2023 Topps Allen & Ginter

The 2023 Topps Allen & Ginter was released in September. It’s a popular product. When I passed by several sports card shops, this product was sold out. A few weeks ago, I went to a sports card shop and eventually saw that there were some hobby packs.

 

I didn’t hesitate to get a hobby pack and tried to see whether I could find something interesting. When I opened it, I found a Nolan Jones rookie card, which is a mini one.

 

I like to collect rookie cards and a mini rookie card is surely an interesting card to have. While seeing this rookie card, I began to think about the performances of the Rockies’ rookies.

 

The Rockies had a disappointing season, however, some rookies might become the cornerstone of the franchise?

 

To understand a little bit more, I went to check on the MLB website.

 

Stats (Hitting, Rockies, Rookies, 2023)
Player	G	H	HR	RBI	SB	BA	OPS
Ezequiel Tovar	153	147	15	73	11	.253	.695
Brenton Doyle	126	81	10	48	22	.203	.593
Nolan Jones	106	109	20	62	20	.297	.931
Michael Toglia	45	23	4	9	1	.163	.508
Hunter Goodman	23	14	1	17	1	.200	.633
Coco Montes	18	7	1	3	0	.184	.560
Connor Kaiser	3	0	0	0	0	.000	.000

 

When we look at the stats of Rockies’ rookies, actually, some players had a lot of opportunities. 3 rookies each played at least 100 games for the Rockies in 2023. Ezequiel Tovar made his MLB debut in 2022, but he only played 9 games. In 2023, he played 153 games, hitting .253/.287/.408 with 15 home runs and 73 RBI. At the same time, Brenton Doyle slashed .203/.250/.343 with 10 home runs and 48 RBI over 126 games. Doyle was called up in late April and this season, he won the NL Gold Glove award. Doyle’s defense, without doubt, is an asset for the Rockies. Now, let’s look at Nolan Jones. Jones made his MLB debut in the Guardians uniform in 2022. Last year, he batted .244/.309/.372 with 2 home runs and 13 RBI. In November 2022, Jones was traded to the Rockies. In 2023, he didn’t make the Opening Day roster, nonetheless, he was called up in mid-April. But, a few days later, he was optioned to the minors. Nevertheless, Jones was called up again in May and has become a very important player in the Rockies lineup. In 2023, Jones slashed .297/.389/.542 with 20 home runs and 62 RBI. Additionally, he had 20 stolen bases. So, Nolan Jones finished the 2023 season with 20 home runs and 20 steals.

 

Stats (Pitching, Rockies, Rookies, 2023)
Player	G	IP	W-L	SO	ERA	WHIP
Connor Seabold	27	87.1	1-7	67	7.52	1.65
Gavin Hollowell	26	33.2	2-0	32	5.88	1.46
Tommy Doyle	15	23.2	0-1	18	6.85	1.52
Karl Kauffmann	11	35.0	2-5	16	8.23	1.66
Evan Justice	9	7.1	0-0	7	8.59	3.00
Noah Davis	8	30.0	0-4	26	8.70	1.93
Victor Vodnik	6	8.2	1-0	12	8.31	2.08
Blair Calvo	1	1.0	0-0	0	0.00	0.00
Riley Pint	1	0.1	0-0	0	27.00	12.00

 

Taking a look at the stats among rookie pitchers in the Rockies, well, it doesn’t look good. Connor Seabold made 13 starts and 14 relief appearances in 2023, posting an ERA over 7 and a WHIP over 1.50 over 87.1 innings. Gavin Hollowell made 26 relief appearances for the Rockies, posting a 5.88 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP in 33.2 innings. Furthermore, Karl Kauffmann and Noah Davis each threw at least 30 innings this year. They each finished the season with an ERA over 8.

 

Well, looking at the stats of the rookies from the Rockies, it truly shows that calling up Nolan Jones is surely a great decision. He finished the season with an OPS over .900. Among the Rockies players who played at least 100 games in 2023, Jones is the only player who had an OPS over .800. Moreover, he crushed 20 home runs, only behind Ryan McMahon, who blasted 23 home runs. The Rockies will certainly rely on his power on the offense, and it will be worth watching whether he can continue his great performance in 2024.