20/20 Retrospective - The 20 greatest Rockies players in the 2000s (2024)

Since the start of the new millennium, the baseball gods have taken the Colorado Rockies through a rollercoaster of highs and lows — from its first World Series berth in 2007 to nearly a 100-loss season in 2012.

Through the past two decades, myriad players have worn the purple pinstripes, with torches being passed from the Blake Street Bombers to Todd and the Toddlers to perhaps the greatest assembly of ballplayers the club’s ever featured today.

In honor of the past 20 years of Rockies baseball, take a look back on some of the best to play under the Coors Field lights over the past two decades:

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20 | Aaron Cook | P | 2002-11

Among a dying breed of sinkerballers, Aaron Cook embodies the 2000s in relation to the Rockies.

The 1997 second-round draft pick grew up in the organization, making his debut in 2002 during perhaps the worst era in the club’s history. However, Cook played a key role in the team’s magical run to the World Series in 2007 and postseason berth again in 2009.

Cook would finish up his Rockies career in 2011 — aside from a brief minor league stint in 2013 — compiling the most innings pitched in franchise history (1,312 1/3).

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19 | Charlie Blackmon | OF | 2011-19

Another homegrown product, Charlie Blackmon has morphed from a clean-shaven young prospect into a fully-bearded — and mulleted — fan favorite.

The outfielder has played his entire career in Colorado, earning four trips to the All-Star Game, two Silver Slugger awards and a National League batting championship in 2017.

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18 | Brian Fuentes | P | 2002-08

The early 2000s weren’t necessarily kind to Rockies pitching, but closer Brian Fuentes managed to rack up a number of team records to go along with three All-Star selections.

Fuentes’ resume includes franchise top marks for ERA (3.38), WHIP (1.24) and saves (115).

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17 | Adam Ottavino | P | 2012-18

The man with no number, Adam Ottavino — much like Fuentes — developed into one of the Rockies’ most prominent relievers.

Despite dealing with elbow issues, Ottavino managed to hold down the closer role for Colorado for parts of three seasons from 2015-2018, setting a new franchise record for scoreless appearances (37) over the span on 31 innings during that time.

However, in 2019 Ottavino took his nasty slider to the Bronx, earning a three-year deal worth $27 million.

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16 | Jeffrey Hammonds | OF | 2000

In his only season in Colorado, Jeffrey Hammonds had perhaps the best year of his 13-year career.

An all-star for the only time in 2000, Hammonds racked up career highs in batting average (.335), OPS (.924) and RBI (106).

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15 | Carlos Gonzalez | OF | 2009-18

Little Pony will always have a place in the hearts of Rockies fans, which is considerable since he was on the other end of perhaps one of the biggest trades in club history.

During his decade in Denver, Carlos Gonzalez earned three All-Star Game nods, two Silver Slugger awards, three Gold Glove awards and finished third in MVP voting in 2010.

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14 | DJ LeMahieu | 2B | 2012-18

Another former Rockies player who turned to the dark side that is the New York Yankees, DJ LeMahieu’s tenure with Colorado is perhaps one of the most understated.

A grinder, LeMahieu played 125 or more games in all but two seasons for the Rockies, quietly grabbing a trio of Gold Gloves and two All-Star nods.

However, his best season came in 2019 for New York, where he finished fourth among MVP voting in the American League.

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13 | Jon Gray | P | 2015-19

A promising prospect out of Oklahoma, Jon Gray went third in the 2013 MLB draft to the Rockies. And while his five years in the Majors has been bumpy at times, Gray’s become one of the franchise’s best homegrown pitchers.

After perhaps his best season in 2017, Gray had a markedly down year in 2018, wherein he was demoted to Triple-A Albuquerque for a time. But 2019 saw a bounce-back season for Gray, who went 11-8 with a 3.84 ERA in 25 starts.

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12 | Jhoulys Chacin | P | 2009-14

Jhoulys Chacin had a promising young career building in Colorado during the early 2010s before dropping off a cliff in 2014, but he managed to put together a string of remarkable seasons for the Rockies.

From 2010 to 2013, Chacin posted a 3.58 ERA with a WHIP of 1.323 and managed to rack up the second-best Wins Above Average mark (9.2) for the club since 2000.

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11 | Jason Marquis | P | 2009

Much like Hammonds, Jason Marquis’ tenure in Colorado was short-lived but masterful.

In 2009, Marquis helped the Rockies to a postseason berth with a 4.04 ERA and 1.380 WHIP to go along with his only All-Star Game appearance.

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10 | German Marquez | P | 2016-19

Among the new, young corps of the Rockies, German Marquez christened his new five-year, $43 million deal last April with the first one-hit complete-game shutout in franchise history.

The team’s ace ended up with a 12-5 mark before succumbing to injury late in the season to follow up his best season in 2018 (3.77 ERA / 14 wins / 1.204 WHIP).

Marquez also earned a Silver Slugger award in 2018 for his talents at the plate, and in 2017 finished fifth in the vote for National League Rookie of the Year.

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9 | Jeff Cirillo | 3B | 2000-01

Despite having, statistically, a better season in 2001, Jeff Cirillo turned in an All-Star Game-worthy performance in 2000 in his first of two seasons with the Rockies, posting career highs in RBI (115) and batting average (.326).

Despite his short tenure in Colorado, Cirillo ranks among the top 10 in club history in Wins Above Average (per season) at 2.25 — besting players like Matt Holliday, Charlie Blackmon, DJ LeMahieu and Carlos Gonzalez.

And a bonus fun fact, Cirillo holds the single-season franchise record for sacrifice flies (12, 2000).

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8 | Ubaldo Jimenez | P | 2006-11

A budding star during the Rockies run to the World Series in 2007, Ubaldo Jimenez blossomed into one of the franchise’s all-time best starters and turned in a season for the ages in 2010.

Not only did Jimenez post the first no-hitter in club history in April 2010, the ace became just the third pitcher in MLB history to win 11 of his first 12 games of the season with an ERA under 1.00 (0.93). His 0.78 ERA was the lowest through 11 starts in MLB history.

The wheels fell off, however, after his first (and only) All-Star Game appearance. Needing five more wins to five Colorado its first 20-game winner, Jimenez finished the season 4-7 for an overall record of 19-8 with a 2.88 ERA.

The following season, after going 6-9 in 21 starts, Colorado traded Jimenez to the Cleveland Indians.

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7 | Matt Holliday | OF | 2004-08 / 2018

The engine behind Colorado’s World Series run in 2007, Matt Holliday turned the best season of his career only to fall just short in the MVP vote to Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins.

A three-time all-star for the Rockies, Holliday posted career highs in home runs (36, 2007), RBI (137, 2007) and WAR (6.0, 2007), during his six-year run with the team.

Colorado traded Holliday in 2009 to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Carlos Gonzalez, and the outfielder spent the majority of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals before a brief stint with the Yankees and returning to the Rockies in 2018.

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6 | Kyle Freeland | P | 2017-19

Kyle Freeland had objectively one of the best, if not the best, seasons for a Rockies pitcher in 2018.

With a 17-7 record, Freeland had the highest single-season WAA (6.8) to go with the lowest single-season ERA (2.85) in club history on his way to a fourth-place finish in the N.L. Cy Young vote.

The Denver-area native also finished seventh in rookie of the year voting in 2017 but had a clunker of a season in 2019, going 3-11 with a 6.73 ERA in 22 starts.

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5 | Todd Helton | 1B | 2000-13

The only Rockies player with his number retired, Todd Helton has earned his spot on the Mount Rushmore of Colorado baseball.

While the early 2000s weren’t kind to the Rockies on the whole, Helton had a stretch from 2000 to 2004 in which he turned out perennial MVP-caliber numbers.

Earning five consecutive All-Star Game nods during that stretch, Helton tallied an average of 39 home runs, 127 RBI and 204 hits to go with his .349 batting average and 1.093 OPS.

Helton also posted three of the top five single-season WAR marks (8.9 in 2000, 8.3 in 2004 and 7.8 in 2001) in club history.

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4 | Trevor Story | SS | 2016-19

Stepping into the nearly impossible role of replacing shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, Trevor Story has done so to the tune of back-to-back All-Star Game appearances and Silver Slugger awards in the past two seasons.

Story earned votes for MVP during the past two seasons as well to go along with a fourth-place finish for N.L. Rookie of the Year in 2016.

The homegrown prospect also became the fastest shortstop to reach 100 career home runs, doing so in 448 games to surpass Alex Rodriquez.

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3 | Nolan Arenado | 3B | 2013-19

If you have your own hashtag trending nightly, you deserve a high slot on this list — which future Hall of Famer Nolan Arenado does.

Over the past seven seasons, Arenado has collected seven straight Gold Glove awards. In the past five seasons, he’s finished in the top 10 in MVP voting and attended five consecutive All-Star Games. And don’t forget his four Silver Slugger awards from 2015 to 2018.

Arenado’s led the National League in RBI twice (2015 and 2016) and home runs three times (2015-16, 2018).

Oh, and Arenado helped lead the United States national team to a 2017 World Baseball Classic gold medal.

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2 | Troy Tulowitzki | SS | 2006-2015

What a career Troy Tulowitzki could have had without facing injury problems year after year.

Tulo burst onto the MLB scene in 2007, helping guide the Rockies to its first World Series berth while earning a second-place finish in rookie of the year voting.

However, the prolific shortstop missed more than 60 games the following season during one of what would become several injury-plagued years.

Tulowitzki represented the Rockies in the All-Star Game five times, finished in the top five of MVP voting twice, and earned a pair of Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards in 2010 and 2011.

But for all of his accolades, Tulowitzki leads the franchise in just one category, single-season assists (561, 2007) but does rank second in WAA per season, just behind the franchise’s top player of the past two decades.

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1 | Larry Walker | OF | 2000-2004

By the time the new millennium rolled around, Larry Walker’s best days had passed the Hall of Fame-worthy outfielder. But, if the late 1990s were the prime of his career, Walker certainly followed them up with remarkable seasons to finish his Rockies career.

Since 2000, no Colorado player has posted a higher average WAA mark (4.45) than Walker.

Between 2000 and 2004, when he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, Walker posted an OPS of 1.008, an average of .321, 95 home runs and a WAR of 21.7.

Among the annals of Rockies history, Walker ranks tops in average (.334), on-base percentage (.426), slugging percentage (.618) and OPS (1.044).