Colorado Rockies: The best and worst at the season’s midway point

The surprises

OK, maybe you knew that Colorado had some pretty decent rookie pitching, but did you really foresee the impact that Kyle Freeland, Antonio Senzatela, Jeff Hoffman and German Marquez would have on the season?

More from Colorado Rockies News

• A Colorado Rockies Thanksgiving
• Colorado Rockies: Charlie Blackmon out for the season
• Colorado Rockies: Injuries shift look of roster ahead of Dodgers series
• Colorado Rockies: 3 things we appreciated from Tuesday in San Francisco
• What Bill Schmidt’s comments mean for the Colorado Rockies in 2023

According to Elias, with Freeland’s eight wins and Antonio Senzatela’s nine wins, Colorado became the first team in 80 years to have two rookie pitchers with at least eight wins in the team’s first 75 games of a season. Hoffman is 4-1 in seven starts and gave the Rockies every chance to break free of their six-game losing streak on Tuesday night.

We tipped the cap to Holland earlier, but what a season he is putting together. Making a statement after returning from Tommy John surgery, Holland’s Major League-leading 25 saves in 26 chances and a 1.53 ERA is making a lot of teams wonder why they didn’t take a chance on him in the offseason like the Rockies did.

How about the season Mark Reynolds is having? Signed to a minor league contract by the Rockies after being released by the team in the offseason, Reynolds has played like an All-Star in the season’s first half. He got his chance to make the Opening Day roster when Desmond went down with his injury in spring training and Reynolds has made it virtually impossible to remove him out of the lineup. Heading into Wednesday’s matinee, Reynolds paced the Rockies in homers (19) and RBI (60) and was hitting at a .300 clip.

Next: Your complete Nolan Arenado gift guide

What’s been the best or worst moment of the first 81 games for you? Let us know below.