Colorado Rockies: A look at their first half report cards

Jun 15, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon (24) on deck in the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 15, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon (24) on deck in the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
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Jun 22, 2021; Seattle, Washington, USA; Colorado Rockies designated hitter Trevor Story (27) walks off the field after an at-bat during a game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. The Mariners won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 22, 2021; Seattle, Washington, USA; Colorado Rockies designated hitter Trevor Story (27) walks off the field after an at-bat during a game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. The Mariners won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports /

The Colorado Rockies have played 81 games and they are 34-47, meaning that they are on pace for a 68-94 season.

However, the story of their season has been their home/road splits. Here is their home and road records:

  • Home record: 28-16, .636 winning percentage
  • Road record: 6-31, .162 winning percentage

Since the Rockies have played five more home games than road games in the first half and the team will likely be trading some of their players away in the coming weeks, it stands to reason that they will be even worse in the second half of the season.

However, in the first half, the team’s report cards are very different between their play at home and on the road. So let’s dive in.

Colorado Rockies home offense: A-

At home, the Colorado Rockies are hitting .285/.344/.477 with a wRC+ of 94 (which is, honestly, very harsh).

For those slash line numbers, those are 1st, 5th, and 2nd among the 30 teams in home games. Their weighted On-Base Average (wOBA) is .351 at Coors (3rd-best) and their 20.2 strikeout rate is also second-best.

They could do slightly better, though, which is why we have them at an A- and not an A+ or A.

Colorado Rockies road offense: F

This is the main reason why the Rockies are so bad on the road. They are far and away the worst offense in baseball on the road and one of the worst in MLB history.

They are hitting .196/.270/.296 on the road with a wRC+ of 57. They strike out 27.2 percent of the time on the road too. For the slash line, all three are the worst in baseball and by a fairly wide margin. The wRC+ is the worst in baseball by a very wide margin (the next worse team is at 80) and the strikeout rate is 4th-worst.

Jun 19, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Austin Gomber (26) delivers a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers in the first inning at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 19, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Austin Gomber (26) delivers a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers in the first inning at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

Colorado Rockies home starting pitching: A-

At Coors Field, the Colorado Rockies starting pitching staff has an ERA of 3.45, which is the 10th-best home ERA for a team in baseball. Considering that Coors Field is a hitter-friendly park, that would make their stats look even better.

Austin Gomber has been phenomenal at Coors Field as, in his first five starts there, his ERA was 0.95.

The Rockies starters are in the top ten in nearly every other stat at home as well and if they aren’t in the top 10, they are in the top half.

Colorado Rockies road starting pitching: F

On the other hand, the Colorado Rockies have one of the worst starting pitching staffs in baseball when they are on the road. In comparison to every other MLB starting pitching staff on the road, the Rockies are 28th in ERA at 5.67. They are dead last in opponent batting average (.288), 26th in OBP (.344), and dead last in slugging percentage (.494).

They are in the bottom five in nearly every other stat as well.

Jun 28, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Daniel Bard (52) pitches in the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 28, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Daniel Bard (52) pitches in the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

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Colorado Rockies home bullpen: F

The Colorado Rockies bullpen has not had a good season overall. At one point, they looked as if they were pitching better (which, admittedly, wasn’t a high bar) but they have since regressed again.

Overall, at home, the Rockies bullpen has a team ERA of 5.32, which is 28th in baseball. The .270/.347/.480 slash line against them at home is 29th, 29th, and 30th among the 30 teams.

Colorado Rockies road bullpen: F

The Rockies road bullpen has been even worse than their home bullpen.

Their 5.50 road ERA is 29th in baseball and their .252/.362/.455 is very similar to their Coors numbers. Those numbers rank 24th, 30th, and 28th in baseball.

The bottom line with the bullpen is that with their nine-man bullpen, they haven’t had any more than three relievers be consistent at the same time and that’s being generous. It has mainly been one or two guys that have pitched consistent before they falter and then one or two others have a stretch of five or six appearances before they falter themselves.

Overall home rating: B+

The Colorado Rockies are equivalent to a 103 win team at Coors Field so this B+ rating may actually be a bit harsh but the bullpen knocks down their rating some.

Next. Five things that must happen in July for the Rockies. dark

Overall road rating: F

This comes as no surprise if you’ve read this far and/or if you have watched the Rockies on the road this year. A .162 winning percentage is equivalent to a 26-136 record for a full season so there’s really no other grade that you can give, unless you want to be even more harsh and create the F- grade for them.

If it existed, they would have that rating.

Overall rating: D+

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