Has Hunter Goodman Passed Drew Romo as the Rockies’ Catcher of the Future?

Long considered an above-average defender, the 23-year-old has registered five caught stealings on 19 stolen base attempts since debuting with the Rockies last month. His 1.94-second pop-time ranks in the 69th percentile among all catchers in MLB.

However, Colorado’s no. 8 prospect according to MLB Pipeline is 8-for-46 (.174) at the plate since debuting on Aug. 17. As such, playing time for the switch-hitter has been hard to come by as of late. Romo has started once in the Rockies’ last nine games and just twice in their last 12.

Instead, Colorado and manager Bud Black have turned to 24-year-old Hunter Goodman.

It’s All Goodman

Selected in the 2021 MLB Draft just one year after Romo, the University of Memphis product moved quickly through the minors thanks to a pair of 30-homer campaigns in his first two full seasons in the organization.

While Goodman’s bat was projected to make an impact in the majors, his abilities on the defensive side were deemed less than ready. He began to play more first base in 2022, and when he continued to rake in 2023 at Double-A and Triple-A, an outfielder’s mitt was added to his bag.

Goodman made his big league debut a little more than two years after being drafted and had immediate success before the league adjusted to him. During this honeymoon period, he became the first Rockies player to record 17 RBI through their first 17 career games.

Yet, he finished the season with a .200/.247/.386 slash line and a .632 OPS.

The 2024 season began with Goodman playing all three positions again in Triple-A while Romo received the bulk of playing time behind the plate for the Isotopes. Goodman’s first promotion on April 24 produced a similar slash line as the previous year and playing time proved an obstacle once again.

“The guys who are playing every day the whole season, and putting up the numbers they put up, it’s really impressive,” he said of the benefits of playing regularly. “It does get you in a rhythm. You feel like you’re ready to play every day, and you’re in a good mindset.”

After primary catcher Elias Díaz made a rare trip to the injured list on June 14, Goodman made the most of his second start of the year at catcher by going 4-for-5 with two home runs and 4 RBI on June 15. He started four more games at catcher over the next 10 contests before the return of Díaz quashed opportunities once again.

Playing time dried up and Goodman was sent back to Albuquerque with minimal games behind the plate. The Sept. 1 roster expansion saw Goodman as the lone position player the Rockies recalled, but Romo was blocking him at catcher.

A solo homer on Sept. 8 in Milwaukee laid the groundwork for a seismic shift that would come with a historic performance when the club returned to Colorado.

Goodman went 3-for-4 with two home runs — including his first grand slam — and seven runs batted in against a Chicago Cubs team fighting for a Wild Card spot.

“After a night like that, you have to try and figure a way to shut it off and be like, ‘Alright, I gotta get ready for this next day and try and have some more success the next day,’” he said of becoming only the second catcher in team history with seven RBI in a game and just the first rookie to record that many.

Ultimately, it’s his ability to play competent defense and work with the pitching staff that will determine whether or not Goodman is truly the franchise favorite for the future.

“We’ve moved him around trying to find at-bats for him over the last two years, not knowing where he might end up here,” Black said of Goodman’s first forays in the majors. “But with him now, it makes sense to see what we got here behind the plate.”

In addition, Black has praised his game-calling, ball-receiving and blocking. Kyle Freeland, a veteran starting pitcher who has worked with Goodman on numerous occasions, offered a similar review of his battery mate.

“Goody was incredible back there once again. We were on the same page. Never had to shake him. Did a great job,” Freeland said following seven innings of work against the Cubs during a 6-5 walk-off win on Sept. 13.

Goodman continues to get more comfortable with each passing day. His initial pairing with Antonio Senzatela for the right-hander’s first start since last May following Tommy John surgery went smoothly. And playing more regularly has also been a shot in the arm in terms of confidence building.

“The more you get behind the plate, the easier it gets. But at the same time, catching is a hard position, so you have to stay ready back there,” Goodman said. “Getting to catch some different guys in the game just recently has helped me a lot to understand more, like what they’re trying to do and what we’re going to try and do against certain hitters and stuff like that.”

If that’s not enough to convince the Rockies and their fanbase that Goodman is on the right track, he continued to make headlines against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Homers in back-to-back games helped with a pair of wins over the postseason hopefuls. Furthermore, he recorded his first caught stealing in a one-run game on Monday against Corbin Carroll, one of the fastest base runners in the game today.

The offseason is long and spring training is another battleground for players trying to earn their place in the starting lineup. In spite of four home runs and a .357/.400/1.214 slash line in his last four games, nothing is certain when it comes to Goodman’s and Romo’s playing time in 2025.

“I think competition is a good thing for any team,” Goodman said of the Rockies catching options. “Pushing other guys to be better is always going to work out in a good way.”

So far, the good way appears to favor Goodman.