The Colorado Rockies and Seattle Mariners took quite different, yet similar approaches to building their rosters for the 2024 season. Colorado stayed the course with their current build, merely plugging holes in the hopes that the team could rebound as they bide their time for a new generation of Rockies to rise to the top. The Mariners, with a focus on cutting down on strikeouts, shuffled their roster quite a bit, aiming for an addition-by-subtraction approach as they aimed to build an offense behind an impressive pitching staff.

Unfortunately for either team, it ultimately resulted in not doing much of anything to improve their teams, but they are still in vastly different places to begin the season. The Rockies (4-15) have yet to win a series after getting swept by the Phillies while the Mariners (9-10) are coming off a series sweep of the Cincinnati Reds.

Here are a few things to watch in Colorado this weekend.

Pitching Probables

4/19: Dakota Hudson (0-3, 4.15 ERA) vs. Emerson Hancock (1-2, 7.98 ERA)

4/20: Kyle Freeland (0-3, 13.21 ERA) vs. Luis Castillo (0-4, 5.82 ERA)

4/21: Cal Qunatrill (0-2, 5.57 ERA) vs. George Kirby (2-2, 6.64 ERA)

Strikeouts for everyone

Both the Mariners and the Rockies tried to emphasize reducing strikeouts, yet 19 games into the season it’s still a major issue. The Mariners are currently tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have played two more games, for the league lead in offensive strikeouts with 198 strikeouts while the Rockies aren’t far behind with 189 strikeouts. Both teams rank in the lower half of the league in runs scored as well as on-base percentage. The overabundance of strikeouts has also pointed towards a lack of power from both lineups and will be an interesting factor during the series at Coors Field. The M’s had 25 hits and 20 walks during their three-game sweep of the Reds, though their 31 strikeouts combined over those contests remain high. The Rockies also struck out 30 times in their three games against the Phillies.

Trouble with the ace

The Rockies faced four straight quality pitchers on their road trip, including two aces in Jose Berrios of the Toronto Blue Jays and Aaron Nola of the Phillies. Both aces dominated the Rockies deep into the ballgame, wracking up the strikeouts and limiting any type of damage for balls in play. The Rockies were then shut out by Ranger Suarez on Tuesday before Cristopher Sanchez held them in check for six innings on Wednesday. Against top-tier starter pitching, even mid-tier starting pitching, the Rockies have struggled against pitchers that pepper the zone and offer a good mix that includes quality offspeed and breaking pitches below the zone. They will face two tough customers in Luis Castillo and George Kirby who, despite their inflated numbers to start the year, are two of the best in the league.

Home sweet home

During their last home stand, the Rockies offense came to life as they scored 30 runs while batting .275/.345/.459 in six games. They clubbed eight home runs while drawing 23 walks against 63 strikeouts. During the 1-5 road trip they scored just 22 runs with four home runs and posted a .685 OPS while striking out 64 times against just 15 walks. The Rockies have always enjoyed the comforts of home at Coors Field and will look to take advantage again to boost their offensive numbers and try to find some sort of rhythm.