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. 20, Warming Bernabel (0.0 rWAR)
Flash back to July 26, 2025.
The Rockies were 27-77. That day, the
46-58 Baltimore Orioles had just dominated Colorado in an embarrassing 18-0 smackdown. Rockies fans needed some good news — something to cheer for.
The 23-year-old rookie first baseman delivered immediately in his MLB debut week, going 14-for-28 (.500) with three homers, eight RBI, four doubles, a triple, six runs scored, a 1.036 slugging percentage, and a .517 on-base percentage in seven games. He walked once and struck out three times during the stretch — one where the Rockies went 3-4.
The streak included a 4-for-6 performance where he went a double short of the cycle with a three-run homer, triple, four RBI and two runs scored in the Rockies’ amazing 17-16 come-from-behind victory over the Pirates.
It was enough for the rookie to earn NL Player of the Week Honors. Coincidentally, AL Player of the Week was won by former Rockie Trevor Story for his outstanding performance in Boston that same week.
With his impressive week, Bernabel became the second player in the Modern Era to record 14+ hits and eight-plus extra-base hits through seven career games, joining Mitchell Page in 1977.
By Aug. 3, eight days into Bernabel’s stint on the team, the Rockies optioned Michael Toglia — who entered the season as the team’s first baseman of the future — to Triple-A Albuquerque. Bernabel, who the Rockies signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2018, ended the season with 36 starts at first base, which was second on the team behind Toglia, who was designated for assignment on Tuesday.
Bernabel naturally cooled off after his hot first week, but he became a staple in the starting lineup until Sept. 8 when he was injured chasing down a pop-up foul ball and ran headfirst into a pole in the net at Dodger Stadium in the first inning.
He ended up on the 7-day IL until Sept. 24 with a concussion. While it was a terrible and unfortunate injury, he was able to return to the lineup and play in three games before the season ended. All in all, Bernabel finished his inaugural campaign having played in 40 games, including two at third base and two as DH, and hit .252/.288/.410 with an OPS of .698 with four homers, eight doubles, 14 RBI, 15 runs scored, seven walks, 25 strikeouts and one stolen base on two attempts in 146 plate appearances.
One of the best moments of Bernabel’s season came on Aug. 18 against the Dodgers when he hit a walk-off RBI single to score Ezequiel Tovar and beat the Dodgers 4-3. It also ended Colorado’s 10-game losing streak.
Bernabel’s climb to the Majors and success wasn’t really on the radar entering the season. He was ranked No. 36 in Purple Row’s preseason prospect rankings. Signed as a third baseman who could also play shortstop, Bernabel was known for a sweet swing and aggressive approach at the plate. Bernabel was trending up as he started 2023 ranked as the No. 6 prospect in the Rockies organization, according to MLB Pipeline.
But then 2023 didn’t go so well as Bernabel struggled to find his groove in the move to Double-A Hartford and was sidelined with various injuries. He then rebounded with a better season with Yard Goats in 2024, when he hit .263/.296/.359 line with nine homers among 27 extra base hits in 506 plate appearances.
He started 2025 with Triple-A Albuquerque, where he hit .301/.356/.450 with eight homers, 45 RBI, 46 runs scored and 18 doubles in 282 plate appearances. He slowly started to play more games at first base, anticipating a need at the position at the MLB level. Bernabel played 17 games at first for the Yard Goats in 2024 and 26 for the Isotopes in 2025.
He demonstrated fielding potential at both corners in the infield, despite having below-average arm strength and range. He ended the season with one defensive run saved at first and none at third (only two games). He proved he can use his 6-foot-1 frame to make some tough plays like this:
With Kyle Karros the likely third baseman of the future for the Rockies and Toglia gone, Bernabel heads into 2026 as a contender at first base alongside Blaine Crim, who also started with a bang when he filled in when Bernabel was on the IL.
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