Colorado Rockies: 5 storylines that will make or break the 2022 season

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SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA – MARCH 29: Kris Bryant #23 of the Colorado Rockies prepares for a spring training game against the Los Angeles Angels at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on March 29, 2022 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /

The Colorado Rockies are a team that could be one of the more intriguing teams in the sport in 2022. Most people nationally believe that the Rockies will be a team in the high 60s or low 70s win area but many fans and people who cover the team (like us here at Rox Pile) believe that they will be better than that.

But for them to be that team they will have to have health, some things break their way, and some additions at the trade deadline to be in contention at the end of the season.

But on this Opening Day, there are five storylines that will determine their 2022 season.

Will Kris Bryant be the bat that the Colorado Rockies so desperately need?

The Colorado Rockies signed Kris Bryant to, essentially, replace Trevor Story in their lineup. He had an OPS+ of 124 in 2021 and an OPS+ of 132 in 2019. If he can replicate those numbers (especially the 2019 numbers), he will be their best bat (or one of their best bats).

However, they really want/need the production he had in 2016 when he won the NL MVP (39 homers, 102 RBI, 146 OPS+).

Can he produce at that level, especially going in and out of altitude?

Will Ryan McMahon step up at the plate?

We already know that Ryan McMahon is one of the best defenders in the sport, if not the best. But now that he will almost exclusively be playing third base, will be able to step up his game offensively?

His problem has been that has had a high groundball rate in recent years so if he can decrease that, his home run total will definitely increase from 23 (24 in 2019) to the low- to mid-30s and his RBI total will jump up from the mid-80s too. The Rockies need another 30+ homer, 90+ RBI bat.

Apr 23, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher German Marquez (48) walks off the mound in the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

Can the Rockies starting rotation stay healthy?

In 2019 and 2021, the Colorado Rockies were not a good baseball team. The strengths in their last two full seasons have been their starting rotation. But of their starters, how many seasons have they had 30+ starts? One. That’s it. One. That came with Germán Márquez in 2021 with his 32 starts. He faltered down the stretch too (a 6.12 ERA after the All-Star break).

They need to get 120-130 starts from Márquez, Kyle Freeland, Antonio Senzatela, and Austin Gomber. They don’t have the depth right now to weather an injury to one of them, let alone two or three.

Perhaps, Chad Kuhl will step up or Peter Lambert or Ryan Rolison will step after they are healthy again and off the IL. However, if they are in contention, the rotation might be something that they should look at addressing before the trade deadline.

Will the Rockies bullpen be serviceable?

From the start of the season through July 31, the Rockies bullpen had an ERA of 5.40, which was dead last in baseball.

From August 1 through the end of the season, they had an ERA of 4.17, which was 17th. It’s part of the reason why the Rockies went .500 in that span (28-28). Ideally, they will be even better than that in both areas but it’s a step in the right direction.

Alex Colomé should help with this at the end of the bullpen but they need a lot of their guys to pitch well, as they did at the end of the season.

DENVER – OCTOBER 15: Fans of the Colorado Rockies spell out “Rocktober” in signs during Game Four of the National League Championship Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors Field on October 15, 2007 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Can they take advantage of a weak schedule to start the season?

The Colorado Rockies will play 104 games before they play their doubleheader against the San Diego Padres on August 2, which is the date of the trade deadline in 2022.

41 of those games will be against teams that had a worse record than them in 2021. They will also face the Reds three times (they won 83 games but regressed a lot this offseason), Cleveland three times, and the Padres 11 times as well. That is 58 games, or 56 percent of their games, against teams that they *should* be able to win some series against.

Before the trade deadline, the Rockies also only face the Dodgers for one series at Dodger Stadium. The final time the Dodgers come to Coors is in July.

If they can play to a .500 record, then the Rockies will almost certainly be buyers at the trade deadline. It *should* be realistic but the Rockies have played poorly to start seasons in each of the last two full seasons (19-34 start in their first 53 games in 2021 and 20-25 in their first 45 games in 2019).

Next. The 3 players the Rockies should extend next. dark

There will be plenty of other storylines throughout the season but these five storylines will determine whether or not they still are a bad team stuck in the middle, if there’s light at the end of the tunnel, or if they are the “snake in the grass” that will “shock the world” as they proclaimed that they would in 2021.

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