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. 7, Ezequiel Tovar (0.6 rWAR)
In 2025, Ezequiel Tovar spent less time on the field than he would have liked.
For comparison, in 2024, the workhorse shortstop appeared in 157 games, led the NL in doubles (45) and extra-base hits (75); in 2025, the number of games played dropped to 95, largely due to injuries. Tovar suffered a left hip injury in the Rockies season opener with the Tampa Bay Rays, which led to him missing a month. He returned in May only to suffer a left oblique strain on June 2.
There was some progress over the course of the season. Tovar’s high 28.8% K% dropped to 25.1% in 2025, and he saw a modest increase in his walk rate (5.4% up from 3.3% in 2024). In 390 plate appearances, he hit nine home runs, including 18 doubles and four triples. Tovar finished the season slashing .253/.294/.400, down from his 2024 numbers of .269/.295/.469.
His defense suffered as well with Tovar dropping from 10 DRS to -2 and an OAA of 15 fell to three.
There would be no Gold Glove in 2025.
Still, Tovar as the season wound down, remained positive, seeing the season as a learning experience.
“Obviously, hasn’t been the easiest season given the injuries,” Tovar said through interpreter Edwin Perez.
“But I’m never going to put my head down. I’m never just going to admit defeat in that kind of moment,” he continued. “You’ve got to keep your head high. You’ve got to learn from that. And so I’m taking this season as a whole, as a learning experience.”
Given that Tovar is 24, he still has plenty of opportunities to put to use what he has learned.
Going into 2026, the question becomes how the Rockies new front office will view Tovar. President of baseball operations Paul DePodesta and general manager Josh Byrnes both have a history of valuing players who are able to get on base, and this was not a category in which the Rockies were especially strong in 2025. Tovar’s OBP ranks him 11th among Rockies currently on the 40-man roster.
No one questions Tovar’s defensive skills, and it’s safe to assume that injuries contributed significantly to his defensive decline in 2025. Moreover, given his general durability during the course of his career, there’s no reason to think Tovar will not return to health and his former self.
Currently, he is in the second year of a team-friendly seven-year, $63.5 million contract.
The question becomes if the new Colorado Rockies front office views him as a player who can be developed to maximize his offensive power.
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