Top 50 Colorado Rockies
Denver had been established long before as a major city worthy of being the center of Rocky Mountain area for some time in every major category, sports of course included. As such it was a long-desired place for MLB expansion and in 1993 it finally happened bringing Denver to the “4” club, in that they house a franchise from all major North American sports leagues.With its thin air, Colorado became the home of inflated offense, but exciting baseball. This has since been corrected through the use of humidors however the ’90s saw players routinely have higher averages at Coors Field than they would anywhere else.
Despite the talented hitters that have graced the Colorado Rockies over the years, they have not been able to say the same in terms of Pitchers and they have only been in the playoffs three times. One of those playoffs, was a World Series loss in 2007.
This list is up to the end of the 2023 Season.
Note: Baseball lists are based on an amalgamation of tenure, traditional statistics, advanced statistics, playoff statistics, and post-season accolades.
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Kevin Ritz had a 17 Win season for the Colorado Rockies in 1996. That year, he also led the National League in Earned Runs allowed. Those facts aside, this is still a pitcher who the year before finished 8th in bWAR for Pitchers and was a starter for Colorado for four-plus seasons.
Used as a starting pitcher for the first six years of his career with the Philadelphia Phillies, Bruce Ruffin came out of the bullpen for the last five years of his career, which was spent with the Rockies. Ruffin would have varying roles for Colorado and would be used as a closer, securing 60 Saves for Colorado.
A Starting Pitcher throughout his career, Armando Reynoso was with Colorado for four seasons, coinciding with the first four years of the franchise's existence. His best season was his first, where he went 12 and 11 with 117 Strikeouts. Reynoso would win 30 Games for the Rockies.
From Venezuela, Antonio Senzatela signed with the Colorado Rockies as an amateur Free Agent in 2011, and he would make the Rockies roster in 2017, pitching in 36 Games and posting a 10-5 record with 102 Strikeouts. Senzatela bounced from the starting rotation to the bullpen in 2018, and while he was a permanent starter in 2019, with an 11-11 record, his 6.71 ERA and 1.748 WHIP were abysmal. In the COVID-ravaged 2020 season, Senzatela led the Rockies in bWAR (2.8) and went 5-3, though he regressed in 2021, and his 2022 was not special, though that was better tha 2023,…
John Thomson was never going to be confused with an ace, but he did start 101 Games for the Colorado Rockies, a testament to his usefulness to the organization. As of this writing only eight pitchers in franchise history have started more.
The last really good season of Michael Cuddyer’s career was with the Colorado Rockies in 2013, the second of three seasons he would play for the team. That year, he was an All Star, a Silver Slugger and won his lone Batting Title. Cuddyer’s numbers wit Colorado saw him post a respectable Slash Line of .307/.362/.525.
“Starvin” Marvin Freeman bounced between starting and relief pitching in the majors, but in the strike-shortened season of 1994, he would have his best season by a substantial margin. The then member of the Colorado Rockies finished 4th in Cy Young voting, going 10 and 2 with a 2.80 ERA and a 4.5 bWAR. That 1994 season, which may have been a fluke, nevertheless catapulted him on this list.
Manny Corpas was with the Rockies for six of his seven seasons in MLB, all of which were used out of the bullpen. As a member of the Rockies, Corpas would have 34 Saves and finished 121 Games. His 2007 season would see him post a 1.064 WHIP with 19 Saves and in their playoff run that year he allowed only one run over 10.1 Innings with 1 Win, 5 Saves and a 0.581 WHIP.
A journeyman pitcher over his thirteen seasons in MLB, Darren Holmes’ most enduring stint was with the Colorado Rockies. It was in Denver where he had his only run as a closer where he would have a 25 Save season in 1993. Overall, he would accrue 46 Saves with the Rockies, finished 129 Games and had 263 Appearances.
Juan Pierre would achieve greater fame with the Florida Marlins, where in 2003, his first season there he would win the World Series, however prior to that he began his career playing for Colorado in his first three seasons in Major League Baseball. Pierre would smack 202 Hits with a .327 Batting Average and led the NL in Stolen Bases. He would have 100 swipes and 343 Hits with the Rockies, good numbers for the amount of time he played there.
Scott Oberg has thrown 259 Games in the Majors, all of which for Colorado. He has not started any of them, as he been used in middle relief for his entire career, and has a nice record of 18-8 with 7 Saves. His crowning achievement thus far is being the winning pitcher in the 2018 National League Wild Card Game.
C.J. Cron was an average player (at best) for years, first making the Majors with the Angels in 2014, but faltering by 2020 with Detroit, where they had no problem letting him go. Cron was signed to a Minor League deal by the Rockies to little fanfare, and most people in the Mile High City likely didn’t notice. That would eventually change. Cron won the starting job at First for the Rockies in 2021, showing his usual power (28 Home Runs) but batting .281, his highest to date. He got off to a great start in 2022, earning his first trip to the…