Opening Day: Five keys to watch in the Rockies' opening series with the Rays

And so it begins.

On Friday, the Colorado Rockies will begin the journey as they open the season at Tampa Bay. And it’s an important season for the Rockies, who posted a winning Cactus League record, and, who have young veterans who are a year older, and expected to be a year better then they were last year when the group saw their Rockies win just 61 games, and post a fifth straight losing season.

Of course, in 2025, the Rockies are determined not have history repeat itself. No, the Rockies are out to be better in 2025, and they’re hoping the three-game set in Tampa, the first of six on the road to open the season, will get them off on the right foot.

“You never know until you play. We’ve got some new faces, and we might have some more,” Rockies’ Manager Bud Black said to MLB.com recently. “The overall player mentality has to get better. We’ve challenged the players on the mentality that it takes to win. We need that expectation.”

And wins are hoping the Rockies pile up this season. They’re once again picked last in the N.L. West, and it will be a challenge for them to climb out of that cellar. However, with a host of young, but healthy players, as well as a healthier pitching staff, the Rockies are ready to make a jump, and this weekend’s series in Tampa will tell fans plenty about the Rockies’ season to come.

Here’s five things to watch in the three-game set with the Tampa Bay Rays this weekend.

5. Scoring Runs

Colorado should score runs this season, and they should be able to score plenty off of Ray’s pitching. Tampa will start Ryan Peplot on Friday, and overall, the Rays have a young rotation, and an inexperienced bullpen, so the Rockies’ lineup, especially Brenton Doyle, Ezequiel Tovar, Ryan McMahon and Michael Toglia, should have plenty of chances to put runs on the board this weekend.

4. How will playing in a minor league stadium effect the games?

The Rays are one of two teams playing in a minor league stadium this season. Due to repairs ongoing at Tropicana Field, the Rays will play their home games at Steinbrenner Field, home of the New York Yankees spring training games. The venue will have smaller crowds, and since it is opening weekend, it will be interesting to see how both the Rays and Rockies respond to the atmosphere.

3. New Rockies at second base and outfield

The Rockies made the decision to trade for Tyler Freeman to fill in for the injured Thairo Estrada and also keep Nick Martini on the big-league club instead of top Zac Veen. Both of those players will get plenty of chances to show what they can do against the Rays, and it’s worth keeping an eye on both to see if those decisions were the right moves for the Rox.

2. Kris Bryant against big-league pitching

Expected to mostly DH this season, Bryant is healthy. However, he didn’t produce much in Cactus League play, yet he’ll likely hit cleanup for the Rockies. Bryant’s leadership is key now that Charlie Blackmon is retired, however, even more then that, the Rockies need production from the former N.L. MVP, and they need him to get off to a good start on opening weekend.

1. Starters need to put in good work

It’’s no secret that if the Rockies are going to improve, the starting pitching has to be much better. Against the Rays, the Rockies will send out Kyle Freeland on Friday, Antonio Senzatela on Saturday and Ryan Feltner on Sunday. All three have plenty to prove this season, whether it’s returning from injury, or just struggles, and it would be great for Colorado if all three get off to good starts in the opening series. That would certainly set the tone.

Extra Notes: Game times for this weekend’s series are as follows. Friday and Saturday, first pitch is set for 2:10 p.m. M.D.T., while Sunday’s game will start at 11:40 a.m. M.D.T. All three games can be seen blackout free on Rockies.TV. For Opening Day, the Rockies are an away underdog (+167) versus the Rays (-201). 

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