Owners: Charles and Richard Monfort, net worth $700 million.
World Series Titles: None.
Greatest Player: IF Todd Helton.
Division: NL West
Payroll: 17th, $140,012,218
2022 Result: 68-94, last place in NL West.
General Manager: Bill Schmidt
Manager: Bud Black, 65, 1,088-1,166, Zero titles.
Home Field: Coors Field capacity, 46,897
Key Additions: None. That’s right, the Rockies made no additions that fall into the “key” category. Thanks for playing, Rockies. They did acquire OF Nolan Jones from the Guardians for minor leaguer Juan Brito, who was a tertiary prospect.
Key Losses: None. There you go, Colorado fans, a silver lining.
Key Injury: When the Rockies signed Kris Bryant to a seven-year, $182 million deal prior to last season, they envisioned him (we think) as a great 1-2 complement with
C.J. Cron (29 homes, 102 RBI). Why they thought that also is a mystery as you’ll read in a bit. But Bryant played just 42 games before ending the season on Sept. 24 with plantar fasciitis. He also missed time with back soreness, a lower back strain and a bone bruise. The Rockies expect him to be ready for Opening Day and his home run power in Coors Field could yield impressive results. But Bryant has been a three-year health slump and it's hard to be confident in him having a productive season.
OF Rockies Randal Grichuk underwent surgery for a bilateral sports hernia in early February and his return is unknown.
Prospect alert: The future is now in Colorado, at least from a prospect standpoint. Ezequiel Tovar arrives for his first MLB season. Tovar’s ascent has been based on his extraordinary glove, one the organization believes will be gold sooner rather than later. After playing nine games last season, the pursuit of that lofty goal begins for the 21-year-old shortstop. Tovar’s bat has improved but the 6-foot, 162-pounder isn’t going to challenge Kyle Schwarber for the NL home run lead. Scouts spotted Tovar when he was just 13 and pegged him as the next great Dominican shortstop. That’s lofty expectations.
Scouting Report:Over/Under Wins: 65.5, last place in NL West.
Is the Coors free at Coors Field? Sorry, we’re truly scrounging for reasons to come this Mile High stadium. Dingers. That’s right. The team mascot is appropriately named, “Dinger.” If you can’t hit homers in this park, it’s time to consider another team, if not another occupation.
Coors Field was tied for fifth in homers allowed last season and that was a good season. Situated 5,200-feet above sea level, “Coors Canaveral” still holds the record in a season for home runs (303!) set in 1999. Despite this “advantage,” the Rockies only hit 149 homers at home, 23rd in MLB. Ugh.
Bottom line, the Rockies aren’t built for their own park.
Flaw 2: The Rockies allegedly are in a rebuild. Yet they have the 31-year-old Bryant (LF) and 36-year-old Charlie Blackmon (DH) in the lineup. Bryant hit 128 homers his first five seasons in the Majors. He’s hit 34 in the last four. Blackmon hit 174 dingers from 2014-2019. He’s hit 35 in the last three season.
If you’re going to rebuild, bring in the heavy equipment, tear it down and start by pouring a solid foundation.
Flaw 3. The starting rotation features five pitchers who surrendered 84 homers last season and struck out 479. German Marquez, 28, who’s considered a very good young pitcher, only averaged 4.8 strikeouts per game. Those numbers simply aren’t good enough in a hitter’s park. Pitchers have to be able get a fair share of K’s to survive.
BetBasics Best Bet: The Rockies lost 94 games last season, finished 43 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and we can’t think of one good reason to believe they’ll be any better in 2023. Not only do the Dodgers play in the NL West but so do the Padres. We’re setting the over/under at 100 losses. Yes, will take the under.