The historically bad 2025 Colorado Rockies look very different than they did back on March 28 when the season began in a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
With this in mind, the staff at Purple Row felt it would be useful to revisit the “State of the Position” series that we ran in March as a season preview. Let’s face it: This season is historic (in a bad way) for the Rockies, and the team has changed substantially since May 11 when Bud Black was removed as from his position as manager.
We felt like mid-season was a good time to re-visit where the Rockies are now, how they’re different with interim manager Warren Schaeffer, and if it’s possible to get a sense of where the team may be headed next.
We’ve also asked authors of the spring pieces to re-evaluate their earlier remarks with an eye toward the trade deadline.
(All numbers are current as of July 9, 2025.)
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What I said in March
When I wrote about the catcher position in March, I got many, many things wrong.
I assumed that Jacob Stallings would pick up where he left off in 2024 as the Rockies starting catcher with Hunter Goodman and Drew Romo jockeying for the backup position. In addition, I wrote that Braxton Fulford would probably “be in limbo for a bit” as Goodman and Romo sorted things out.
We’re now more than halfway through the season, and my prognostications have proven faulty.
Hunter Goodman has emerged as the starting catcher — in fact, he’s an All-Star.
Jacob Stallings received his unconditional release on June 6 and is now with the Baltimore Orioles. Braxton Fulford made his MLB debut on April 14 and in early July was replaced by Austin Nola.
Meanwhile, Romo began the season with a finger injury that kept him out of the Albuquerque Isotopes lineup until May 21.
Before moving into the analysis, I want to note that the catcher position was profoundly affected by the Rockies’ decision to move on from Bud Black.
His affinity for experienced, pitcher-first catchers was well known, and a review of his time with the Rockies provides ample illustrations of this tendency. As a pitcher-first manager, he was less concerned with offensive output (e.g., Tony Wolters) than the ability to handle a pitching staff. In short, it was difficult for a young catcher to break through under Black’s watch.
That changed with Schaeffer. When asked about the decision to release Stallings, he told media, “We decided to go younger.”
Those are words Black would never have said.
Where the Rockies are now
The starter
Clearly, Hunter Goodman has earned that job. Currently, he is the Rockies’ best hitter (116 wRC+) with 17 home runs and a slashline of .277/.322/.510. In terms of his offense, he is among the National League’s best catchers.
That said, the defensive side of his game continues to evolve, and he is working closely with catcher coach Dustin Garneau to develop this part of his game. He’s currently 26th in Catcher Framing and 45th in Pop Time. He leads all NL catchers in errors with seven, and he has a -6 DRS.
Goodman, then, presents an interesting quandary for a couple of reasons. First, he is hitting better away from Coors than he is at elevation. When he solves his offensive Coors problem, Goodman’s offensive game should accelerate.
Second, he is a significantly better hitter when he’s catching than when he is not. (At Coors, he has a 83 OPS+; on the road, that number is 161.)
As Goodman has explained, “Like when I’m catching that day, the stuff behind the plate is more important than the stuff in the box. So just being able to kind of forget about my at bats, whether I do good or bad, and go back to catching and then reset for the next at bat, I think it’s a little easier to do that when I’m behind the plate.”
Warren Schaeffer has decided the offense is worth the defensive sacrifice. This is a part of his game that will need additional development.
But in the near term, the starting catcher position is Goodman’s to lose. However, there are some concerns with durability. Goodman has already surpassed the number of innings he previously caught, and Schaeffer is cognizant of this. Given that he missed some time with a sore hamstring, it will be important for the Rockies to protect Goodman’s health.
Goodman’s emergence is something few saw coming. Although he moved rapidly through the Rockies farm system because of his bat, he was not expected to stick as a catcher. Jeff Aberle wrote in 2024 of the No. 16 PuRP, “The ability to at least fake it at catcher also provides Goodman’s profile a bit of extra juice, though it’s unlikely he ends up behind the plate much at the big-league level.”
But here we are, with Goodman his best offensive self when he is catching.
The backup
There’s some indecision here on the part of the organization.
Following Stallings’ release, Schaeffer has experimented with Braxton Fulford (No. 39 PuRP) and Austin Nola behind the plate.
Fulford slashed .250/.262/.495 (71 wRC+) in 42 plate appearances. The 26 year old did hit one home run and accumulate 11 RBI. This year in Triple-A Albuquerque, he’s had 134 plate appearances and a slashline of .333/.410/.692 (153 wRC+). That includes 10 home runs.
When Fulford was sent down, Schaeffer was clear the Rockies liked what they had seen in Fulford, but that they had given him things to work on and wanted to ensure he saw everyday at-bats. It seems safe to assume that Fulford will return to the Rockies at some point after the All-Star Break.
Austin Nola is a contrast to Fulford. A journeyman backup catcher, the 35 year old has only seen eight at-bats with the Rockies. Currently, his slashline is .143/.143/.143 though the numbers are relatively worthless. In Albuquerque, those numbers were as follows: In 103 at-bats, he slashed .330/.397/.853 with 34 hits, including one home run.
Clearly, though, Nola is a short-term member of the roster. If Bud Black were still managing the Rockies, he would perhaps receive more playing time, but the Rockies’ commitment to their youth movement is clear.
Depth options
Here’s where things get complicated.
Since being drafted in 2020, Drew Romo has been touted as the Rockies catcher of the future. An injury gave him a late start to the season, and since then, the 23 year old has struggled. In 109 at-bats, he’s slashed just .250/.312/.390 (64 wRC+) in Triple-A. Worth noting, though is that over the last week or so, he’s looking much better at the plate. (There’s still the matter of his loopy throw back to the pitcher.)
But given the Rockies’ current options, there’s no sense he will return to the Rockies in the near term though he probably will before the end of the season.
Daniel Cope is also on the ‘Topes roster. In 38 at-bats, he’s earned a .342/.468/.889 slashline.
After that, the farm looks like this:
Double-A Hartford
- Bryant Betancourt (No. 57 PuRP) — He’s slashed .208/.291/.630 with seven homers in 192 at-bats.
- Jose Cordova (No. T-64 PuRP) — He’s slashed .275/.406/.819 with four homers in 160 at-bats.
- Ronaiker Palma — He started the season in Albuquerque but was moved to Hartford. Palma has slashed .232/.292/.560 with zero home runs in 82 at-bats.
- Cole Carrigg (No. 10 PuRP) — Carrigg is probably a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency catcher given that he’s made his defensive mark in center field. However, he is still listed as a catcher.
Both Cordova (who played in the Arizona Fall League) and Betancourt are having great seasons in Hartford, so keep that in mind.
High-A Spokane
- Cole Messina (No. 27 PuRP) — He’s slashed .258/.354/.758 with five homers in 240 at-bats.
- Ben McCabe — He’s slashed .106/.259/.411 with zero homers in 66 at-bats.
- Darius Perry — He’s slashed .068/.127/.296 with two home runs in 59 at-bats.
Messina, drafted in 2024, is the player to watch here.
Low-A Fresno
- Juan Castillo — He’s slashed .164/.234/.414 with zero homers in 128 at-bats.
- Alan Espinal — He’s slashed .185/.284/.536 with two home runs in 135 at-bats.
- Jimmy Obertop —He’s slashed .256/.407/.779 with one homer in 43 at-bats.
At this point, there’s not much to see in Fresno on the catching front.
Closing thoughts
The catching position looks different now than it did when the season started, largely due to the emergence of Hunter Goodman, something few saw coming. His development has probably skewed the Rockies’ plans in terms of Drew Romo. How that shakes out remains to be seen.
However, there’s still a lot of sorting left: Who will be the backup catcher? (My money is on Fulford). What happens with Drew Romo? (I have no idea.) How quickly will Cole Messina develop? (Who knows?)
It’s a part of the organization to keep an eye on going forward.
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