How many games will the Rockies win in 2024? Who will take home hardware around baseball?
It’s that time of year again…Purple Row staff predictions!
The Rockies start their 162-game quest tonight in sunny Phoenix, AZ as they take on the reigning-NL Champion Arizona Diamondbacks to kick things off. They then head to Chicago for a three-game set against the Cubs before returning home for the Home Opener next Friday, April 5th.
With all that said, here is what the Purple Row staff thinks will happen during this baseball season:
Let’s start with a win total
Last year, the majority of the staff predicted the Rockies would go 73-89. They ended up with their first-ever 100-loss season, finishing with an abysmal 59-103 record.
This year, nobody predicted fewer than 93 losses for the Rockies. The majority of folks (3) think that the Rockies will finish 63-99 (and therefore we can chalk up 2023 as a ‘fluke’). The most optimistic person predicted a 69-93 record, and the most pessimistic said 60-102.
National League winners
In 2022, the Purple Row staff unanimously predicted that the Los Angeles Dodgers would win the NL West. In 2023, they were split 50/50 between the Dodgers and San Diego Padres. In 2024, we are once again united in our prediction that the Dodgers will take the NL West crown.
In the NL Central, 50% of the staff predicts that the Chicago Cubs will be victorious. 20% believe either the St. Louis Cardinals or Cincinnati Reds will be crowned, and one person believes it could be the Milwaukee Brewers.
The NL East was another division where all 10 staff members unanimously believe the Atlanta Braves will come out on top. Just one year ago, only four people believed it would be the Braves.
As far as the Wild Cards, if the Purple Row staff are correct, the Philadelphia Phillies (8 votes), Arizona Diamondbacks (7 votes) and San Francisco Giants (6 votes) will make the postseason. Otherwise, the Milwaukee Brewers received three votes, the New York Mets and San Diego Padres each received two, and the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds each received a single vote.
American League winners
Switching leagues, the answers were a little more sporadic.
In the AL West, six of the 10 votes went to the Houston Astros to win. The reigning World Series-champion Texas Rangers received three votes, and the Seattle Mariners earned one.
In the Central, 70% of staffers believe that the Minnesota Twins will win the division. The only team not receiving votes was the Chicago White Sox.
Finally, in the AL East, 70% of voters believe the Baltimore Orioles will capitalize on their 2023 campaign and take the crown once again The New York Yankees received two votes and the Tampa Bay Rays received one.
As far as Wild Cards go, the Purple Row staff believes that the Seattle Mariners (8 votes), Texas Rangers (5) and Toronto Blue Jays (5) will take the three spots. The Houston Astros received four votes; the Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays each earned two; and the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins earned one apiece.
Champions
The staff was a little more united in their predictions for the NL Pennant. 80% of the staff was split between the Braves and Dodgers, and the remaining 20% believe in the Phillies.
On the AL side, 50% of the staff believes the Baltimore Orioles will make the World Series. 20% believe the Blue Jays will, and then the remaining 30% are split evenly between the Rangers, Rays and Yankees.
Purple Rowers were split seven different ways on who would win the World Series. The majority (3) believe the Dodgers will take the crown, while two believe in the Orioles. Otherwise, the Rays, Rangers, Blue Jays, Rays and Phillies finished in a five-way tie for third place with one vote apiece.
Hardware
As far as individual awards go, five of the 10 respondents believe that Mookie Betts will take home NL MVP. Ronald Acuña Jr received three votes, while Shohei Ohtani and Trea Turner each earned one vote.
On the AL side, Julio Rodriguez is the overwhelming favorite for the award — earning five of the 10 votes. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. earned two votes, and the remaining three were split between Corey Seager, Juan Soto and Adley Rutschman.
For pitchers, Spencer Strider earned four votes. Logan Webb and Zach Wheeler each earned two, while Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow each earned one.
On the AL Side, Aurora native Kevin Gausman and Corbin Burnes each earned three votes and are the slight favorites. George Kirby earned two votes, while Framber Valdez and Shane Bieber each earned one.
Finally, looking at rookies, Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the overwhelming favorite to win NL Rookie of the Year. He earned eight of 10 possible votes, while the other two votes were split between two Jacksons — Churio and Merrill.
On the AL side, Jackson Holliday (son of former Rockies star Matt Holliday) is the favorite, earning five of 10 possible votes. Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford earned two votes apiece, and Colt Keith earned one.
Bold predictions
Now is the fun part of the staff predictions! 2024 will be an interesting and important year for the Rockies, so let’s see what people think!
Unsurprisingly, Nolan Jones garnered a lot of attention after his breakout 2023 campaign. One person predicts Jones will hit 30 home runs, while another predicts 40. Another person predicts he wins a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger while earning MVP votes, and another says he’ll finish in the Top 5 for MVP voting. That’s pretty high praise for the surprising superstar!
The other rookie sensations also garnered some attention. One person believes that Ezequiel Tovar will have a breakout season and perhaps also finish in the Top 5 for MVP. Another person believes that Brenton Doyle will win a second-straight Gold Glove.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, folks have thoughts on some of the veterans. One person thinks Kris Bryant will stay healthy all season and will be a Comeback Player of the Year candidate. There have been rumors of Charlie Blackmon’s retirement, but one staffer doesn’t believe he will! However, another thinks that Daniel Bard will retire at the end of the season and become a full-time coach with the Rockies.
Around the league, one person believes that there will be three perfect games thrown this season. One person believes that Juan Soto will post an OPS of 1.100 or higher, and another believes that Vlad Guerrero Jr will set a new AL home run record with 66.
The Rockies and Astros play each other this year in the Mexico City Series… one person predicts they will combine for 32 runs in at least one of the two games.
Finally, while the majority of Purple Rowers believe the Dodgers will win the World Series, two folks also believe that they will once again meet some misfortune in the postseason. One person believes they won’t get a first-round bye, but another thinks they’ll be knocked out in the NLDS by an 85-win Reds team. Will they be right, especially after their billion-dollar spending spree this offseason? We shall soon find out!
Some of these bold predictions will come true, and we’ll all wish we had come up with them ourselves. But either way, baseball is back everyone! Stay tuned for our community predictions later this afternoon!
Happy Opening Day!