The first half in Colorado came with a simple truth: the Rockies did not just get judged by the standings, they got measured player by player. And in that evaluation, three names stood out for very different reasons - Hunter Goodman as the club’s most valuable bat, TJ Rumfield as the biggest surprise, and Ezequiel Tovar as the biggest disappointment.
Goodman has given the Rockies exactly what an All-Star selection is supposed to mean. He entered Sunday hitting .251/.321/.532 with 27 home runs, 51 RBI and an .853 OPS, numbers that put him among the most dangerous power hitters on the roster and, frankly, among the most dangerous offensive catchers in baseball.
That matters even more because of where he plays. Power is always loud, but when it comes from behind the plate, it carries extra weight.
Still, the profile comes with a clear next step. Statcast had Goodman sitting at a 32.6% strikeout rate and a 40.6% chase rate entering Sunday, both near the bottom of the league percentile-wise.
The pop is real and obvious. The question now is whether he can tighten up the swing decisions enough to force pitchers into the strike zone more often.
If Goodman has been the most important Rockie, Rumfield has been the season’s most pleasant shock. What started as a depth addition has turned into one of the better rookie stories in the National League. Entering Sunday, he was slashing .302/.384/.485 with 13 home runs, 51 RBI and an .869 OPS, production that far outpaced any reasonable expectation.
He’s also been rolling lately. Over his last 30 games, Rumfield hit .360/.437/.586, which makes it clear this has gone well beyond a brief hot streak. His latest outing only added to the case: a 4-for-5 day with a two-run homer and four RBI against the Cincinnati Reds, a performance that helped Colorado snap a three-game losing streak.
What makes the breakout stand out is the control. For a rookie with real power, a 14.6% strikeout rate is a rare blend, and it’s helped him carve out a role as a first-base option for Colorado. He’s also already made a little franchise history, becoming the first Rockies rookie to win Rookie of the Month twice after taking the honor in May and June.
Tovar’s case is the hardest one to swallow because the expectations were so much higher. After a rough 2024 season, he was supposed to rebound.
Instead, the bat has slipped even further. FanGraphs gave him a 41 wRC+, and he entered the second half hitting below the Mendoza Line.
The numbers underneath the surface don’t offer much comfort either. Statcast had him near the bottom of the league percentile-wise in chase rate, squared-up percentage and expected weighted on-base average, or xwOBA.
That points to more than bad luck. The problem looks tied to swing decisions and contact quality.
That said, the door is not closed on Tovar. He is still young, and his defense gives him a way to stay relevant. But if the offense does not pick up, Colorado will have a hard time justifying an everyday role for a bat that has been a complete negative.
In Other News...
Hunter Goodman Just Entered Rare Rockies Territory At The Worst Time
Hunter Goodmans power surge has put him in some rare Rockies company at a time when the club is still sorting through its long-term picture. On July 19, he launched three home runs to push his season total to 30, giving him consecutive 30-plus homer seasons and putting him alongside the kind of middle-of-the-order production Colorado has not seen often in recent years.
For a franchise that has spent plenty of time searching for reliable bats, that kind of production naturally draws attention beyond Denver. Goodmans name is already surfacing in trade chatter with the deadline approaching, and the tension now is whether the Rockies treat a breakout like this as a building block or as one of the more valuable chips on the market. [Read more 🡒]
T.J. Rumfield Is Forcing His Way Into Rockies Rookie History
Colorado has seen a few rookie seasons that still stand out in franchise memory, from Andres Galarraga announcing himself as a force to Jason Jennings winning National League Rookie of the Year in 2002. Troy Tulowitzkis debut also belongs in that conversation, even if the award went elsewhere in 2007, because the shortstops impact was immediate and lasting enough to become part of the Rockies standard for what a first-year player can mean.
T.J. Rumfield is now pushing into that same discussion as the Rockies first baseman makes a case for NL Rookie of the Year and puts himself in position to join a select group of Colorado newcomers. What makes the stretch especially interesting is the historical weight behind it, since Rumfield could accomplish something the Rockies have not done in 24 years, with the race itself still carrying a familiar layer of competition. [Read more 🡒]
Another Rockies Loss Wasted Hunter Goodman's Monster Night
A night that should have belonged to Hunter Goodman instead turned into another frustrating loss for the Rockies, who fell 9-6 to the Reds in Denver. Cincinnati jumped on Ryan Feltner early and never really let Colorado fully recover, with Tyler Stephenson and Nathaniel Lowe supplying the kind of power that put the visitors in control before the game had settled in.
Goodman kept the home crowd engaged with a huge performance of his own, but the Rockies could not turn it into a win and dropped the rubber match. Colorado has now lost four of its last five, while the Reds continue to have the upper hand in this matchup, leaving the Rockies with another reminder that one big night at the plate is not enough when the other side answers even louder. [Read more 🡒]