5 storylines to watch in the second half of the Rockies 2024 season

The Colorado Rockies begin the second half of their season on Friday and at 34-63 they’re the worst team in the National League West and pacing toward another 100-loss season. So with the playoff out of the picture, what is worth watching down the stretch for the men in purple?

From a pivotal trade deadline to the pro debut of their big-time draft pick to what’s up with the team’s highest-paid player, here are five bigger storylines to follow before the Avalanche and Nuggets open Ball Arena back up for the winter.

Transactions

There are two major transactions worth watching for the Rockies. First, how do they approach the trade deadline? It seems the team’s biggest chip Ryan McMahon won’t be on the move, but will the Rockies flip either of their catchers Elias Diaz and Jacob Stallings? Colorado is also rumored to be listening to moves regarding some of their starting pitchers. There’s also the last part of Charlie Blackmon’s career, will it end in Denver or chasing a title? The Rockies bolstering their farm system in any way would likely be better than holding onto players the team is unlikely to bring back in the winter.

By boosting what’s down in the minors, the Rockies could call up some of their top prospects. Adael Amador already got a short stint in the majors earlier this season and we may see him end the year with the team late. Jordan Beck has also already gotten some run in The Show, and maybe we’ll see him again. Also worth watching are the yet-to-debut top prospects of Zac Veen, Chase Dollander and Yanquiel Fernandez—will they put themselves in a position to be a part of the Rockies in 2025?

Kris Byrant

The Rockies highest-paid player continues taking batting practice and is targeting a late July return. But we’ve heard him target a date only to not come back in the past. The oft-injured former MVP went on the injured list in early June. It was initially hoped to be a short time on the IL which turned into ‘no idea when he will be able to return.” Bryant’s rib contusion revealed an oblique injury as well. It’s his seventh separate trip to the injured list since signing a seven-year, $182-million contract to play for the Rockies ahead of the 2022 season. At this point, he’s missed 275 games out of the 421 games Colorado has played since the disaster signing of the former Chicago Cubs star. His injuries have been mostly foot and back injuries but his core is now an issue too.

When Bryant has played it’s been bad. So far in 2024 that’s been just 24 games. He is hitting .186 on the season with just four extra-base hits in 101 plate appearances. As a Rockie, Bryant has slashed an awful .247/.331/.385 with 17 homers and 55 RBI in 146 games of action, primarily as an outfielder but this season as a planned first baseman. Since joining the Rockies, Bryant has been eighth-worst in MLB with a -1.1 fWAR among players with at least 600 plate appearances. Funny enough, the worst player in baseball during that timeframe according to the metric played all the positions Bryant did for the Rockies—Elehuris Montero. The younger and worse should-be slugger has been worth a -2.7 fWAR since the start of 2022, he is now in the Rockies minor leagues. The only position player to sign a larger free agent deal the same winter as Bryant was Corey Seager at 10 years for $325 million and he’s been worth 12.9 fWAR, 16th-best in baseball, and brought the Rangers World Series rings. All of that is to say, Bryant has played much due to injuries but when he has he’s been one of the worst players in baseball.

Finish strong

German Marquez returned from Tommy John Surgery and Antonio Senzatela should be returning soon from the same procedure. Marquez was about to become a free agent and also set the Rockies strikeout record when he went down last summer. He passed Jorge De La Rosa for that mark in his first start back but now is about regaining his spot as one of the better pitchers in baseball. If he does so, Marquez could be traded in the winter or next deadline, with 2025 again being a contract year. Meanwhile, Senzatela is around for a while more and it’d be key for the Rockies to get him back up to speed. When he’s on, he’s a very capable big-league pitcher.

For the Rockies to get better long-term they’ll need four young hitters to keep improving. Ezequiel Tovar and Brenton Doyle are both having huge step-forward years, and how they finish the season off will be fun to watch. Nolan Jones’ second year with the Rockies hasn’t gone so well but if he could turn things around and make a statement down the stretch Colorado will feel as good about him as they did coming into this season.

103

The Rockies worst season ever came last year when they lost 103 games. Will they set a franchise mark this season? The sharps in Vegas are betting on the Rockies to lose between 106 and 107 games, which if that happens Colorado may finish in the NL’s last place for the first time ever. The Rockies are unlikely to be the worst team in baseball. The one silver lining to the Rockies atrocious follow-up to a stinky season? Better chances in the MLB Draft Lottery and the 2025 top pick might be Matt Holliday’s younger son Ethan.

Will Bud Black be back?

Before Opening Day it was reported that the Rockies were working on an extension with Bud Black. In a contract year now, will the skipper be back after a likely another 100-loss campaign? Black, 67, is in his eighth season at the helm in Colorado where he has led the Rockies to a 510 619 record. Initially hired in 2017 as a well-respected voice to help push the Rockies into the playoffs, Black did just that leading Denver Nine to two postseason appearances in his first two years. But the Rockies only won a single game outside of the regular 162 and a collapse soon followed. Still, Black is not looked at as an issue in Denver. The talented group Black inherited was slowly gutted highlighted by the trade that sent Nolan Arenado to St. Louis. Injuries and letting the wrong pitchers walk have diminished a once-strong pitching staff to one of the worst in the National League. Last season the Rockies finally moved a bunch of veterans so that Black would play a crop of young players who have been interesting but not necessarily amazing. Without a highly-ranked farm system and not many pitching prospects on the horizon, the direction of the Rockies as a whole has been puzzling. So do the Rockies keep Black in place, does Buddy want to be in Denver? It’s worth a watch.