Rockies announce Opening Day roster with a handful of household names

Baseball is back!

Can you feel the excitement?

Maybe, maybe not, but here we are. The Colorado Rockies will begin another 162 game slog on Friday afternoon against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field. The team announced its Opening Day roster on Thursday and I’m curious how many guys the average fan knows?

Here’s a look…

Your 2022 Opening Day Rockies🏔 pic.twitter.com/d3fseIPu6d

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 7, 2022

Everyone should recognize fan favorite Charlie Blackmon as he has a pretty cool beard and has made four All-Star Games. Snark aside, Blackmon is a darn good baseball player who’s enjoyed several productive seasons since debuting in 2011.

After that, Kris Bryant won a National League MVP and the team gave him a massive $182M contract last month. He also was a huge part of the Chicago Cubs winning the 2016 World Series.

Kyle Freeland is a hometown kid, a fun story out of Thomas Jefferson High School. German Marquez is probably the team’s best pitcher and a fringe Cy Young award candidate if everything goes right. Ryan McMahon also got big money from the Rockies this offseason and is an exciting young player with a lot of pop.

After that?

The casual fan is going to struggle to know many more players. Austin Gomber was the crown jewel of the Nolan Arenado trade. Brendan Rodgers has been the Rockies’ best prospect for a long time.

The wise guys in Las Vegas project Colorado to win 68.5 games. That’s a far cry from the playoff teams of 2017 and 2018 that won 87 and 91 games, respectively. Maybe the Rockies will shock the world? I’m not holding my breath.

But the Party Deck will be open and the 2022 baseball season is off and running. Enjoy!
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