3 strengths of the Colorado Rockies at the 25 percent mark of 2022

The Colorado Rockies have played just over one-quarter of the 2022 season as they were 20-22 entering play on Wednesday. They started out great (10-5 in their first 15 games and 16-11 in their first 27 games) but they have scuffled as of late, losing 11 of their last 15 games.

Entering the second quarter of the season, the Rockies are in last place in the toughest division in the sport but there have been some strengths, particularly with individual players.

1) C.J. Cron has been one of the best bats in baseball to start the season

In the words of Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black on Tuesday in Pittsburgh, C.J. Cron “is having a monster start here” to start the season.

Entering play on Wednesday, Cron was hitting .311/.356/.585 with an OPS+ of 152. He also had 11 homers and 32 RBI, which is second and fourth in the NL.

Defensively, he has been great too as he has 2 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), which is third-best on the team. In total, his rWAR was 1.8, which was nearly double that of anyone else on the team (Connor Joe was second at 1.0).

2) The back end of the bullpen

Daniel Bard and Tyler Kinley have been excellent for the Colorado Rockies to start the season. Bard is currently third in the NL in saves with 10.

Bard has a 3.31 ERA in 16 appearances with a 3.37 FIP (suggesting that his results have been very true), a 142 ERA+, and a 1.041 WHIP. He’s also averaging 12.7 strikeouts per nine innings, which is the highest in his career, and he’s averaging 3.3 walks per nine innings, which is his lowest average since he has joined the Rockies.

For Kinley, he has made 18 appearances on the season (16 1/3 innings) and allowed just two earned runs for an ERA of 1.10. He has had some good luck but, as his 2.02 FIP shows, he has still been very good. He also has a career-low walk rate of just 2.8 per nine innings.

Manager Bud Black told Rox Pile that Kinley’s “fastball command” and that fewer big misses in location have been the two of the big keys for Kinley’s success.

3) José Iglesias and Yonathan Daza getting on base

José Iglesias and Yonathan Daza have been getting on base a lot for the Colorado Rockies. For Iglesias, he has been (by far) their best hitter on the road. Entering Wednesday’s game, his OPS on the road was .954, which is 192 points higher than any other Rockies player. His road average was .410, which was 102 points higher than anyone else on the team on the road.

Overall, he entered Wednesday hitting .311/.369/.387 with an OPS+ of 107.

The person with the second-highest batting on the road is Yonathan Daza, who has recently gotten the bulk of the playing time in center field. In 89 plate appearances, Daza has hit .350/.404/.400 with an OPS+ of 121.

The problem has been that with Daza and Iglesias getting on base, they have often been stranded lately, especially on the road, when Daza and Iglesias are getting on base more.

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