Rockies are one of the most hopeless situations in baseball

Opening Day is supposed to bring hope and excitement to baseball fans. It is supposed to be a day of celebration and optimism and the idea that maybe anything can happen over the next 162 games. 

For the Colorado Rockies, Opening Day for the 2024 season was a harsh reminder of the reality that is sitting in front of them over the next six months and coming years. 

It is bad. Really bad.

Not only did the Rockies lose their season opener, they allowed 14 runs in a record-setting third inning on their way to an embarrassing 16-1 loss to the reigning National League champion Arizona Diamondbacks. 

Coming on the heels of a 103-loss season, there might not be a worse and more hopeless situation in the National League. The only thing keeping it from being the most hopeless situation in all of baseball is the existence of the Oakland A's and their uncertain future. 

Let's just take a look at the situation as it sits. They have had five consecutive losing seasons. They have lost 90 games in three of those seasons and played at a 90-loss pace in the shortened 2020 season, while also losing 87 games during the 2021 season. 

The MLB roster is completely devoid of any sort of impact talent and has few long-term building blocks. Only one player on the roster this season is projected to have a WAR of 2.0 wins this season, and that is outfielder Nolan Jones. A 2.0 WAR is nothing more than a league-average player. 

Kris Bryant is in the second year of a seven-year, $182 million contract and looks to be a shell of his former self. He is coming off the worst season of his career. Unless something dramatically turns around with him, that contract is going to rapidly turn into an albatross. 

Even worse, the Rockies' farm system is nothing special and ranks — at best — in the middle of the pack and at worst in the bottom 10 in the league. ESPN ranked it as the 22nd-best farm system in baseball back in February. 

A bad MLB roster and a bad farm system create a pretty bleak outlook both now and in the future. It is hard to see how this will turn around anytime soon without any future stars or current impact players.