shutime

(This article was written on June 24th, 2023 and was published on August 19, 2023. Many of the names listed are no longer affiliated with the Rockies)

Yes, you read that right.

The Colorado Rockies are certainly having a rough go of it. As of late June, the Blake Street Bombers are in last place, second to last in the entire National League. Only the Washington Nationals suck more than the Rockies do.

But what if the Rockies aren’t actually bad? What if they’re just really unlucky?

I know that may sound like a crazy thing to say, but I think there’s some truth to that statement. Let’s start with the injuries shall we?

The Rockies number-one star player is Kris Bryant. How’s his season going? Hasn’t played in two months with more back problems.

How about the gold-glove contact man in Brendan Rodgers? Who I should add, was primed for his best season in the majors yet and his first full season of complete job security. Out for the entire season with a dislocated shoulder from spring training.

Okay, but what about C.J. Cron? You know, the 500 foot homer slugging first basemen who was also preparing for a third year at Coors Field and was off to an extremely hot start? Out the past month (and far more to come) with back spasms.

Okay whatever. That’s only three potential all-stars out. What point does that prove?

I’m not done yet y’all.

What about arguably the greatest pitcher in the history of the franchise and certainly a top three arm in Rockies history in German Marquez? Tommy John surgery. Out for season.

How about the often-good regular rotation man in Antonio Senzatela? Out for season with a torn ACL.

And there’s more!

Now as for the budding young star whose shown signs of becoming a great Coors Field pitcher in the future? (Ryan Feltner) HE FRACTURED HIS SKULL.

The Rockies 2022 batting leader and budding star, Yonathan Daza? Dislocated Shoulder. (He’s since returned from injury but has stayed in Triple-A Albuquerque due to rehabbing and Brenton Doyle’s production in CF)

Finally, the face of the franchise-NL batting title winnning -homerun hitting -crowd favorite -12 year veteran, Charlie Blackmon? Broken Hand!

Rodgers, Bryant, Cron, and Blackmon would almost certainly be the Rockies 1-4 hitters if not for injury.

To recap: Kris Bryant – Heel issues, Back Issues. Brendan Rodgers – Dislocated Shoulder. C.J. Cron – Back Spasms. German Marquez – Tommy John Surgery. Antonio Senzatela – Torn ACL. Ryan Feltner – Fractured Skull. Yonathan Daza – Dislocated Shoulder. Charlie Blackmon – Broken Hand.

Now take a moment and really think hard about this question….

What baseball team do you think has the hardest strength of schedule? (Based on Composite MLB Power Rankings)

Maybe the Red Sox? They have to play the Yankees, Blue Jays, Orioles, and Rays all year long. No.

Maybe the Oakland A’s? They have to take on the Mariners, Angels, Astros, and Rangers. All of them are really good. Not them either.

It’s the Colorado Rockies.

All of those injuries, all of those struggles to fight back in spite of missing three of their best hitters, hardest schedule in all of baseball.

If you read everything I just wrote and are thinking to yourself, “that doesn’t prove anything, the Rockies still suck” then let me ask another question.

The New York Yankees are 5 and 10 since Aaron Judge got injured in Los Angeles. That’s a 33.3% winning percentage, worse than the Rockies 38.5% win percentage on the season.

Does that mean the Yankees suck?

I would argue they don’t. Of course there’s the argument that the Yankees were winning games before Judge went out and the Rockies weren’t. But the Rockies have not been a complete team with all their stars healthy at the same time before.

Elias Diaz hadn’t come into his own before those guys got injured. Brenton Doyle wasn’t even in the league before they got hurt.

The Rockies are essentially fielding the youngest team in baseball nightly because of all the injuries they’ve faced.

Only two regular starters on the Rockies active roster are over the age of 30: Elias Diaz (32) and Mike Moustakas (34).

All this to say, the Rockies have been wildly unlucky this season. They have the pieces to produce a lot of runs and are heavily missing two of their regular rotation starters. The players that have been playing regularly haven’t exactly been superstars but virtually all have great potential.

Brenton Doyle looks like a future gold glover and regular everyday outfielder for the Rockies, but he’s just 24.

Nolan Jones is a similar story, both of these guys are fast, hit for average yet can mash, and have incredible gloves in the field.

Zac Veen’s season ended early with a wrist injury but he could very well be the future of the franchise when he’s healthy.

Bottom line: The Colorado Rockies are and will be just fine. An extremely unlucky streak mixed with a very hard schedule has inflated how bad they actually are. They won’t be competing in October but certainly aren’t in need of a crazy rebuild.