The two Rockies that should make the MLB All-Star Game
Amid the Rockies’ worst season, catcher Hunter Goodman and reliever Jake Bird stand out as deserving All-Star picks.
The Colorado Rockies haven’t had a true All-Star since Nolan Arenado in 2019. But, amid their worst season in franchise history, two players are deserving of spots in this year’s Midsummer Classic.
Each summer at the halfway mark of the MLB season, fans vote for eight players from each league to start in the All-Star Game. Although the Rockies won’t have a starter for the fifth year in a row, Colorado has two players with admirable resumes to make the trip.
After the fan vote, a small group of people between the player ballot and the commissioner’s office determine the pitchers and reserve players for the game. They need to balance the requirement of giving each team a representative while awarding talent and hard work.
Catcher Hunter Goodman and relief pitcher Jake Bird have been sunny patches in the Rockies’ otherwise stormy season. Goodman is restoring faith at the catcher position among Rockies fans, while Bird has been, statistically speaking, the best player in purple this year.
Hunter Goodman
First up is Goodman, who was robbed of the opportunity to be the National League’s starting catcher. He lost out to Will Smith of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Carson Kelly of the Chicago Cubs. Although both ballplayers are having great first halves, neither beat out Goodman in various hitting stats.
The 24-year-old leads all NL catchers among hits, home runs and RBI. Goodman is also top three among NL catchers in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. By solely allowing fans to determine the game’s starters, a popularity contest breaks out. That’s why it makes sense that Smith was a finalist as the catcher of a team that just won the World Series and an organization that controls MLB’s international fan base. However, Kelly getting in over Goodman is unreasonable.
Goodman has stayed healthy and reliable all season, playing in 77 games — 23 more than Kelly and 10 more than Smith. He’s immersed his at-bat strategy into swinging as hard as he can, and clears Kelly in bat speed, hard-hit percentage, and average exit velocity. His success in 2025 has come from swinging harder and faster than other players, and the results have surfaced with zero league recognition.
It's nearly certain that Goodman will make an appearance in the All-Star Game, since each team must be represented. However, a single at-bat in a late inning isn’t enough spotlight for a maturing player who is already putting up premier numbers.
The only reason to doubt that Goodman won’t go to Atlanta is the unexpected season that middle-inning relief pitcher Jake Bird is having. Bird has been just another disappointing bullpen arm since 2022, but this year by the stat wins above replacement (WAR), he’s been the Rockies’ best player.
Jake Bird
WAR is baseball’s be-all and end-all statistic. A universal number that grades hitters and pitchers alike based on each players’ performance. Goodman’s first-half WAR is 1.8, while Bird’s sits at 1.9. Although a relief pitcher leading the team in WAR says more about the 2025 Rockies than Bird’s play, he still leads his team in WAR, which warrants an All-Star conversation.
He has the lowest ERA on the Rockies (2.63), along with the most innings pitched of any reliever on the team. Of his 37 outings, he has had 10 efforts go two innings or more. His breaking balls are among the best in the sport, with 26 strikeouts off his curveball and another 20 off his slider.
Among all NL relievers who have thrown over 40 innings, Bird has the fourth-lowest ERA. He is also in the top 8% of all pitchers when it comes to limiting hitters to the lowest expected slugging percentage (xSLG). xSLG is an advanced stat that removes luck and recalculates a slugging percentage using launch angle, exit velocity and other metrics to better reflect a player's skill.
Although it’s uncommon for relievers to make the All-Star Game, it’s not outlandish. Around 10 pitchers take the mound for each team during the game, and while the NL features some tremendous arms, the Rockies still need a delegate.
Even if Colorado is on pace to be the worst team of all time, Goodman and Bird have offered Rockies fans a rare sense of solace. The pitchers and reserves will be announced on July 6, before the All-Star break begins with the Home Run Derby on Monday, July 14, and the All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 15. Both will be broadcast on ESPN.