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Colorado Rockies 2024 offseason preview: Can the team find the pitching to pair with a developing lineup?

Brenton Doyle leads the group of young Rockies hitters who made progress this season. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Let’s take a look at the season that was for the 2024 Colorado Rockies, the questions the team must address this winter and the early outlook for 2025.

Read more: 2024 MLB offseason previews: White Sox & Marlins

A handful of position players took steps forward. The most notable improvement came from Brenton Doyle, who followed his Gold Glove 2023 season by making offensive strides with his strikeout and walk rates. The end result was a 20-20 player who also reached base at a solid rate. As is typical with Colorado players, Doyle did most of his damage at Coors Field.

Meanwhile, Ezequiel Tovar showed improved power skills that complemented his exceptional defensive play. The 23-year-old also deserves credit for logging balanced home/road splits. Tovar’s double-play partner, Brendan Rodgers, was also a bright spot, as he recovered from an injury-plagued 2023 and reclaimed his spot near the heart of the team’s lineup. Finally, Michael Toglia became an imposing power hitter during his first extended major-league trial.

Nolan Jones couldn’t stay healthy, as a nagging back injury led to two IL stints that cost him roughly 2.5 months of the season. When he was in the lineup, Jones looked nothing like the man who hit .297 while reaching the 20-20 plateau in 2023. Kris Bryant joined Jones as Rockies regulars who were felled by injury, and for Bryant, this has become a recurring theme. The 32-year-old logged three IL stints and has now played in less than half of the Rockies’ games in the three seasons since he signed a seven-year, $182 million contract in March 2022.

Even though pitching is usually the Achilles’ heel for the Rockies, this season was worse than most. The team finished last in the majors in ERA by a wide margin, with even the historically bad White Sox faring better than Colorado on the mound. While it’s easy to blame Coors Field for the pitching problems, the Rockies were also last in ERA on the road.

Colorado has many of the pieces in place for a respectable lineup. The infield is set with Toglia (first base), Rodgers (second base), Ryan McMahon (third base) and Tovar (shortstop) all signed for next season. Doyle will again patrol center field, and it’s reasonable to expect Jones to enjoy a healthier, more productive season…

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