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. 17, Tyler Kinley (0.1 rWAR)
If you look back at the Colorado Rockies roster from 2020, there aren’t many names that are still with the organization. Going into the season it was one positional player, Ryan McMahon, and four pitchers: Kyle Freeland, Antonio Senzatela, Germán Márquez and Tyler Kinley.
At the end of the season, only two remain with the team. One of the departures, Kinley, was traded to Atlanta before the trade deadline, ending a six-year tenure with the Rockies. A bullpen staple, the 34-year-old RHP finished his Colorado career with a 1.2 rWAR with a 5.05 ERA, 20 saves in 246 innings over 253 appearances.
Kinley, who the Rockies picked up off the waiver wire in December 2019 when he was cut by Miami, became a reliable reliever for Colorado for the first two and a half seasons with his new team. In fact, in 2022, Kinley posted a 0.75 ERA in his first 25 appearances of the 2022 season, striking out 27 batters in 24 innings with no homers allowed. A setup man for closer Daniel Bard, Kinley, and his dominating slider, was part of a very effective late-inning Rockies bullpen.
Then came the elbow injury, which happened on June 8, 2022, and required flexor tendon surgery. The injury required 13 months of rehab for Kinley, who had already had Tommy John surgery as a high schooler. Kinley returned in August of 2023, missing the majority of back-to-back seasons. His return was a little bumpy as Kinley posted a 6.06 ERA in 18 appearances with a 0-4 record.
Those struggles carried over into 2024 when Kinley posted the worst rWAR of his career, outside of his 2018 rookie season, which was -0.5, with -0.4 and a 6.19 ERA in 67 appearances (64 innings). In 2025, Kinley’s performances continued to go up and down. For example, in 10 appearances in April, Kinley posted a 1.69 ERA in 10 2/3 innings with 13 strikeouts and no home runs. He also picked up his first save of the season against Washington by throwing three strikeouts in the ninth to hold onto a 3-1 win.
The next month, he ballooned his ERA to 6.85 after giving up 12 runs on 11 hits in 11 innings with a 9.00 ERA in the month of May.
In June, it was another high ERA month at 6.59, but improved again in July with a 2.13 ERA. Kinley had frustrating outings — like the three times he gave up four runs , including a grand slam to Max Muncy— or others when he was dominant. He closed out one of the Rockies three shutouts by striking out St. Louis’s Jordan Walker to preserve a 6-0 win.
By July 30, Kinley’s ERA stood at 5.66 with a 1-3 record in 49 appearances. With two months to go in the worst season in Rockies history, Kinley became the latest veteran reliever to be traded to Atlanta, joining Pierce Johnson, who Colorado traded to the Braves in 2023. He was traded for Austin Smith, a 26-year-old RHP reliever, spent the rest of the season in Double-A Hartford and recently played in the Arizona Fall League for the Salt River Rafters.
Kinley made the most of his time with Atlanta, recording a 0.72 ERA in 25 innings over 24 appearances with a 4-0 record. He struck out 22 batters with only six walks and one home run. Despite his success, the Braves declined Kinley’s $5.5 million option for 2026 (they also declined Pierce Johnson’s $7 option), making him a free agent.
Kinley, who will turn 35 in January, was not only a leader in the Rockies bullpen, but at times, he was also the most reliable and effective arm. He ended his 2025 campaign with eight holds, three saves and a win, which happened to come in his last appearance in purple. By throwing a scoreless eighth inning with a strikeout against Cleveland, Kinley took part in an 8-6 win on July 28 to end his time with the Rockies with a win.
Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!
