender still needed late-inning certainty before the next October test arrived.

One year later, Williams is gone after Colorado declined his option.

The bullpen now belongs to Tyson Neighbors again.

But this is not a stripped-down group. It is still deep. It is still powerful. It still has multiple high-leverage options. It still has several Coors-friendly groundball profiles. It also has more youth, more internal depth, and a couple of arms being asked to graduate from “interesting” to “important.”

The Opening Day bullpen: Tyson Neighbors, Seth Halvorsen, Hisanori Taki, George Volfson, Eric Youngman, Hidehiko Tamai, Kenny Durham, and Lee Hoover.

For a Rockies team that just won 110 games, led the league in run prevention, and still watched October end early, the standard is simple.

This bullpen does not need to prove Colorado can survive the regular season.

It needs to prove it can help change the ending.

The context: the bullpen is part of a larger staff test

Colorado’s 2033 pitching staff is already being tested before the season starts.

Wuilberth Mendez is on the injured list, forcing Brian Patterson into the Opening Day rotation. Kyle Bradish is dealing with a finger blister. The defense behind the staff is not opening at full strength either, with Slater de Brun, Manuel Santana, and Richard De Los Santos hurt. The 2033 rotation feature framed that as the first real depth test of the season: the Rockies are not opening with the exact staff they drew up, but they are opening with enough arms to believe they can survive.

That matters for the bullpen.

If the rotation is missing Mendez and leaning on Patterson early, the relief corps has to absorb more than just traditional late-inning work. It has to protect short starts. It has to give manager Jeff Pickler flexibility. It has to keep the early injury wave from becoming a staff-wide stress point.

This group is built for that.

It has a defined closer. It has two setup options. It has multiple middle relievers with power stuff. It has two long-relief arms with prospect pedigree and emergency value.

It is not the same bullpen as last year.

But it may be more flexible.

Tyson Neighbors gets the ninth back

This is the headline.

Tyson Neighbors opens 2033 as Colorado’s closer after spending last year splitting the late-inning picture with Williams.

He earned the job back.

Neighbors’ 2032 season was excellent: 66 games, 62.1 innings, 23 saves, 1.59 ERA, 68 strikeouts, 1.16 WHIP, 277 ERA+, and 2.1 WAR. The improvement from 2031 was significant. He cut down the damage, allowed only one home run all year, and turned a volatile late-inning profile into one of the most productive relief seasons on the staff.

The raw arsenal remains loud: 65 stuff, 55 movement, 55 home-run prevention, 50 control, with a three-pitch power mix of 70 fastball, 70 slider, and 70 curveball. He is a groundball pitcher, throws 94-96, and has enough strikeout ability to handle the ninth without needing perfect batted-ball luck.

There is still some walk risk. His 25 walks in 62.1 innings are not nothing. But the overall profile is closer-caliber, and his 2032 performance makes the assignment logical.

This is also a trust decision.

The Rockies could have gone hunting for another veteran name after declining Williams’ option. Instead, they are putting the ninth back in the hands of a pitcher who has already closed for them, already handled pressure innings, and just gave them one of the best relief seasons in baseball.

Neighbors is not a placeholder.

He is the closer.

Seth Halvorsen remains the trusted bridge

If Neighbors is the ninth-inning answer, Seth Halvorsen is the bullpen’s continuity piece.

He opens in a setup role, with closer listed as the secondary option. That says a lot. Colorado is not simply using him as a middle-inning arm. He is one of the first alternatives if Neighbors needs rest or if the matchup board points somewhere else.

Halvorsen’s 2032 season was steady: 54 games, 57.1 innings, 2.51 ERA, 62 strikeouts, 1.12 WHIP, 177 ERA+, and 1.0 WAR. That followed a 2031 season in which he gave the Rockies 63 appearances and another strong run of middle-to-late inning value.

The profile is exactly what Colorado likes in a right-handed reliever: 55 stuff, 55 movement, 65 home-run prevention, 50 control, a 70 fastball, a 60 slider, extreme groundball tendencies, and 98-100 mph velocity.

He is not the flashiest reliever in the group, but he may be one of the most important. Halvorsen has been here. He knows the park. He has handled playoff-window innings. He can get groundballs. He can miss enough bats. He keeps the ball in the yard.

That makes him the perfect eighth-inning stabilizer.

If the Rockies are ahead late, the cleanest script is simple: Halvorsen to Neighbors.

Hisanori Taki gives Colorado a dangerous left-handed setup option

Hisanori Taki might be the most important pitcher in the bullpen not named Neighbors.

The left-hander was acquired from Boston during the 2032 season and immediately became a weapon. In Colorado, he threw 31.2 innings with a 1.14 ERA, 52 strikeouts, a 0.66 WHIP, 387 ERA+, and 1.6 WAR. Across the full season between Boston and Colorado, he showed enough dominance to justify a prominent role.

Now he opens as a setup arm, with specialist as the secondary role.

That makes sense.

Taki is not a soft-tossing lefty specialist. He is a real power arm: 60 stuff, 55 movement, 60 home-run prevention, 55 control, with a 75 fastball, 70 slider, sidearm look, and 97-99 mph velocity. His 2032 strikeout rate with the Rockies was massive, and the WHIP was absurd.

That gives Pickler a different kind of leverage option.

Taki can be used as a traditional setup man. He can also be used surgically against the most dangerous left-handed pocket in a game. He gives the bullpen balance, but not at the cost of impact.

This may be the biggest structural difference from last year.

The Rockies are not just relying on right-handed power. They have a left-handed arm who can miss bats, handle leverage, and shorten a game before Neighbors ever gets the ball.

George Volfson is the high-upside middle weapon

George Volfson opens in middle relief with “use more often” usage.

That is exactly the right designation.

Volfson’s 2032 season deserves more attention: 55 games, 72 innings, 1.88 ERA, 66 strikeouts, 1.22 WHIP, 235 ERA+, and 1.6 WAR. He also finished third in National League Reliever of the Year voting.

That is not ordinary middle relief.

The profile is still growing, too. Volfson currently sits at 55 stuff, 55 movement, 60 home-run prevention, and 45 control, with potential growth still showing in stuff, home-run suppression, and command. The pitch mix is exciting: 60/75 curveball and 70/80 cutter, with extreme groundball tendencies and 95-97 velocity.

That is a Rockies reliever built in a lab.

Groundballs. Cutter. Curveball. Power. Low home-run damage.

The one thing keeping him out of a more formal setup role is likely control and hierarchy. Neighbors, Halvorsen, and Taki already give Colorado a clean leverage structure. But Volfson’s role may be more important than the label. “Use more often” suggests Pickler will not bury him in low leverage.

He is the bullpen’s movable weapon.

If the seventh inning has the game’s highest-leverage moment, Volfson may be the right arm. If a starter exits early and a right-handed pocket is coming, he may be the right arm. If Halvorsen or Neighbors is down, he may be next in line.

That kind of fourth leverage arm can change a bullpen.

Eric Youngman is the upside bet

Eric Youngman is the least proven arm in the bullpen, and that makes him fascinating.

At 24, he is not here because of a long major-league track record. He is here because the stuff projection is too interesting to ignore.

Youngman currently sits at 40 overall / 60 potential, with 40/70 stuff, 50/60 movement, 50/65 home-run prevention, and 45/60 control. The fastball could become a monster at 55/75, the cutter has 30/70 projection, and he throws 95-97 with a possible 96-98 future band. He is also an extreme groundball arm.

The current version is not finished. His 2032 A+ season was good but not overwhelming: 38 games, 53 innings, 3.40 ERA, 55 strikeouts, 1.32 WHIP, 132 ERA+, and 1.2 WAR.

That is a long way from high-leverage certainty.

But the Rockies added him to the 40-man roster for a reason. The organization clearly believes there is a major-league bullpen arm here, and perhaps a very good one if the fastball/cutter combination comes forward.

Opening him in middle relief is the right compromise.

Do not force him into the eighth. Do not ask him to be Neighbors. Let the arm talent play in manageable spots. If the growth arrives quickly, the bullpen gets deeper by summer. If he struggles, Colorado has options.

Youngman is not the safest reliever in the group.

He may be the one with the widest gap between current role and future impact.

Hidehiko Tamai gives the middle innings another veteran layer

Hidehiko Tamai is easy to overlook in this bullpen because he is not the closer, not the lefty setup arm, not the 2032 Reliever of the Year finalist, and not the shiny young upside arm.

But he matters.

Tamai gave Colorado 61 appearances, 71.1 innings, a 2.65 ERA, 70 strikeouts, 1.32 WHIP, 166 ERA+, and 0.5 WAR last season. That is a lot of useful work. He absorbed innings, kept runs off the board, and helped support a bullpen that was one of the reasons Colorado led the league in run prevention.

His profile is stable: 55 stuff, 50 movement, 55 home-run prevention, 50 control, with a 65 fastball, 50 sinker, 40 splitter, groundball tendencies, and 95-97 velocity.

That is a perfectly useful middle-relief arm.

Tamai’s job is not to be the headline. His job is to keep the bullpen connected. He can bridge from the rotation to the leverage arms. He can work when the game is still in reach but not fully in the Neighbors/Halvorsen/Taki zone. He can protect the staff when a starter exits after five.

For a team whose rotation is already missing Mendez, those innings matter.

Kenny Durham gives the bullpen a left-handed long-relief specialist

Kenny Durham’s role is interesting because the big-league numbers from 2032 do not match the minor-league résumé.

In the majors, Durham struggled: 14 games, 19.1 innings, 5.12 ERA, 22 strikeouts, 1.86 WHIP, and 86 ERA+. That is not the kind of line that locks in a role by itself.

But the Triple-A line was much better: 31 games, 62.2 innings, 1.87 ERA, 71 strikeouts, 0.99 WHIP, 251 ERA+, and 1.5 WAR. He was also a Pacific Coast League All-Star in 2032 and has a strong minor-league award history.

The ratings explain why Colorado is still giving him the ball: 55/65 stuff, 50 movement, 50 home-run prevention, 50 control, with a 70/75 curveball, 70/75 cutter, and 45/65 changeup. He is a flyball pitcher, which makes him a little less naturally Coors-friendly than some of the groundball arms around him, but the pitch quality is real.

Durham opens in long relief, with specialist as the secondary role.

That is smart.

He is not being asked to be a pure setup lefty. Taki has that job. Durham can cover length, handle left-handed pockets, and give Colorado a second southpaw without overexposing him. If the command and pitch quality translate, he can become more than that. If the fly balls and traffic become a problem, the role can stay contained.

This is a controlled opportunity.

Lee Hoover is the emergency-starter safety net

Lee Hoover is listed in long relief with emergency starter as the secondary role, and that may be one of the quietest but most important parts of the bullpen.

Hoover is 25, has almost no major-league service time, and has spent years building a strong minor-league résumé. He was a Pacific Coast League All-Star, won the PCL Reliever of the Year in 2031, and finished second for the same award in 2032. Last season at Albuquerque, he threw 79.2 innings with a 3.84 ERA, 84 strikeouts, 1.18 WHIP, 122 ERA+, 2.0 WAR, and 43 saves.

That is a full-season relief workload, not a cameo.

His profile gives the Rockies a different kind of arm: 55/65 stuff, 50 movement, 50 home-run prevention, 45/50 control, a 70/80 fastball, 60/60 changeup, neutral batted-ball profile, 96-98 velocity, and possible 98-100 future velocity.

He is not a finished late-inning arm yet, but he is major-league ready enough to be useful.

The emergency starter tag matters because Colorado’s rotation is already one injury deep. Patterson is covering for Mendez. Bradish has a minor throwing issue. If the club needs bulk innings or a spot start, Hoover gives them another way to survive without immediately tearing up the roster.

He is not just here as the last man in the bullpen.

He is here as protection against April getting messy.

What makes this bullpen different from 2032

The 2032 bullpen had a veteran closer headline with Devin Williams. The 2033 bullpen has a more internal feel.

Neighbors is back in the ninth. Halvorsen remains a trusted holdover. Taki and Volfson are now major pieces after excellent 2032 runs. Tamai provides continuity. Durham and Hoover represent upper-level pipeline arms. Youngman is the new upside play.

The structure is less about one veteran name and more about layers.

There is power at the top.

There is a left-handed leverage option.

There are multiple groundball right-handers.

There are long-relief arms who can protect the rotation.

There are young arms with room to grow.

This bullpen is not built around one answer. It is built around having enough answers that Pickler can survive different kinds of games.

That matters because the Rockies’ 2033 roster is not quite as clean defensively as last year’s ideal version. The State of the Franchise already made clear that Colorado is opening with a more power-driven lineup, a less certain defensive shape, and early injuries up the middle.

For the bullpen, that means contact management becomes even more important.

Groundballs are good. But only if the infield catches them.

That is the tension.

Neighbors, Halvorsen, Volfson, Youngman, and Tamai all lean toward groundballs in some form. That fits Coors Field, but it also means the bullpen may be more tied to the defense than a pure strikeout group would be. Taki is the exception with more bat-missing dominance, and Hoover/Durham offer different shapes.

If the defense stabilizes, this bullpen can be excellent.

If the early injuries create leaks, some of these groundball profiles could feel more vulnerable than the ERAs suggest.

The verdict: deeper than flashy, and still good enough to be a strength

The Rockies’ 2033 Opening Day bullpen is not built around the biggest name from last year.

That is fine.

It may be better because of it.

Neighbors gives Colorado a deserving closer coming off a dominant season. Halvorsen gives the eighth inning stability. Taki gives the club a legitimate left-handed weapon. Volfson gives Pickler a high-usage middle-relief arm who was quietly one of the best relievers in the National League last year. Tamai gives volume and reliability. Youngman gives upside. Durham gives a second lefty with length. Hoover gives emergency protection and a power arm from the pipeline.

That is a strong group.

It is not risk-free. Neighbors has to prove the 2032 command/damage profile holds. Halvorsen is 33 and still lives on power contact management. Taki’s Colorado sample was brilliant but not full-season long. Volfson’s control is still developing. Youngman is unproven. Durham struggled in his first MLB look. Hoover has to translate Triple-A saves into major-league outs. Tamai’s role is useful but not overpowering.

But those are contender questions, not survival questions.

The Rockies are not asking if they have a bullpen.

They are asking if this bullpen can help win the World Series.

That is where the franchise lives now.

After 110 wins, after the NLDS collapse, after another offseason built around changing the ending, Colorado opens 2033 with a bullpen that looks less like a star-chasing quick fix and more like a mature pitching operation: a proven closer, multiple setup paths, real left-handed leverage, groundball logic, internal depth, and enough young upside to improve as the year goes on.

It does not have Devin Williams anymore.

It may not need him.

The ninth belongs to Tyson Neighbors again.

And if the rest of the group performs to its shape, the Rockies should have enough relief pitching to protect leads, absorb early rotation stress, and give October one more chance to look different.