ESPN rips Rockies before season, ranks them 29th out of 30 teams

The Colorado Rockies start the 2024 MLB season on Thursday night in Arizona, and it’s barely creating any buzz on the Denver sports scene.

That’s what will happen when the Avalanche and Nuggets are legitimate title contenders, and the Broncos are desperately searching for their QB of the future.

Baseball in March is a hard sell no matter what, but especially when expectations for the Rockies are as low as ever. Coming off their first 100-loss season in franchise history, many predict them to do it again.

In fact, the oddsmakers have set Colorado’s season win total at just 59.5 games. Even if they won 60, that’d still be 102 losses. The Rockies dropped 103 games last season.

Regardless, no one locally or nationally has the Rockies on their radar. ESPN dropped its preseason Power Rankings before Opening Day on Thursday, and absolutely ripped the organization. The team checked in at No. 29 out of 30 in MLB.

Here’s some of what Jorge Castillo wrote:

“What has changed most since we saw them last? Nothing has changed. They didn’t attempt to fix the worst offense in baseball. They did little to improve their pitching. Another last-place finish is on deck for the franchise that paid another team to take Nolan Arenado before signing the baseball player formerly known as Kris Bryant. Why change when you’re consistently in the top half of attendance anyway? The formula makes money.”

It’s a scathing review from Castillo, but he’s not wrong. The Rockies had a very underwhelming offseason, the Arenado trade is still the laughingstock of baseball, Kris Bryant is nowhere near what he used to be, and owner Dick Monfort likes making money.

That about sums it up, right?

You feel for guys like Kyle Freeland, who will start against Arizona on Thursday night, now in year eight with the Rockies and no hope in sight for even a competitive season.

Only the Oakland Athletics were ranked lower, and they’re actively trying to tank for re-location. Their payroll this season is less than what the Broncos will take on in Russell Wilson dead cap money. It’s not the company the Rockies want to keep.

To see the full list of Power Rankings, including what else ESPN had to say about the Rockies, click here.