Colorado Rockies: 3 positives heading into the All-Star break

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The Colorado Rockies enter Sunday’s series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 43-49 mark and 18.0 games behind the National League West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.

On the surface, there’s not a lot to like about those numbers. However, if you dig a little deeper, the Colorado Rockies are entering the All-Star break with a bit of momentum and hope about what the second half of the season might bring.

Some of that hope rides on the fact that the Rockies are just six games out of the final NL Wild Card slot plus, by securing series wins in their last three series, they have separated themselves from the Arizona Diamondbacks and the division cellar.

Here are three positives the Colorado Rockies can look to for hope as the All-Star break looms

First, the roster addition of starting pitcher José Ureña has been a boost

In his three starts with the Rockies so far this season, the 30-year-old right-hander has posted a 1.45 ERA in 18.2 innings of work. That includes six shutout innings at Coors Field on Saturday against the Pirates as the Rockies went on to post a 2-0 win.

Ureña came to the Rockies after being designated for assignment by the Milwaukee Brewers in early May. He only pitched out of the bullpen for the Brewers in four games earlier this season and was stretched back out to have enough of a pitch count to be a starter (something he did for seven seasons with the Miami Marlins and Detroit Tigers) once acquired by the Rockies.

“It was a little tough because you feel like you wasted a little bit of time,” Ureña said after Saturday’s win, referring to his time getting stretched out in the minors before getting called up by the Rockies. “But you have to keep your mind right and do the best you can when you get the opportunity.”

That opportunity has come with the Rockies and Urena is making the most of it. His next start is scheduled for Saturday … in Milwaukee against the Brewers.

DENVER, COLORADO – JULY 16: Kris Bryant #23 of the Colorado Rockies hits a RBI single against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fifth inning at Coors Field on July 16, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Second, Kris Bryant is making a difference

Heading into Sunday, the Rockies have played 92 games, so they are well past the halfway point of the season. Kris Bryant, the player that manager Bud Black has repeatedly said is an integral part of the lineup this season, has seen action in just 32 of them. Dealing with back issues for most of the first three months of his time in a Rockies uniform, Bryant watched from the sidelines as Colorado struggled.

However, since coming back from the injured list on June 27, Bryant has shown exactly what he can do for the Rockies at the plate, slashing .356/.415/.627 with eight extra-base hits (including four home runs) and eight RBI. As our writer @SABRSkeptic pointed out on Twitter, Bryant’s impact on the team, on and off the field, can’t be overlooked.

A stat that means both something and nothing at the same time:

When Kris Bryant plays in a game, the Rockies are 17-14

When Kris Bryant doesn't play, the Rockies are 25-35
— Kevin (Prime Time Fanatic) (@_Kevlar23_) July 16, 2022

“He’s arguably, when he’s right, our best offensive player,” Colorado manager Bud Black said. “When you go through every team and identify that guy, then take him out, what does that lineup look like? When you put him back in, what’s that look like?”

That’s exactly what Colorado is asking heading into the rest of the schedule. Bryant won’t be participating in the All-Star Game, so he’ll head to Milwaukee fresh and healthy for a four-game series against the Brewers where the Rockies have the opportunity to continue their recent momentum.

Jun 21, 2022; Miami, Florida, USA; Colorado Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon (24) throws out Miami Marlins first baseman Garrett Cooper (not pictured) to end the 3rd inning at loanDepot park. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /

Third, Colorado’s defense has shored up

Third baseman Ryan McMahon is the poster boy for just how the Rockies struggled so mightily in the field with their defense during the first two months of the season, but have turned things around in a big way as of late.

Overall this season, McMahon has 12 errors, tied for the second-most in all of baseball. It’s part of a team total of 59, which is the third-highest for any MLB team. McMahon had four errors while the team logged seven miscues in a four-game road sweep at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies in late April.

However, take a look at the last few weeks and you will see how Colorado has morphed into a much better defensive squad.

Since a three-error game in Miami on June 21, the Rockies have just two errors in their last 24 games. That’s the fewest in MLB and also includes a 12-game errorless streak from June 25 through July 7, a stretch that tied for the second-longest streak of clean baseball in franchise history.

And McMahon? He has just four errors since May 17 while manning the hot corner, showing whatever was off early in the season has been corrected.

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With one positive in each part of the game to build upon heading into the break, Black and the Rockies are optimistic about what is to come.

“We have to keep going, there’s a lot of baseball left,” Black said. “We have to hit, we have to pitch, we have to play defense. Right now, over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been doing that.”

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Here are three positives the Colorado Rockies can look to for hope as the All-Star break looms

First, the roster addition of starting pitcher José Ureña has been a boost

Second, Kris Bryant is making a difference

Third, Colorado’s defense has shored up

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