The historically bad 2025 Colorado Rockies look very different than they did when the season began in a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
With this in mind, the staff at Purple Row felt it would be useful to revisit the “State of the Position” series that we run in March as a season preview.
We’ve also asked authors of the spring pieces to re-evaluate their earlier remarks with an eye toward the trade deadline.
★ ★ ★
What I said in March
The Rockies entered the 2025 season with an established starter for the second straight year in Brenton Doyle. Doyle had impressed fans and the front office in 2024 with a strong offensive leap forward as one of the league’s most improved hitters.
In 2024, Doyle hit .260/.317/.446 with a 20/20 season. That, combined with another fantastic defensive season in center field and his second straight career Gold Glove award to start his career, had the Rockies considering a long-term contract extension.
The outfield corners were less certain, but had potential incumbents. Nolan Jones was looking to rebound in left field after a difficult 2024 marred by injuries, poor performance, and personal matters. In right field, Jordan Beck hoped to make his mark after missing significant time in 2024 with a hand fracture that affected his timing for the rest of the season.
On the bench, the Rockies had the options of Sam Hilliard, Sean Bouchard, Greg Jones, and newcomers Kyle Farmer and Owen Miller. There was also the emergency option of putting Kris Bryant in a corner outfield spot if necessary, though ideally he would be first base and designated hitter only.
Where the Rockies are now
The Starters
The outfield has perhaps been the position group to undergo the most fluctuation since spring training.
Nolan Jones, the incumbent left fielder, is gone. He was traded to the Cleveland Guardians just before the season started for infielder and outfielder Tyler Freeman.
Once a top prospect for the Guardians as a second baseman, Freeman started playing center field in 2024 and had largely struggled in limited big league playing time. However, he had a strong showing during spring training.
Freeman made several appearances at second base for an injured Thairo Estrada before landing on the injured list himself with an oblique strain in early April. What happened when he returned has been surprising.
Freeman has been taking a significant number of reps in right field, a position he had played just once professionally prior to joining the Rockies organization. While his defense has been… an adventure at times, he has been serviceable enough.
Where the right-handed Freeman has been revelatory is at the plate. The 26-year-old has been one of the Rockies’ best hitters since returning from the Injured List, slashing .323/.404/.422 with an OPS of 125 and a team leading 124 wRC+ heading into the All-Star Break and had reached safely in 35 of his last 37 games. Freeman also held a 25-game on base streak heading into the final game of the first half.
Forming a two-headed monster in right field with Freeman is new arrival in the left-handed Mickey Moniak. The former 2016 first-overall pick was signed as a free agent as spring training drew to a close.
A year removed from his best professional season in 2023, the Rockies decided to take a chance on Moniak finding some of his top prospect pedigree, especially when he just turned 27 despite having six major league seasons under his belt.
After hitting just .216/.262/.392 through the end of May—although he hit five home runs, four doubles, and four triples—Moniak’s bat came roaring to life in June. In 25 games through the start of the All-Star break, Moniak is hitting .338/.393/.766 with eight home runs, five doubles, two triples, 19 RBI, and a perfect 4-for-4 with stolen bases.
Both Moniak and Freeman are potential “sell high” trade chips at the deadline, though it seems unlikely the Rockies will move them.
Jordan Beck has established himself as the starter in left field opposite Freeman and Moniak. After starting the season 3-for-20 with eight strikeouts and no extra-base hits, Beck was briefly optioned to the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes. Recalled 12 days later, he’s since been on the lineup card more often than not.
Beck is hitting a solid .264/.318/.444 with a 103 OPS+ and 99 wRC+ headed into the All-Star break. He’s tied for the team lead in doubles with 18 and is one of just five Rockies batters to have double-digit home runs. Beck has also cut down significantly on strikeouts from his rookie season, but still does so 27.9% of the time while his walk rate remains identical.
The downside is that Beck—relied upon to bring thump to the lineup—has been streaky at best when it comes to power, frequently going weeks at a time without a home run. However, the 24-year-old Beck has shown enough growth to be intrigued about his role during the Rockies’ rebuild.
The biggest surprise of the Rockies’ 2025 season so far has been the struggling Brenton Doyle. Rockies fans were excited to have their franchise center fielder heading into a rebuilding season, but Doyle has looked almost nothing like his former self so far.
Doyle started off the season red hot, hitting .321/.357/.547 with three doubles, three home runs, 12 RBI, and a stolen base through his first twelve games.
Then the trouble began.
A nagging quadriceps injury held him out of the lineup for almost a week. Then tragedy struck at home when he and his wife lost their expected baby due to a miscarriage. To say Doyle has been through a lot in his age-27 season would be an understatement.
Adding to Doyle’s difficult year are problems on the field. Since being activated from MLB’s bereavement list, Doyle is hitting just .177/.233/.276 over 70 games and 254 at-bats. He has a smattering of extra-base hits—nine doubles, two triples, and four home runs—but they are few and far between.
Doyle’s fielding has suffered as well. While he still makes the occasional stunning play, his fielding metrics have taken a hit compared to his last two seasons. His defensive runs saved (DRS) currently sits at -10, a full 20 runs fewer than his 2024 DRS. After posting 16 outs above average and a 15 fielding run value in 2024, those numbers respectively are at just 1 and 3 this season.
His struggles both offensively and defensively combine to make an unfortunate outcome. Brenton Doyle is the least valuable qualified player per Baseball Reference at -1.8, and the second least valuable player per FanGraphs at -0.8 as of the All-Star break.
Anyone watching knows that Doyle is a much better player than his numbers suggest — and they also indicate significant bad luck. Unfortunately, his struggles are enough to call into his question his future with the Rockies and the future of center field at Coors.
The Backups and Depth
The only depth or bench option from March still on the Rockies’ active roster is Kyle Farmer, who has not played ann inning in the outfield since Opening Day. He has instead made starts at all four infield positions and as a designated hitter. Sean Bouchard has spent most of his season in Triple-A, and Owen Miller was briefly on the big league roster as well before being designated for assignment in mid-May. Like Farmer, Miller also never recorded any time in the outfield.
Sam Hilliard has been designated for assignment twice. The first came at the end of spring training to make room for Mickey Moniak and the second came just a few weeks ago to call up rookie Yanquiel Fernández.
Greg Jones, acquired via a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays last off-season, was claimed off waivers by the Chicago White Sox during spring training but was eventually released. He is now with the Houston Astros on a minor league deal.
Nick Martini—whom the Rockies signed to a minor league deal during the off-season—made the Opening Day roster after a strong spring training showing. He made multiple starts in right field before being designated for assignment when second baseman Thairo Estrada was reinstated from the injured list. Martini hit .225/.288/.294 in 43 games with the Rockies and hit just one home run. He is now on a minor league deal with the Sacramento Athletics.
Kris Bryant—an “in case of emergency, break glass” option at the beginning of the season—had just 41 plate appearances before being shut down for the season with lumbar degenerative disc disease. He has likely played professional baseball for the last time.
Both Hilliard and Miller remain with the Rockies organization, playing for the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes and can be called into action again if needed.
With both Freeman and Moniak rotating in right field and as designated hitters as needed—and Moniak also being able to cycle into the other outfield positions—the Rockies really only have one “backup” or depth option on the active roster.
Twenty-two-year-old rookie Yanquiel Fernández (no. 7 PuRP) made his major league debut on July 2nd and has since appeared in 10 games. The Rockies have largely held Fernández to at-bats against right-handed pitching after he struggled somewhat against lefties this season with Triple-A Albuquerque.
Fernández has impressed in limited action so far. He’s 8-for-27 with two doubles and two RBIs since his debut and has struck out seven times. He’s not putting the ball in the air that much yet, but is showing patience at the plate and hustle on the bases.
The big-bodied Cuban slugger is a passable outfielder thanks to his powerful throwing arm and has largely played either in right field or as a designated hitter. However, he also played left field for the first time in his professional career in the final game of the first half.
On the Farm
Zac Veen (no. 4 PuRP) struggled in a cup of coffee with the Rockies, going just 4-for-34 with one home run in his first 12 big league games. He struck out at a 37.8% clip and had a difficult time against big league fastballs.
When he was optioned back to Triple-A, Veen couldn’t find his rhythm. In addition to his woes at the plate, he was also nursing a persistent ankle injury he had tried to play through since spring training. Veen was sent to the Arizona Complex League to rehab his ankle and work in the Rockies’ performance lab.
Since returning to Albuquerque, Veen has found his footing. In the 21 games leading into the All-Star break, Veen slashed .369/.426/.548 with four doubles, a triple, three home runs, and 15 RBIs. He has also walked nine times to his 16 strikeouts, stolen four bases, and at one point had a 14-game hitting streak.
Veen will very likely find his way back to the big league roster at some point after the All-Star break.
The only other prospect close to big league ready with the Isotopes is Sterlin Thompson (no. 15 PuRP). Thompson leads the Isotopes in both doubles and triples. He slashed .270/.367/.482 with nine home runs in the first half.
Braiden Ward was promoted from Double-A Hartford to Triple-A just before the break. The speedy left and center fielder is 7-for-17 since his promotion.
Most of the Rockies’ top outfield prospects are concentrated with the Double-A Hartford Yard Goats right now. Cole Carrigg (no. 10 PuRP) has turned in a respectable season so far and has since been joined by Jared Thomas (no. 14 PuRP) and Charlie Condon (no. 2 PuRP) after the pair were promoted from High-A Spokane. However, Condon is likely to begin dialing in as a first baseman for the foreseeable future.
Benny Montgomery (no. 16 PuRP) is still with the Yard Goats, but has once again dealt with injuries during the season and has struggled at the plate. He has also lost some of the speed that made him such an intriguing center field prospect, instead spending most of his time in either right field or as a designated hitter.
The only prospect of note below Double-A is Robert Calaz (no. 5 PuRP). Calaz missed time early with injury, but has since found his swing with ten doubles, two triples, and nine home runs with the Low-A Fresno Grizzlies. He can play all three outfield positions.
Closing Thoughts
The Rockies started the season with questions about their outfield, and those questions have only multiplied after the first half of the season.
No one on the big league roster—not even Brenton Doyle—has their future as a part of the Rockies’ outfield set in stone. As the youngest full-time outfielder, Jordan Beck may have the most leash. The current crop of prospects is also far from a sure thing at this point in time.
The outfield will be a key position group to watch both for the trade deadline and moving forward as the Rockies potentially begin what should be a much-needed rebuild.
★ ★ ★
Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!