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. 27, Sam Hilliard (-0.2 rWAR)
Sam Hilliard’s MLB journey continued on in 2025.
As a refresher, he was drafted in the 15th round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Colorado Rockies. Hilliard worked his way through the system, eventually making his MLB debut on August 27, 2019. At the end of 2022, he joined the Atlanta Braves, but spent most of 2023 on the IL with a right heel contusion. He played 40 games with the Braves in 2023. Hilliard was then claimed by the Baltimore Orioles, but never made their MLB roster. He was claimed back by the Rockies in February 2024, but then he was designated for assignment in March. His contract was selected on June 21, and he played 58 games with the Rockies in 2024. He ranked 16th in last year’s iteration of Ranking the Rockies after slashing .239/305/.507 with 10 home runs and 27 RBI.
Hilliard was DFA’d and outrighted again at the end of March 2025 in favor of Nick Martini. He was then brought back to the majors at the end of May when Martini was DFA’d, and then Hilliard was re-DFA’d in July.
It was the last time he would play with the major league club, as he elected free agency at the end of the season.
In 91 games with the Isotopes in 2025, Hilliard slashed .288/.367/.565 with 25 doubles, 12 triples, 17 home runs, and 66 RBI. He also struck out 108 times (29.9%) and walked 47 times (11.3%). Comparatively, in 20 games with the Rockies, he slashed an anemic .196/.328/.412 with three doubles, a triple, two homers and three RBI. He struck out 23 times (45.1%) and walked 10 times (16.4%).
The high strikeout rate has been something that’s plagued Hilliard since he was drafted, but he was always able to overcome it with the power numbers. This year, it wasn’t enough.
Plus, Hilliard was 31 years old in 2025, which made him an expendable veteran, especially as it became clearer that the 2025 Rockies were trending younger and younger.
Hilliard owns a lot of Albuquerque Isotopes records, but things didn’t translate to the majors, and especially with the direction of this team, it’s possible we’ve seen the last of Slammin’ Sam on the Colorado Rockies.
