Colorado Hypes a Bright Future Ahead at Rockies Fest 2025

Over the weekend, the Colorado Rockies held their fan fest event, where they spoke of a new era ahead with top prospects on the horizon.

Ezequiel Tovar
DENVER, CO - MAY 12: Ezequiel Tovar #14 of the Colorado Rockies hits a seventh inning RBI single in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Coors Field on May 12, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

The temperature was lower than anyone could have hoped in Denver for Rockies Fest 2025, but the comments coming from the Colorado Rockies front office and players alike were high on hopes.

There were smiles on the faces of fans throughout Coors Field through the bundled mess of scarves, knit cap and winter coats. Season ticket holders lined up at 8:30 a.m. to pick through $10 caps and shirts, $25 autographed baseballs from players of the past as well as various other pieces of memorabilia displayed at the ballpark. (Ever wanted to own a 50-foot Todd Helton banner?)

Between taking photographs with fans, signing autographs for those who bore the snowy conditions and Q&A sessions with players and prospects promoting an improved outlook for the upcoming seasons, there were conversations with the local press during a media availability.

What does Colorado think about the fate of the franchise, the power of their farm system depth and those never-fading Los Angeles Dodgers? Plus, how much does success in 2025 require Kris Bryant to be healthy for the first time in his tenure with the Rockies? 

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Charlie’s Back, Man

Less than four months after Charlie Blackmon stepped aside from the game following a career spent entirely with the organization, it was announced that the 14-year-veteran was coming back as a special assistant to the general manager.

“I don’t think you can be a player at this level with the amount of competitiveness you need to have to be successful in the big leagues, and then just turn baseball off,” a newly coifed Blackmon said. “I can’t do that. So I was going to be around it, whether I was buying a ticket or or watching on TV or whatever it may be. I’m glad it’s in an official capacity around the organization.”

Blackmon still plans to be around his family more than ever during the season as his position won’t be in a full-time capacity. Instead, it will be a little bit of everything. However, it won’t in the Rockies dugout in the same way as another special assistant, Vinny Castilla. 

“We’ve talked about going out to scout — which is a passion for Charlie — around Georgia, Atlanta. Maybe coming to the draft, instructional leagues. Player development,” GM Bill Schmidt said. “The first year out there (is) trying to figure out their life.”

Retirement has been good to him so far, even though the optics seem to be the same as when he was a rookie. Blackmon still showed up to the team’s fan fest and still has plans to be in Scottsdale next month for the start of Spring Training. He went skiing for the first time in his life at 38 years old, dropped what appeared to be 10-15 pounds and got rid of his trademark mullet.

The beard, however, is still here.

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Filling The Void

If beginning your season in a minor league ballpark won’t be odd enough for the Rockies when they play the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field on March 28, it will be the first Opening Day in the 33-year history of the club to not feature either Andrés Galarraga, Todd Helton or Blackmon.

The loss of Chuck Nazty leaves a major leadership void in the clubhouse. Ryan McMahon enters his ninth season with Colorado and is the last position player to appear on the club’s last postseason roster from 2018. He’s an obvious choice to take up the mantle, but two others could also emerge as options from this young group, according to McMahon: Brenton Doyle and Ezequiel Tovar.

Doyle was drastically better at the plate in year-two than in his 2023 rookie season. Both times he won the Rawlings’ Gold Glove Award. Since Bud Black plans on using the 26-year-old as his leadoff hitter, there’s a decent chance the centerfielder leads by example in the same way as Blackmon.

“Growing up, I was a lead by example kind of guy. And I think losing Charlie, a lot of the guys like myself need to be a little bit more vocal, especially asserting leadership in the clubhouse,” Doyle said. “That’s kind of my goal. I’m just going to go out there and play as hard as I can, and everything else will work itself out.”

Tovar is fresh off a 2024 that saw him become the youngest shortstop in NL history to win a Gold Glove. It might seem strange for a 23-year-old to claim the captaincy, but a trip to the Midsummer Classic in Atlanta could change all of that.

“Every player wishes to get on that All-Star team, to have that goal. As a player, you always want to have high expectations, not only the All-Star Game, but to win a World Series,” Tovar said through team interpreter Edwin Pérez. “That’s the kind of thing that’s going to be on the table and that’s one of the few things I want to achieve.”

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Over Rotation

Having five veteran starting pitchers is not something Colorado has had for quite some time. The last time they had such depth was in 2021 when they went 74-87 (.460), their best season since 2018.

Germán Márquez and Antonio Senzatela are finally in good health following Tommy John surgery in 2023. The last time they both took the ball every five days was 2021 when the pair combined for 60 starts and 3.3 bWAR.

Ryan Feltner, who emerged last season, recognizes their return as something that goes beyond the box score for the rest of a starting staff.

“I think that’s something that will serve everybody well. It’s almost like an unspoken, ‘Hey, this is the direction we’re going.’ Everybody’s on the same wavelength when you have guys like that in rotation, so it’s definitely gonna be nice,” Feltner said.

“Everybody’s gonna be pushing each other and we’ve got some really good arms. I think that’s just a super healthy environment.”

For Márquez, he’s months away from reaching free agency for the first time. The 29-year-old may already be the franchise record holder for most strikeouts, but there could still be a lot of good baseball left ahead of him depending on what happens in 2025.

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“He’s healthy. He’s throwing. He’ll be in Arizona here shortly. He feels good. He’s confident. This is a big year for him,” Black said. “Germán coming back from injury and maybe not having the go that (he’s) had a few years ago, is motivating for the player. Germán is in that situation.”

Has The Sparkle Gone Out?

After an offseason where the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers added multiple Cy Young Award and Most Valuable Player winners to their roster, it might be easy to forget that Colorado has one of their own.

Kris Bryant, hampered by various injuries throughout his first three years in Denver and limited to only 159 games, is still considered a critical piece for a turnaround.

“He’s extremely frustrated with how it’s gone. And I expect a lot more from him this year. I think he expects a lot from himself,” McMahon said. “But for us to be good, we needa healthy KB.”

Schmidt’s thoughts sounded like a parent discussing his child when speaking about Bryant. Not mad at, just disappointed.

“It’s health, right? That’s something you can’t control. If it was performance and he’s struggling mechanically, then I think you get frustrated,” Schmidt said of his investment.

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“He still has the tools. We just got to find a way to keep him on the field of play because I think he can still be a productive player for us.”

This offseason has held a spotlight to the financial disparity in the sport with the Dodgers handing out large contracts to multiple superstars and deferring over $1 billion.

For a club like the Rockies, who’s highest paid player has been worth -1.3 bWAR since signing a $182 million deal, allocating resources wisely becomes even more important when you can’t spend your way out of a bad situation.

“I love facing them because they have all the guys,” Feltner said. “ I play baseball because I want to see how good I can be. And I think if you embrace that as an opportunity to match up against some of the best, then you can thrive in those scenarios. So, I look forward to those games.”

The front office preferred to roll out the “that’s why you play the games” line. Though they’ve had a winning record against the Dodgers only once in the last 11 seasons, Los Angeles has never swept Colorado in a season series.

The Rockies may currently have their worst two-year record (6-20, .231) against the Dodgers in team history, but there are some wins there. So, maybe the old adage is true: any team can beat any team on any given day.

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“Way back when I worked for the Yankees, George (Steinbrenner) did things. So it’s been part of the game,” Schmidt said of L.A.’s spending. “You just have to worry about your house and doing the best you can with what you have. That’s for some other people to talk about the competitive balance in the future of the game here. Is it realistic to compete against that? Sure.”

Them Prospects Though

Colorado continues to bang the drum that help is on the way in terms of the farm system. While this has been the sentiment for the last several years, it appears the crossroad of Albuquerque and Denver are finally intersecting. 

Only six players on the 40-man roster are at least 30 years old and developed by another organization. There are 22 with less than two years of service time, 16 of whom have yet to spend a full year in the Majors.

With multiple top 30 prospects ticketed for Double-A Hartford and Triple-A Albuquerque, now is the time to see if the hype is real.

“I don’t think their learning curve is going to take a long time when they get here,” McMahon said.

“You guys have probably heard a lot about Chase Dollander. The kid’s makeup is insane. I just went to a leadership camp hearing the words come out of his mouth, it just feels genuine. It feels like he’s about what he talks about.”

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Last year’s top draft pick Charlie Condon won’t receive a big league invite, but he could end up moving quickly through the system after being named the best college hitter in 2024.

The 21-year-old may have struggled in his first taste of pro ball, but Schmidt revealed a thumb injury was at the center of the poor performance.

“He kind of didn’t tell us he had bruised his thumb, so he played through it,” Schmidt said. “Charlie’s talented. I’m looking forward to his season, and we’ll see wherever we start. Hopefully, that’s not where he’s finishing.”

Despite all that inexperience on the roster, there’s more depth than normal for a franchise aiming to avoid becoming the first team to lose 100 games in three consecutive seasons since the Houston Astros tanked from 2011-2013.

There will be camp battles in the bullpen and behind the plate. Minor league deals for OF Nick Martini and INF Keston Hiura were made to create further competition, according to Schmidt. The possibility to add a few more free agent signings in hopes of generating more heat around their club was even expressed.

“Having a tough year, you only build on it and kind of learn through your mistakes or whatever,” Doyle said. “But we have such a close knit group of guys that really play for one another, and I think that’s really going to benefit us.”

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