The Amato Report - Rockies
- Jim Santora
- 3 minutes ago
- 3 min read
After an exit from the playoffs by the Nationals, the Rocks knew there would be a lot of work ahead of them in order to compete in 2026. Around the middle of last year I noticed they would be running into a whirlwind of issues regarding their pitching (mainly injuries and Jose Alvarado abusing PEDs). And it wound up staying that way. But the Rocks know how to shuffle a roster up and did so during the offseason to get them in better shape heading into the draft.
NOTABLE OFFSEASON TRANSACTIONS
Acquired: Jung Hoo Lee, Nick Martinez, Clayton Kershaw, Aaron Civale, Thomas Saggesse, Lourdes Gurriel Jr, Martin Perez
Departed: Brandon Woodruff, Joey Ortiz, Michael McGreevy, Pavin Smith, Erik Miller, Jake Fraley
Ed went for the 'just above bargain bin' level territory for starting pitching, which allows him to be more flexible in the draft. Through all the deals he never gave up much draft value. But losing Woody stinks...though the return is something you can't find in the draft (CF).
STRENGTHS
The lineup will be pretty solid, lead by Matt Olson, Will Smith, and Fernando "my PED days are OVER" Tatis. But Ed knows how to maximize the role players like Bretty Baty, Ha-Seong Kim, and Lourdes Gurriel. Chances are if he's dealing for a guy you're scratching your head on, he probably knows how to utilize him and you do not.
Defense for the Rocks should be pretty solid as there's no 4's anywhere and the OF and C arms are all -1 or better.
OPPORTUNITIES
I mean, the Rockies head into the draft with Jose Butto and Ben Casparius as their main bullpen guys, but they can always move one of their SP/RP to the relief corps. Either way, the Rocks will need some type of bullpen help via the draft. And in a draft where almost every single team needs a few relievers they could see the quality vanish quickly. But relievers are fairly deep this year, so who knows with all you bozos and how you draft.
Aside from Snell and Glasnow and their limited innings, the #3-4 SP are looking like Robbie Ray and Clayton "standing the test of time" Kershaw, who gets his final tour with the Rockies before hanging up a solid KPSL career. I'm sure Sam will rush to get his final numbers out 1 second after the season ends. But overall, the names in this rotation look a whole better than checks notes nothing before this offseason started.
Top picks in the upcoming draft:
Projected lineup (as of now vs RHP)
C - Will Smith
1B - Matt Olson
2B - Luis Garcia / Brett Baty
3B - Brett Baty / Mark Vientos
SS - Willy Adames
LF - Lourdes Gurriel Jr
CF - Jung Hoo Lee
RF - Fernando Tatis Jr
DH - Mark Vientos??
Projected rotation
Robbie Ray
Nick Martinez
Blake Snell
Tyler Glasnow
Clayton Kershaw
Aaron Civale
Landen Roupp
Martin Perez
Keep an eye on these players in 2026 (in real life)
Mark Vientos - now taking over for the Polar Bear, will be curious to see what he can put up with a full season of at bats...another 'best shape of my life guys' from a recent interview...
Blake Snell - already has 'arm fatigue'...starting to think this guy won't have another healthy season, which is a shame because he has great stuff.
Joc Pederson - The Rock's ineligible guy. Guy looked like he unloaded on In-N-Out all season and was also putrid at the plate. Will he rebound in Texas? 🤷
2026 projection based on Ed's power rankings: 7.16, 10th place (almost a full point behind the Reds for 6th place).
Like a few other managers, I bump this score up a bit since Ed knows how to utilize every player on his team. That said, a full point is really hard to overcome unless they can get to the deadline around .500 and make a few moves. The pitching is patchwork - Ed would even tell you that - but the bullpen really concerns me as Jose Butto and Ben Casparius are the main options (unless you throw a SP/RP in there). Even if they take a reliever in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, they would sacrifice a bat, which they could use one more of. I trust Ed's plan going into the draft, but no matter how it goes it will be an uphill battle through the season. If the Rocks sell at the deadline, 10th place is reasonable, but if they decide to buy I could see a push for the 5th/6th spot...but I wouldn't place my bets on that. But teams like this have surprised me before.
