{"id":124233,"date":"2026-06-23T11:30:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T15:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=124233"},"modified":"2026-06-23T11:20:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T15:20:31","slug":"rockies-history-nl-roty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/06\/23\/rockies-history-nl-roty\/","title":{"rendered":"Examining the Rockies History With NL Rookie of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

With TJ Rumfield<\/a> having a stellar rookie season<\/a> with the Colorado Rockies, it’s an appropriate time to examine the club’s history with the National League Rookie of the Year award. The winners’ circle in Colorado for the award is very small. Starting pitcher Jason Jennings<\/a> in 2002 is the only Rockie to bring home the award in the 34 years of the franchise. But there are several recent Rockies who have been in the running, along with two Rockies’ greats who came oh so close to joining Jennings in the winners’ circle.<\/p>\n

The Toddfather and Tulo<\/h2>\n

Most Rockies fans probably would have guessed this one. Todd Helton<\/a> is one of only two Rockies in the Hall of Fame, and Troy Tulowitzki<\/a> is an all-time great in Colorado who could have potentially been in the Hall of Fame with Helton if not for his horrible injury luck. Helton was drafted eighth overall in the 1995 Major League Baseball Draft out of the University of Tennessee. His first full season was in 1998, when he played in 152 games with the Rockies.<\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

Helton came in second in NL ROTY voting that season, earning 119 voting points, finishing with a 74% share of the vote. Behind only starting pitcher Kerry Wood<\/a> of the Chicago Cubs, who earned 128 vote points and 80% of the vote. Helton was very deserving that season, hitting .315\/.380\/.530 with a .911 OPS, 25 home runs, and 97 RBI, amassing an impressive 3.2 WAR.<\/p>\n

But Wood was also great, earning a 3.8 WAR while holding opponents to just a .130 batting average, .145 OBP, and .241 SLG. In 26 games started, he went 13-6 with a 3.40 ERA in 166 2\/3 innings pitched with a whopping 233 Ks to just 85 BBs. Also hurting Helton was the Rockies’ winning just 77 games that season compared to the Cubs going 90-73. Even though he came up just short, Helton was a bright spot on a bad Rockies team, showing an early glimpse of the all-time great player #17 would be for 17 years in purple.<\/p>\n

The Case for Troy<\/h2>\n

Like with Helton, it was a two-horse race for Tulowitzki in 2007. The rookie phenom played in 155 games for Colorado, hitting .291\/.359\/.479 with an .838 OPS, 24 home runs, and 99 RBI. Earning Tulo a stellar 6.8 WAR that season, which ended up being the highest of his illustrious career. It was a storybook debut for the rookie from Long Beach State University in the only year in which the Rockies won the NL Pennant. Unfortunately, it was not to be as Ryan Braun<\/a> of the Milwaukee Brewers took home the award.<\/p>\n

Tulowitzki dwarfed Braun’s 2.0 WAR, but Braun finished with 34 home runs and 97 RBI in 42 fewer games. Braun also had significantly higher SLG. (.634) and OPS (.1004). However, when you look at the other side of the ball, it was not even close.<\/p>\n

Tulowitzki, a future multiple Gold Glove winner, locked down shortstop for the Rockies, leading<\/a> all shortstops with a .987 fielding percentage and the MLB with 561 assists. Braun, meanwhile, was an absolute defensive liability for Milwaukee, leading the league with 26 errors and a paltry .895 fielding percentage while manning the hot corner. Unsurprisingly, following the 2007 season, Braun never played another game at third for the remainder of his career.<\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

It was one of the tightest races of all-time, with Braun narrowly winning with 128 voting points to Tulowitzki’s 126. Braun earned 80% of the vote compared to Tulowitzki’s 79%. It’s hard not to feel like Tulowitzki was robbed here. Yes, Braun was a much better producer offensively, but he was nonexistent defensively. Additionally, Tulowitzki played in 42 more games, and the Rockies finished 90-73 compared to the Brewers finishing 83-79.<\/p>\n

Finally, perhaps the strongest argument for Tulowitzki is twofold. First, his finishing 18th in the NL MVP voting while Braun finished 24th and his WAR. Obviously, WAR is not the end all be all when it comes to stats. But it is perhaps the best when it comes to encompassing the quality of a player’s season.<\/p>\n

Which makes it worth noting that Tulowitzki’s 6.8 WAR<\/strong> is the highest WAR of any NL ROTY finalist since 1998. Higher than Albert Pujols<\/a> (6.6 WAR in 2001), Jos\u00e9 Fern\u00e1ndez<\/a> (6.2 WAR in 2013), and Kris Bryant<\/a> (5.4 WAR) in 2015. All of whom won the award by a landslide. Meanwhile, Braun’s 2.0 WAR<\/strong> is the lowest of any NL ROTY winner since 1998. That’s what you call a robbery, folks.<\/p>\n

Other Noteworthy Rookie Seasons for the Rockies<\/h2>\n

Story Time<\/h3>\n

No Rockie has finished second since Tulowitzki. But there have been some special rookie seasons recently that are worth noting. Namely, Trevor Story’s<\/a> loud debut in 2016 when he began his career with six home runs in his first four games, including two home runs off of Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke<\/a> in his Major League debut! Story went on to hit .272\/.341\/.567 with a .909 OPS in an impressive debut season in Colorado.<\/p>\n

But Story, unfortunately, had his special rookie season cut short due to a torn ligament in his left thumb that required surgery and limited Story to just 97 games. There’s a strong argument to be made that Story would have brought home the hardware had he played the full season.<\/p>\n

He still posted an impressive 4.1 WAR with 27 home runs and 72 RBI, earning him a 16% share of the vote and a fourth-place finish. Even though he didn’t win, Story’s debut season is one of the more memorable rookie seasons in Rockies’ history, as he began a six-year stretch as the everyday shortstop for the Rockies.<\/p>\n

Nolan Jones<\/h3>\n

Nolan Jones<\/a> is one of the more surprising ones. He arrived as a quiet addition from Cleveland in exchange for minor league infielder Juan Brito<\/a>. Jones appeared in just 28 games for the Guardians in 2022, keeping his rookie eligibility for 2023.<\/p>\n

His offense took off upon his arrival in Colorado. He hit .297\/.389\/.542 with an impressive .931 OPS. His 20 home runs were second on the Rockies that season, combined with 62 RBI and 20 stolen bases. He was also stellar in left field that season, ranking in the 100th percentile per Statcast<\/a> with an eight arm value and an otherworldly arm strength of 98.9 mph.<\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

Jones finished fourth in the NL ROTY voting that year, earning 11% of the voting totals. Arizona’s Corbin Carroll<\/a> was the only player to receive first-place votes, as he won by a landslide in what was a stellar rookie season for the center fielder. But beyond the award, it appeared that Jones meshed perfectly in Colorado and would be a five-tool outfielder alongside Brenton Doyle<\/a> for years to come, manning the spacious outfield of Coors Field.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Jones’ power vanished in 2024<\/a> as he dealt with various injuries and plummeted offensively. He did not show any improvement the following spring and was sent back to Cleveland. He again really struggled offensively in 2025 and was recently traded again to the Chicago White Sox this June. He is currently with Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate and has not appeared in the Majors this season. It was a stunning turn of events after such a promising rookie season in Colorado. But Jones, at the very least, gave Rockies fans something to cheer for during a rebuilding 2023 season.<\/p>\n

TJ Rumfield Could End the Drought<\/h2>\n

Rumfield could very well be the first Rockie to win NL ROTY in 24 years. Currently, he leads the Rockies with 75 hits and 42 RBI. He is also hitting .279 with an impressive .837 OPS and is tied for second<\/a> among NL rookies with 12 home runs. Additionally, Rumfield has been an excellent defender, ranking in the 89th percentile league-wide per Statcast<\/a> with four outs above average.<\/p>\n

He is the latest to offer the Rockies a vision of a long-term first baseman, and his underlying metrics show he may be a sustainable option to do just that. Rockies President of Baseball Operations Paul DePodesta acquired Rumfield this offseason for reliever Angel Chivilli<\/a> as one of several shrewd moves<\/a> made by DePodesta in his first offseason with Colorado.<\/p>\n

\"Colorado
Jun 20, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies first baseman TJ Rumfield (7) hits an RBI single in the third inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now Rumfield joins Troy Johnston<\/a>, Jake McCarthy<\/a>, Mickey Moniak<\/a>, and Hunter Goodman<\/a> as pieces starting to resemble a potentially dangerous Rockies lineup. Yes, a “dangerous” Rockies lineup. The Rockies are still rebuilding this year, but this offense shows the most promise out of any Rockies lineup in years. Rumfield has been one of the players leading that charge, and earning ROTY would be a nice feather in the cap as he helps lead the new era of Rockies baseball.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With TJ Rumfield having a stellar rookie season with the Colorado Rockies, it’s an appropriate time to examine the club’s history with the National League Rookie of the Year award. The winners’ circle in Colorado for the award is very small. Starting pitcher Jason Jennings in 2002 is the only Rockie to bring home the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5354,"featured_media":124247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32,1071,35],"tags":[625,77,4994,105,2936,647,29289,4537,29359,467],"class_list":["post-124233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rockies","category-mlb","category-news","tag-albert-pujols","tag-jose-fernandez","tag-kerry-wood","tag-kris-bryant","tag-nolan-jones","tag-ryan-braun","tag-tj-rumfield","tag-todd-helton","tag-troy-johnston","tag-troy-tulowitzki"],"modified_by":"Augustus Oswald, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5354"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124233"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124253,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124233\/revisions\/124253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}