Welcome to the 2025 edition of Ranking the Rockies, where we take a look back at every player to log playing time for the Rockies in 2025. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the lowest rWAR and end up with the player with the highest.
No. 56, Bradley Blalock (-1.6 rWAR)
Entering the 2025 season, the talk of spring training was the battle
for the final spot in the rotation for the Colorado Rockies. Despite the rotation seemingly looking locked up with familiar faces, top pitching prospect Chase Dollander was making a compelling case to crack the Opening Day roster. However, as camp began to wind down, it would be Bradley Blalock’s performance that edged out Dollander and opened up an opportunity to start the season.
After posting a 1.02 ERA in 17 2/3 innings with 20 strikeouts during Cactus League play, Blalock broke camp with the Rockies. Due to the nature of the schedule at the start of the season and a late injury to Austin Gomber that would require a rehab start in Triple-A, Blalock was meant to work in long relief with the potential to get a start before Gomber returned.
However, Blalock made just two appearances out of the bullpen as a late-inning reliever, allowing two runs in three innings, before he was optioned back to Triple-A Albuquerque on April 6 in favor of Chase Dollander. Gomber’s injury worsened, and rather than let Blalock start with the big league team as was initially projected, he was sent down to work on stretching out further as a starter.
He returned again to the big league roster on April 27 after stretching out over three starts with Albuquerque to less-than-ideal results. His first start with the Rockies resulted in six runs on seven hits over four innings against the Cincinnati Reds at Coors Field. He fared better in his following start, allowing just three runs on two hits over 5 1/3 innings.
Then, a nexus point of the Rockies’ season happened in his next start.
You’d be forgiven if you couldn’t name the Rockies’ starting pitcher in the game in which the San Diego Padres won 21-0 at Coors Field. Unfortunately, it was Blalock who surrendered 12 runs on 13 hits in just 3 1/3 innings of work. The repercussions of that game not only sent Blalock back down to Triple-A, where, in his first start back, he allowed 10 runs on 11 hits over three innings for the Isotopes, but also saw manager Bud Black relieved of duties. From there, things continued to change for the Rockies roster as a whole.
Meanwhile, Blalock stayed in Albuquerque through July 4 before earning a promotion back to the big leagues. In three starts from July 12 to July 28, Blalock seemed to have finally figured something out. He posted a 1.59 ERA over 20 innings, allowing just three runs on 20 hits. Unfortunately, he was again roughed up over his first three starts of August, once again being subject to a demotion to Albuquerque. He made three more starts with the Rockies in September to finish the year, but to less-than-ideal results that highlighted the common thread of his struggles this season.
Blalock ended up making 14 appearances in total, including 12 starts. He posted a 2-6 record with an unsightly 9.36 ERA in 58 2/3 innings of work. His 9.54 ERA as a starting pitcher is the highest in a season in franchise history among rotation members with at least 50 innings pitched. In Triple-A, he posted an 8.90 ERA in 60 2/3 innings over 15 starts.
His struggles over the season stemmed from a lack of command and strikeout capabilities. His 9.5% strikeout rate was the lowest in all of baseball among starting pitchers (min. 50 innings), lower than even the strikeout-averse Antonio Senzatela, who ranks just above him at 11.4%. When it came to walk rate, Blalock ranks around league average with an 8.4% clip.
Among all his starts between Albuquerque and Colorado, Blalock had just three outings in which he didn’t issue a single walk. He had six outings in which he allowed four walks. Over his final six starts with the Rockies, Blalock issued 16 free passes against 11 strikeouts.
When Blalock was throwing strikes, he was getting hit quite hard and often. Opponents had a .333 BABIP against him with a 46.2% hard hit rate. Most glaring was the number of home runs Blalock started giving up near the end of the season. In those final six starts, he gave up 35 runs on 38 hits, including 11 home runs in 25 2/3 innings.
Coors Field was clearly not a desirable place for him and his 31.1% fly ball rate. While that San Diego start did plenty of damage, he ended with a 12.27 ERA at home compared to a 6.44 ERA on the road. Walks were more prevalent at home, which is a dangerous thing to experience as a pitcher in Colorado.
Blalock is still young, but was another emblematic example of the Rockies’ inability to help starting pitchers succeed and conquer Coors Field, especially in 2025.
The three-game stretch in July was a glimpse of what Blalock can be when at his best. He threw 17 combined innings, allowing just three runs for a 1.59 ERA. Sure, he still gave up 20 hits and only had eight strikeouts, but he allowed just one walk. He escaped damage by inducing weaker contact to get grounders and fly balls.
Blalock’s starts often needed to be dissected inning by inning as he would get roughed up in the first inning before settling in during the second, and then two outs into the third inning. Pitch to pitch, batter to batter, innings to innings, there was just too much inconsistency to know what Blalock was going to be able to bring to the mound each night.
He will likely be among the many arms looking to battle for a rotation spot in spring training next year, but Blalock is not much different than any of the other options available at the current moment. The Rockies will need to figure out how to help their pitchers succeed because there is promise in Blalock, but as of now, he does not have the consistency that he may have found if he had been able to remain a prospect with the Milwaukee Brewers.
And that issue falls more on the Rockies than Blalock himself.
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