5 reasons why the Colorado Rockies think they are playoff contenders

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 10: Kris Bryant #23 of the San Francisco Giants speaks with reporters in the dugout prior to a game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on September 10, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. Today’s game was Bryant’s first time back at Wrigley Field since he was traded by the Cubs. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images) /

Entering the 2022 season, the Colorado Rockies think they are playoff contenders. They believe it but their fanbase (by and large) does not believe it and the baseball world doesn’t believe it either. But signing Kris Bryant to a seven-year deal for $182 million (among other additions) shows that they want to win now.

Kris Bryant believes it and the other Rockies that have been with the team for years believe it as well.

Believe it or not, there are actually more than five reasons why the Rockies believe that they will be playoff contenders. However, we will boil it down to the top five reasons why the Colorado Rockies believe that they are playoff contenders.

Let’s dive in.

1) The Colorado Rockies have added. Other teams have taken a step back or haven’t improved

The Colorado Rockies have added some pieces but many of the other teams that should be contenders have subtracted a lot or done very little.

The Cincinnati Reds would have won the third NL Wild Card spot in 2021 but they have dismantled their team.

They’ve gotten rid of catcher Tucker Barnhart, third baseman Eugenio Suárez, left fielder Jesse Winker, right fielder Nick Castellanos, starter Wade Miley, starter Sonny Gray, and reliever Michael Lorenzen, (former Rockies reliever) Mychal Givens, Amir Garrett, and Sean Doolittle this offseason, with all but Barnhart and Miley leaving since the lockout ended last week.

The San Francisco Giants had Buster Posey retire and, offensively, they have only replaced him with Joc Pederson, a player with an OPS+ of 91 since 2020. They also lost Kevin Gausman but replaced him with Carlos Rodón and Alex Cobb.

The only thing that the San Diego Padres have done that is fairly big among their 26-man roster is add Luke Voit … but Fernando Tatis, Jr. will miss 2-3 months due to wrist surgery. In that same period that the Rockies went 55-53, the Padres went 45-64. The only way they’ve really gotten better is by making a huge upgrade at manager from Jayce Tingler to Bob Melvin.

The Rockies have added Bryant, José Iglesias (who they believe will be a very good defensive shortstop), Alex Colomé, Chad Kuhl, and maybe even others in the coming weeks.

Jul 2, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies first baseman C.J. Cron (25) hits an RBI double in the sixth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

2) The Colorado Rockies played above .500 for two-thirds of 2021

The Colorado Rockies had an awful record to start the 2021 season. They started out by going 19-34 in their first 53 games.

While they didn’t have a comeback like the 2019 Washington Nationals (who started the season by going 19-31 but ended up with a 93-69 record, en route to a World Series title), the Rockies played much better in the final two-thirds of the season.

In the final two-thirds of 2021, the Colorado Rockies went 55-53. That is equivalent to an 83-79 record. That would put them close to playoff territory.

This leads us to point number two …

3) There is another playoff spot in 2022

In 2021, there were only five playoff spots in the National League. The second NL Wild Card team was the St. Louis Cardinals, who won 90 games but if there was a third Wild Card team, the winner would have been the Cincinnati Reds.

Do you want to guess what their record was? 83-79, which is equivalent to the record the Rockies had in the final two-thirds of the season. So even if the Rockies play at that level for the season, they might not get into the playoffs but they would be playing meaningful games in the last week of the season.

It would also keep Kris Bryant’s quote alive when he said in his introductory press conference that he has not been on a losing team and doesn’t plan on doing it in 2022.

DENVER, CO – JULY 02: Justin Lawrence #61 of the Colorado Rockies reacts in the dugout after allowing the tying run with two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the ninth inning of a game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Coors Field on July 2, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

4) The Colorado Rockies think that they can’t be as bad as they were on the road

The Colorado Rockies were awful on the road in 2021. If it wasn’t for going 7-2 on their lone road trip in September, the Rockies would have been in the history books as one of the worst road teams in MLB history.

Even with that road trip where they hit .245 with an OPS of .772 and an average of 4.9 runs per game, the team only hit .217 on the road. That is the worst in a full season since the 1972 Chicago White Sox. They also had a sub .650 OPS, which is truly awful.

Overall, they went 26-54 on the road (remember: they only played in 161 games in 2021, with 80 on the road). Even if they go 41-40 on the road in 2022 (as they did in 2017), that’s an 89-73 team. In 2022, that’s a team that will almost certainly make the playoffs.

5) The Colorado Rockies bullpen is much better

The Achilles heel of the Colorado Rockies in 2021 was their bullpen. They had a staggering 30 blown saves. The all-time leaders in blown saves by a team in a single season is 34, which both the 2004 Rockies and 2021 Phillies.

From the beginning of the 2021 season through July 31, the Rockies had a bullpen ERA of 5.41, which was dead last in baseball. From August 1 through the end of the season, the Rockies bullpen had an ERA of 4.17, which was 16th in baseball.

That was due to nearly every Rockies reliever being better in that span but namely, Carlos Estévez, Lucas Gilbreath, Robert Stephenson, and Jhoulys Chacín.

Now, they have an established closer in Alex Colomé, who is also a big groundball pitcher, which is key for success at Coors Field.

The addition of Colomé also lengthens their bullpen and gives it some more depth, which was desperately needed.

dark. Next. 12 notable quotes from the Bryant presser

Later today, we’ll provide the counterpoint to this: 5 reasons why the Rockies are not playoff contenders.

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