Colorado Rockies 2024 (est 2021)

[LittleHurt81]

With a red-hot month comes awards. Here were winners in the month of August...

[LittleHurt81]

Saturday, September 7 vs LA Angels (69-68, 3rd AL W) 12-13 L
WP: Covey (1-0), LP: McKay (5-7), SV: Andrews (13), POG: Rendon (LAA) 4-for-5, HR (23), 3 RBI, 4 runs scored

Sunday, September 8 vs LA Angels 6-9 L
WP: Barria (6-12), LP: Sheffield (16-3), SV: De Paula (2), POG: Correa (LAA) 3-for-4, 2B, RBI, BB, 2 runs scored

ROCKIES RECORD: 86-54 (.614)
2nd NL West, 6 GB
1st NL WC, 2 GA 2nd (SD)

Tuesday, September 10 at Houston (76-64, 2nd AL W) 5-2 W
WP: Luzardo (8-0), LP: Ryu (0-1), SV: Diaz (24), POG: Luzardo (COL) 6 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 Ks

Wednesday, September 11 at Houston 8-9 L
WP: Javier (6-1), LP: Dai (3-4), POG: Vazquez (HOU) 4-for-4 2 2B, 2 HR (19), 5 RBI, 2 runs scored
Yordan Alvarez walked it off with 0 out in the bottom of the 9th with solo home run of Jing-shuan Dai.

Thursday, September 12 at Houston 8-6 (16) W
WP: Robertson (1-1), LP: Hentges (6-2), POG: Bregman (HOU) 3-for-5 3 HR (26), 4 RBI, 2 BB, 3 runs scored
Rookie Brenton Doyle's 2-run home run in the top of the 8th tied it and after 7 ½ straight scoreless innings Zac Veen hit a 2-run homer in the top of the 16th to seel the Rockies win. The final 5 Rockies relievers (Mejia, Diaz, Gilbreath, Doyle, and Robertson) gave up a combined 0 earned runs, 2 hits, 4 walks, and 13 strikeouts over the final 9 innings.


Friday, September 13 at Arizona (62-82, 4th NL W) 4-5 (12) L
WP: Johnson (3-2), LP: McKay (5-8), POG: Gallen (ARI) 6 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks
In their 2nd consecutive extra inning game the Rockies bullpen surrendered 2 in the 9th, 1 in the 10th and finally another in the bottom of the 12th to lose to Arizona. The Rockies had completed 8 scoreless innings of pitching between 3 pitchers - Sean Reid-Foley (3 IP), Jose De Leon (3 IP), and Jack Little (2 IP) - before Jing-shuan Dai came in the 9th giving up 2 runs, 3 hits, 1 walk in ⅔ to blow his 4th save of the year.

Saturday, Septebmer 14 at Arizona 5-3 W
WP: Sheffield (17-3), LP: Martin (9-9), SV: Diaz (25), POG: Sheffield (COL) 6 IP, 2 ER, 9 H, 1 BB, 9 Ks

Sunday, September 15 at Arizona 8-5 W
WP: Luzardo (9-0), LP: Duplantier (8-12), POG: Velasquez (COL) 2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB, 2 runs scored
After a heartbreaking loss Friday night the Rockies bounced back to win the series in Arizona on the back of another solid bullpen performance and 2 solo home runs in the 7th & 9th off the bat of Zac Veen. This brought the Rockies win total to 90 on the season, already 15 better than 2023 and 19 better than their preseason predicted total, and brought the Rockies within 4 games of the LA Dodgers atop the NL West.

ROCKIES RECORD: 90-56 (.614)
2nd NL West, 4 GB
1st NL WC, 3 GA 2nd (SD)

Tuesday, September 17 at Oakland 2-0 W
WP: Rolison (11-2), LP: Puk (4-12), SV: Diaz (26), POG: Rolison (COL) 0 ER, 1 H, 6 BB, 4 Ks

Wednesday, September 18 at Oakland 1-3 L
WP: Howard (3-0), LP: Sanchez (10-9), SV: Gragg (23), POG: Weaver (OAK) 5 ⅔ IP. 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 7 Ks

Thursday, September 19 at Oakland 2-1 W
WP: Sheffield (18-3), LP: Baum (1-10), SV: Diaz (27), POG: Sheffield (COL) 8 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 11 Ks

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Friday, September 20 vs Philadelphia (87-62, 1st NL E) 5-10 (12) L
WP: Kahnle (2-0), LP: Doyle (1-2), POG: Bohm (PHI) 2-for-5 2 HR (35), 5 RBI, BB, 3 runs scored

Saturday, September 21 vs Philadelphia 6-9 L
WP: (9-3), LP: Reid-Foley (6-4), SV: Anderson (30), POG: Urshela (COL) 4-for-4 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 runs scored

Sunday, September 22 vs Philadelphia 8-7 (11) W
WP: De Leon (2-0), LP: Kela (5-4), POG: Bohm (PHI) 1-for-1 HR (37), 3 RBI, BB, run scored
John Dyer walked it off with in the first at-bat of the bottom of the 11th with a solo home run, his league leading 43 of the year.

Monday, September 23 vs Philadelphia 8-4 W
WP: Rollison (12-2), LP: Abel (12-7), POG: Arcia (COL) 3-for-4, 3B, RBI, 3 runs scored
The Rockies aquired Orlando Arcia just one week earlier off waivers from Cleveland and he had 3 hits, including a triple, and 3 runs scored on the way to the team splitting with the visiting Phillies.

ROCKIES RECORD: 94-59 (.614)
2nd NL West, 6 GB
1st NL WC, 1 GA 2nd (SD), 13 GA 3rd (ATL)

Tuesday, September 24 vs Arizona (63-90, 4th NL W) 4-5 L
WP: Johnson (4-2), LP: Mejia (2-3), SV: Jarvis (13), POG: McLain (ARI) 2-for-3 2B, HR (8), 3 RBI, 2 runs scored

Wednesday, September 25 vs Arizona 2-4 L
WP: Gallen (10-10), LP: De Leon (2-1), SV: Jarvis (14), POG: Sheffield (COL) 5 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 8 Ks

Thursday, September 26 vs Arizona 15-2 W
WP: Luzardo (10-0), LP: Martin (9-11), POG: Polanco (COL) 3-for-4, 2B, HR (26), 5 RBI, BB, 3 runs scored
RAUNCY'S NOTE: Don't make us angry... Could have used a little of that offense in the first two games against Arizona, and certainly could have done with winning 4 or 5 in our last long homestand before going to San Diego, but the offense came through in game 3(7). Polanco added to his career high in homers and Luzardo went 6 strong, allowing only a run and 4 hits. This was his 10th win in 11 starts since coming over from Oakland. The one loss was Orlando Arcia seems to be out for the season, so his defensive versatility and seemingly above average bat are lost for the playoffs.

[LittleHurt81]

Saturday, September 28 at San Diego (94-62, 3rd NL W) 2-1 (18) W
WP: Reid-Foley (7-4), LP: Crismatt (8-2), POG: Little (COL) 5 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 3 Ks
RBI hits from Gio Urshela in the top of the 9th and Zac Veen in the top of the 18th were the only runs the Rockies could muster despite 16 hits (9 of which came from leadoff and 2nd hitters Veen and Urshela), but it was enough in the marathon game to outlast the Padres and maintain their advantage for the top NL Wild Card spot.

Sunday, September 29 at San Diego 1-3 L
WP: Gore (14-7), LP: Rolison (12-3), SV: Crismatt (1), POG: Gore (SD) 7 ⅓ IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 Ks

Monday, September 30 at San Diego 5-4 (10) W
WP: Mejia (3-3), LP: Barlow (2-5), SV: Diaz (28), POG: Sanchez (COL) 6 ⅓ IP, 2 ER, 8 H, 0 BB, 4 Ks

ROCKIES RECORD: 97-62 (.610)
2nd NL West, 8 GB
1st NL WC, 2 GA 2nd (SD), 15 GA 3rd (ATL), 16 GA 4th (NYM)

Tuesday, October 1 vs LA Dodgers 4-8 L
WP: Buehler (11-8), LP: Sheffield (18-4), POG: Story (LAD) 3-for-5 2B, 2 HR (31), 2 RBI, 3 runs scored

Wednesday, October 2 vs LA Dodgers 6-7 (11) L
WP: Swales (3-0), LP: Gilbreath (0-4), SV: Knebel (2), POG: Smith (LAD) 2-for-5 2 HR (21), 4 RBI, 2 runs scored

Thursday, October 3 vs LA Dodgers 9-7 W
WP: De Leon (3-1), LP: Bachman (2-1), SV: Robertson (1), POG: McWilliams (LAD) 2-for-4 2 HR (12), 3 RBI, 2 runs scored
The Rockies top 3 in the order Zac Veen, Jorge Polanco, and John Dyer combined for 7 hits and 7 RBI in leading the team to a win - and avoiding a season-ending sweep - against the Dodgers. The final day victory was enough for the Rockies to secure the top NL Wild Card spot and a best-of-3 series played at Coors Field against division rivals San Diego Padres.

[LittleHurt81]

White Sox, Mariners, Dodgers and Phillies will all get 1st Round Byes in the 2nd season under the 3 WC Team format. Blue Jays, Royals, Cardinals, and Rockies will all play at home for the best-of-3 1st Round.

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Expanded standings for the Rockies Division.

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Wild Card standings

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After a lot of debate and back-and-forth we finally came up with what feels like the right combination for a best-of-3 at home vs San Diego. Here is the roster:

STARTING PITCHERS
(In Rotation Order)
#33 Justus Sheffield TL 32 GS, 188 ⅓ IP, 18-4, 3.78 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 4.56 FIP, 2.8 WAR
#44 Jesus Luzardo TL 12 GS, 75 ⅓ IP, 10-0, 4.30 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 4.35 FIP, 1.3 WAR (NL Stats Only)
#14 Ryan Rolison TL 49 G/12 GS, 123 IP, 12-3, 1 SV, 9 HLD, 3.80 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 4.10 FIP, 1.9 WAR
#73 Sixto Sanchez TR 31 GS, 180 ⅓ IP, 10-9, 4.69 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 4.19 FIP, 3.5 WAR

RELIEF PITCHERS
#15 Jing-shuan Dai TL 64 G, 63 ⅔ IP, 3-4, 9 SV, 14 HLD, 3.68 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 2.21 FIP, 2.9 WAR
#39 Edwin Diaz TR 60 G, 64 IP, 7-3, 28 SV, 4 HLD, 2.39 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 2.48 FIP, 2.7 WAR
#59 Tommy Doyle TR 58 G, 63 IP, 1-2, 2 SV, 11 HLD, 3.57 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 3.36 FIP, 1.2 WAR
#58 Lucas Gilbreath TL 38 G, 53 IP, 0-4, 1 HLD, 5.09 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 3.20 FIP, 1.1 WAR
#21 Jack Little TR 54 G/5 GS, 88 ⅔ IP, 3-1, 17 HLD, 2.03 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 2.67 FIP, 2.7 WAR
#31 Brailyn Marquez TL 17 G, 22 ⅓ IP, 0-1, 3 HLD, 6.45 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, 6.54 FIP, -0.4 WAR
#51 Juan Mejia TR 42 G, 38 ⅓ IP, 3-3, 1 SV, 8 HLD, 2.58 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 4.53 FIP, 0.2 WAR
#9 Nick Robertson TR 25 G, 28 ⅓ IP, 1-1, 1 SV, 2 HLD, 6.35 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 3.97 FIP, 0.3 WAR

CATCHERS
#23 Tucker Barnhardt BL/TR 54 G, 177 PA, .226/.322/.361, 79 wRC+, 5 HR, 21 RBI, 0.5 WAR
#10 Gabriel Moreno BR/TR 124 G, 518 PA, .304/.346/.509, 122 wRC+, 22 HR, 82 RBI, 1 SB, 4.3 WAR

INFIELDERS
#11 Willy Adames BR/TR 125 G, 501 PA, .247/.304/.393, 80 wRC+, 12 HR, 60 RBI, 1 SB, 1.7 WAR
#35 John Dyer BR/TR 152 G, 687 PA, .285/.400/.583, 155 wRC+, 44 HR, 115 RBI, 5.6 WAR
#19 Jarrett Ford BR/TR 41 G, 113 PA, .269/.321/..375, 80 wRC+, 1 HR, 14 RBI, 2 SB, 0.3 WAR
#1 Jorge Polanco BS/TR 150 G, 697 PA .296/.339/.511, 119 wRC+, 27 HR, 119 RBI, 7 SB, 5.3 WAR
#29 Gio Urshela BR/TR 52 G, 241 PA, .397/.439/.584, 170 wRC+, 6 HR, 37 RBI, 3.2 WAR (NL Only)
#27 Ryan Vilade BR/TR 105 G, 426 PA, .271/.324/..433, 96 wRC+, 11 HR, 65 RBI, 1 SB, 1.1 WAR
#16 Luke Voit BR/TR 127 G, 521 PA, .261/.330/.471, 108 wRC+, 27 HR, 84 RBI, 1.3 WAR

OUTFIELDERS
#47 Travis Blankenhorn BL/TR 136 G, 432 PA, .232/.296/.443, 88 wRC+, 18 HR, 69 RBI, 10 SB, 0.7 WAR
#18 Brenton Doyle BR/TB 49 G, 127 PA, .259/.307/.440, 88 wRC+, 5 HR, 25 RBI, 1 SB, 0.4 WAR
#2 Carlos Tocci BR/TR 150 G, 579 PA, .290/.342/.419, 100 wRC+, 5 HR, 60 RBI, 2.9 WAR
#8 Zac Veen BL/TR 151 G, 670 PA, .290/.354/.534, 130 wRC+, 34 HR, 113 RBI, 6 SB, 4.0 WAR
#77 Nelson Velasquez BR/TR 54 G, 190 PA, .232/.312/.506, 108 wRC+, 10 HR, 27 RBI, 0.2 WAR

KEY PLAYERS OUT INJURED
SP - Tyler Glasnow (Injured 8/19, OUT 11 months)
RP - Scott Alexander (Injured 9/30, OUT 4 weeks)
IF - Orlando Arcia (Injured 9/26, OUT 4 weeks)
OF - Sal Frelick (Injured 8/18, OUT 5 weeks)

[LittleHurt81]

Rockies go up 1-0; just need 1 to clinch an NLDS Spot!

[LittleHurt81]

The Rockies surrendered the lead on a grand slam in the 3rd, but came back with a 3-run homer in the 5th off the bat of Jorge Polanco and had a big 5-run 7th to seel the win and the series. Jack Little earned the win in relief and combined with Juan Mejia and Lucas Gilbreath to allow 1 run, 2 hits, and recorded 6 strikeouts over 5 innings.

[LittleHurt81]

ADD
#49 Brendan McKay BL/TL 24 G/18 GS, 93 IP, 5-8, 1 HLD, 7.06 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 5.73 FIP, 0.1 WAR

Drop
RP - Brailyn Marquez

[LittleHurt81]

Ryan Rolison turned in an excellent performance on the mound going 7 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits, no walks and 11 strikeouts. A number of Rockies had big hits at the plate as Carlos Tocci, Travis Blankenhorn, and Luke Voit all had multi-hit games, with Tocci driving in 3 runs on 2 base hits and Blankenhorn going yard in the 2nd with a 2-run homer.

[LittleHurt81]

In a game the Dodgers need to win they pulled through with a 3-run 7th inning capped off by a 2-run Mookie Betts homer. The series is even heading to Coors Field for games 3 and 4.

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Justus Sheffield gave up homers in the 1st and 2nd innings to Mookie Betts and Michael Busch and the Rockies never recovered despite 8 strikeouts and only 1 walk from their starter. It was a dissapointing night for the bullpen and the lineup as each managed to have bad days against a very tough Dodgers staff and lineup. This leaves the Rockies behind in the series 2-1 and playing an elimination game in their home ballpark in game 4. Jesus Luzardo will be on the mound to face-off against Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw.

[LittleHurt81]

Jesus Luzardo lasted just 2 outs and 10 batters after giving up 6 runs, including a 1 out 3-run homer off the bat of former Rockie Trevor Story, and the Rockies never recovered. The bullpen faired no better as Brendan McKay repeated the feat against Story giving the Dodgers an 11-0 lead in the 3rd inning. Although the Rockies bats did better than Game 3, they were no match for the might of the Dodgers and the home team fell out of the playoffs after their third successive loss to their division rivals. The Dodgers will face the winner of the Atlanta-Philadelphia matchup that was pushed to a Game 5 following a walk-off 3-run homer in the bottom of the 13th by the home Braves.

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The Kansas City Royals are your 2024 World Series Champions defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 4 games to 2. The Royals fell behind in the series 2-0 but swept at home and then won a tight 6-5 Game 6 at Dodgers Stadium. The Royals were 93-69 and finished 2nd in the AL Central in the regular season, had an impressive postseason run, defeating Minnesota 2-0 in the Wild Card Round, then taking down 100-game regular season division winners the Chicago White Sox 3-1, and finally advancing to The Fall Classic with a 4-2 series win over AL West winner Seattle Mariners. It was the Royals 3rd World Series Championship, and their 1st since 2015. They largely outperformed expectations all season en route to the top Wild Card spot, outperforming their meager $90M budget, and their preseason projection of 81-81.

[LittleHurt81]

It was really tough to go out of the playoffs with two blowout losses at home. I feel like I let Game 2 in LA slip when I should have gone to my bullpen earlier. HOWEVER, 98 wins! That is a 23 win improvement from 2023 AND 27 wins better than my preseason prediction. We ran down San Diego (almost mimicking real life in 2021) for the top Wild Card spot and then swept them to play the hated Dodgers.

I have a clear goal of signing a top-line starter this offseason and adding some outfield depth potentially. We still need to improve defense and if there is a utilityman who can do that or a LF/CF upgrade we'll do it. I could also see us using our minor league depth at 3B as trade bait for a player of that sort. Other then that, this is a mostly young and prime aged team so I plan to keep a lot of it together.

[LittleHurt81]

We non-tendered Luke Voit (was going to be on $16M/yr with slumping numbers and no real defensive value) and Sean Reid-Foley; in retrospect with 38/40 spots filled on our 40-man we could have let 2-3 more players go into free agency. This is one of those offseason lessons that is hard to re-learn. I did keep Brendan McKay around as a trade chip. After a season with an above 7.00 ERA, it might be time to move on.

We also burned a bridge with one of (if not) the top starter(s) in the 24-25 offseason FA class by backing out of a 6 year, $26M/yr deal with Jose Berrios. My thinking was "am I going to see this value with our limited budget" and the short answer was "no". So, where do we spend our $31M+ in FA budget ($58M for extensions!)?

You could bring in a higher priced player who's contract isn't as long: Matt Chapman (2 yrs) and Pablo Lopez (1 yr) of the A's fit the bill. The thing is if I bring in Chapman do I move Urshela to 1B? DH him? He's one of my better defenders in an already pretty solid infield. Bryan Reynolds is a 2x gold glover in left and with Coors Field's dimensions I am realizing a lot of defensive "problems" lie in having average or just slightly above outfielders with 50-55 range. Reynolds is a 60 and has a very good bat, not that high of a contract with a couple years left - and was on the WS winning Royals team. It looks like I can swap him straight up for McKay.

Another target is actually getting a couple prospects for Edwin Diaz who only has 2 years (1+ player option) on his contract. We can add some money to the budget AND get ourselves a potential shortstop of the future along with a starter close to big league ready. Willy Adames is in his last year and at this point is asking WAY to much in an extension, so would like to start planning for life without him. I have 2 SS prospects in-mind thus far and scoping out 1-2 more before I finalize a trade.

Most of the rest of my higher paid players I want/need to keep around and although we could use a better bat in CF Tocci had a good year at the plate and was a far above average defensive CF. Signing Byron Buxton doesn't make sense because he wants at least 6 years and I have Mo Hampton Jr (with 70 OF Range) waiting in the wings with just about another 2-3 months or 1 year of development in AAA. I have a couple ML ready bats/defenders I can platoon with Tocci if necessary.

So, that is the state of the Rockies pre-winter meeting. I will continue to use this thread for updates until the calendar year turns to 2025 and then start a new thread.

Thanks for reading! -John aka Rauncy Byrne

[LittleHurt81]

Baltimore may have handed me a gem... Maybe I need to up the trade difficulty again??