4 Rockies players who have stood out after the first week

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We are through a week of baseball, and this has been a very hard team to watch so far. Not only did the pitching staff get blown up by the defending NL pennant winning, Arizona Diamondbacks, but they also just looked absolutely terrible in the series against the Chicago Cubs. The pitching looked better, while the defense might have been the worst we have ever seen it, especially when it comes to the elite defender, Nolan Jones.

Even though the Rockies have played terrible and looked completely overmatched so far, the team still has had a few impressive performances. A few offensive players have looked very comfortable after a really solid spring, while a couple of surprising arms look to become very valuable pieces in a Rockies bullpen that will struggle to find its identity this year.

These 2 relievers might need more opportunities

With all of the struggles the Rockies pitching has faced so far this season, there have actually been a few bullpen arms that have looked really good. The bullpen was expected to be carried by Justin Lawrence and Tyler Kinley with Peter Lambert holding down the long-relief role. With about a weeks' worth of games under their belt, there are two names that have really stood out and have looked solid.

Did the Rockies find a potential high leverage arm?

The Rockies aren't going to face a lot of high-leverage situations this year; the team won't contend enough to seriously consider an option, but having a solid reliever is certainly nice to have. The Rockies didn't think that they would have much in their bullpen, but Vodnik has looked overpowering, with improved control.

In three appearances this season, he leads the relievers with 5.2 innings pitched without giving up a run. He has only surrendered three hits, while impressively striking out six and walking just two. Vodnik's fastball has been sitting in the upper 90's and looks overpowering as he relies on it heavily (60% of the time). Vodnik looks like he has found his footing and is going to become a very solid reliever for a struggling Rockies team this year.

Are the Rockies about to turn a waiver claim into a solid reliever?

Claimed by the Rockies after being DFA'd by the Rangers, Nick Mears has looked solid to start the 2024 season. Mears leads the team in appearances so far and has done a great job when called upon. A bad 2023 season seems to be in the mirror for the 27-year-old righty.

In his three appearances this year, Mears has worked 3.2 innings, allowing just one hit and one run. He hasn't allowed a walk and has surprisingly struck out five batters in that time, showing some strikeout potential. Relying heavily on his fastball (76.5% fof the time) has translated well for Mears, generating a solid 36.4% whiff rate on the fastball. His curveball has also been a really good pitch, throwing it just 14.7% of the time, but it has generated a whiff rate of 66.7%, providing a 16 mile per hour difference from the fastball. Mears has looked solid this year and should continue to get opportunities in a bad Rockies bullpen; he deserves it, he has looked really good so far.

These 2 bats look like they could get moved up the lineup in the near future

With so many negatives, and the Rockies offense looking significantly overmatched, there still have been some positives. Unfortunately for the Rockies, it isn't the potential superstar, Nolan Jones, or the highest paid player in franchise history, Kris Bryant. Those two have actually been two of the hitters that have struggled the most in the Rockies lineup.

Ready to return to his former self, McMahon is tearing the cover off the baseball

After a 2023 season that saw McMahon strike out nearly 32% of the time, McMahon looks a lot more comfortable and confident in his approach this year. He has posted a career high walk rate (I know it's just seven games), but the approach is improved; he has also struck out just 17.2% of the time while hitting .375 with an incredible 128 wRC+.

The underlying numbers support McMahon's hot start as he has posted a 93rd percentile sweet spot percentage with an exit velocity of 93 miles per hour, that is over two miles per hour more than his 2023 number. McMahon has been the best hitter in the Rockies lineup, and it hasn't been close. Hopefully the rest of the lineup can start contributing soon, but in the meantime, Mac is dominating, and fans should enjoy it.

A Rockies Gold Glover is ready to breakout

While so much focus was placed on the star Rockies left fielder, Nolan Jones, and for good reason, it is his counterpart in centerfield that has stolen the show so far. Brenton Doyle is an elite level defender and though we haven't really been able to see it on display so far this year, it is a long year, and we will get to see a number of highlights.

Doyle had a really solid spring and has carried that over to the regular season. The speedy centerfielder is hitting .250, and though his .400 slugging percentage and 68 wRC+ leave a lot to be desired, his strikeout rate has been cut down by over 7% so far. That alone will give him a lot more opportunities to get on base and wreak havoc. If Doyle can build off this solid start, by keeping the strikeout rate under 30%, while putting solid contact on the ball, especially as the weather warms up, we could be looking at a potential three- or four-win type of player.

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