Schaeffer: Tyler Freeman “looks hot” amidst five-game hit streak

Tyler Freeman has now recorded a hit in five straight games for the Colorado Rockies, and his interim manager is liking what he's seeing at the plate

BY TRENT FINNEGAN

Jun 5, 2025, 9:29 AM

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It took the Colorado Rockies until June to get their first series win of the season, and first sweep since last May. Tyler Freeman and Hunter Goodman led the charge offensively for Colorado, while the bullpen was able to hold its ground down the stretch in all three games against the Miami Marlins.

While Goodman made the flashy plays at the plate with his three home runs and seven hits throughout the series, Freeman quietly went to work at the plate as he extended his hit streak to five games in Wednesday’s win.

Against Miami, Freeman had five hits, including three in Tuesday’s victory and a double on Wednesday that led to him scoring a run in the fifth inning. After increasing his streak from the batter’s box, Rockies Interim Manager Warren Schaeffer had a lot of praise for the utility man.

“Free[man] looks really good right now,” Schaeffer said on Wednesday. ” He’s just got really good bat-to-ball skills and he’s making it happen, right? He looks hot. You just look at him in the box and it looks like he feels good. So, we’ll roll with him.”

There was a lot of confusion amongst Rockies fans when the 26-year-old was all the Rockies got in return for trading Nolan Jones to the Cleveland Guardians back in March. Jones seemed to be the young slugger who was geared up to take the next step for the Rockies this season, but Bill Schmidt & Co. had other ideas.

Fast forward two months and change, and Freeman has actually been the better performer of the two, but has only played a fraction of the games as Jones. In 22 games, Freeman has slashed .283/.333/.396 with four extra-base hits, six RBIs and a -0.3 WAR, while Jones has slashed .215/.292/.313 with nine extra-base hits, 16 RBIs and a -0.7 WAR. Freeman has a strikeout rate of 11.7% while Jones sits at 26.5% (sound familiar, Rockies fans?).

Would either of these players be big time difference makers on the Dodgers or the Yankees? Probably not, but when Schmidt trades pennies for pennies in another weak attempt to make his team better, the players involved are likely going to be a tier lower than the guys who contribute on championship teams.

For now, Schaeffer likes what he’s seeing from the guy on his side of the diamond, and is happy with the recent success he’s found at the plate.