New Year’s Resolutions for these Colorado Rockies

Oh, like you didn’t know one of these articles was coming for the Colorado Rockies.

Next year (2022) is knocking on the door and that means we need to come up with resolutions that we’ll start for a month and then lose interest in shortly after. But that’s us, not professional ballplayers who will most certainly apply more focus to their resolutions than we will. And while we’re currently in the middle of a lockout, we’re hoping these players stay locked in to these resolutions I will be suggesting for them (which I know they will read and take extremely seriously).

So let’s get these Colorado Rockies New Year’s Resolutions churning and burning and ready to go!

Raimel Tapia: Hit the ball in the air more

I wrote about this previously but Tapia could become a significantly more productive hitter if he was able to lift the ball in the air more. As the owner of the highest single-season ground ball percentage over the past 20 years (67.4%) and the lowest launch angle since Statcast started recording it in 2015 (-4.4 degrees), there’s literally nowhere to go but up (Launch Angle joke: Check).

In 2021, he had a wRC+ of 27 on ground balls and a wRC+ of 104 on fly balls. Quite simply, the more productive hit is in the air. And when he does it’s usually a great result, especially when facing guys like Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer (both of whom he hit homers off of this season). Given his launch angle, if he just gets a bit more under balls and turns more grounders into line drives then he’ll have even more success (316 wRC+ on line drives in 2021). So let’s try to get some air under it Raimel and watch your productivity soar!

Colorado Rockies Front Office: Indulge in analytics

You’re going to be shocked, but the Rockies have largely not been all that invested in the analytical side of baseball that almost every other franchise has started to embrace. It’s hampered the team over the past few seasons (Laundry joke: check) but there may be some hope that they’re finally starting to take them into consideration more with a few hires this season. After all, analytics have been rumored to be the reason that guys like CJ Cron ended up on their radar.

Should the Rockies embrace analytics and improve their team by doing so, maybe I’ll be a little less hesitant to consider the over on their wins next year (which are currently listed at 71.0 on WynnBET).

Connor Joe: Prove 2021 wasn’t a fluke

One of the best stories for the Rockies last season, Connor Joe was a delight when he was on the field. He posted an impressive 116 wRC+ (fueled by an even more impressive 12.3% BB%) and accumulated 1.4 fWAR in just 63 games. In a full season’s worth of games he’d be at least a 3 fWAR player, which would have made him the Rockies’ second-best position player this year behind Trevor Story (3.5) and Ryan McMahon (2.5).

But early success doesn’t always mean it will repeat the next year. After the clear impact he made in 2021, teams will be on the lookout for him in 2022. He’s going to need to make the proper adjustments because the league will be adjusting to him. How will he react?

With only eight career games in the majors before 2021, Connor Joe is essentially still beginning his major league career at age 29. Maybe the league adjusting to him won’t be that big of an issue given that maturity, but it’s easier said than done. Can he keep his K% below 20%? Will his BB% stay at that impressive level above 10%? Anything to prove that 2021 wasn’t just a flash in the pan and that he actually has the skills to be a consistent Major League start will be great to see and I’m hoping Joe proves he can make an impact on this team for years to come.

Brendan Rodgers: Hit at home like it’s the road

Rockies players are all too often judged by their home/road splits but you’d be hard-pressed to find another Rockies player with the splits that Brendan Rodgers does. In 2021, he hit for a solid 100 wRC+. But he got there by hitting for just a 68 wRC+ at Coors. Now his 131 wRC+ on the road is more than impressive (and we want that to stay the same), but hey, this lineup is about to be without Trevor Story and needs some more power to instill some fear in opposing pitchers.

Rodgers approached the road like many would’ve expected him to by having better power numbers on the road with a fairly similar batting average. If he just takes whatever mentality he had on the road and applies it to home games more often then he becomes an even more formidable hitter. This lineup will need him more and him being better at home may be able to help the Rockies steal a couple more wins.

So there’s our New Year’s resolutions. Let’s hope the players (and front office) read this and take my suggestions very, very seriously. That way we can all have a New Year’s Rockies Eve (stop booing).