Going into the 2023 MLB season, no one expected the Colorado Rockies to be competing for a playoff spot, but what has come through the first month of the season is unexpected to say the least. The Rockies are 9-20 and the only teams with a worse winning percentage than them right now are the Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics.
The season started off great for Colorado with back-to-back wins against the Padres before losing the last two of the series. Then, a couple of games later, they embarked on an eight-game losing streak. Since the 2-0 start, they’ve only won seven of their last 27 games.
Colorado Rockies off to incredibly sluggish start
Now the record isn’t the only thing that has been awful in this first month. The team as a whole has been playing at a very low level. The Rockies team OPS is a measly .689 and OPS+ of 78. The pitching staff has allowed a 41.4 hard hit percentage compared to the MLB average of 39.3. They are also 3% worse in chase rate with only getting a 25.2% chase rate compared to the 28.2% average.
Looking at individual players, there have been some disappointing starts. Rookie Ezequiel Tovar is only batting .213 with a .567 OPS and 47 OPS+. He is expected to be the franchise shortstop for the foreseeable future and is not performing to that standard. Dinelson Lamet, who they signed to a two-year extension this past offseason, in 10.1 innings has posted a 12.19 ERA with a 42 ERA+.
The fans are clamoring for a change and are starting to not show up to games. The Rockies and Coors Field have been in the top-10 in total season attendance for the longest time. This year, they already have two games with a reported attendance of less than 20,000.
We might be only one short month into this 2023 season, but things do not look bright for the Colorado Rockies. It looks as if they will be fighting to avoid the worst record in baseball this season.