Welcome to the 2025 edition of Ranking the Rockies, where we look back at each player to determine playing time for the Rockies in 2025. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizational principle derived from WAR (rWAR) from Baseball Reference. It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll start with the player with the lowest rWAR and end with the player with the highest.
No. 12, Ryan Ritter (0.3 rWAR)
Like twelve other players, Ryan Ritter made his MLB debut for the Colorado Rockies in 2025. Specifically, he was called up in early June in a series of roster moves that included the release of veteran catcher Jacob Stallings and the placement of Ezequiel Tovar on the 10-day IL with a left oblique strain.
Ritter played shortstop and batted sixth in his debut, going 1-for-4 with a triple – as his first MLB hit – and a strikeout in his first go-around.
He spent six weeks with the team before hitting the IL himself with a right middle finger tear in late July. He then had to recover for three weeks. After a quick rehab assignment in Albuquerque, Ritter returned to the lineup on August 15 and remained there for the rest of the season.
He spent the rest of the season primarily at second base, with occasional brief stints.
In his rookie year, Ritter hit .241/.296/.337 in 60 games with nine doubles, three triples, one home run, 18 RBI, three stolen bases (in four attempts), 10 walks (4.8%) and 61 strikeouts (29.5%).
“It was great,” Ritter said in September of his debut season. “It’s always been a dream to be here and play in the MLB, so I’ve been very happy and definitely enjoyed the ride.”
Aside from his debut, Ritter said the highlight of his year was “getting it.” [his] first home run out of the way” on July 12 against the Cincinnati Reds.
“I got it a few days before the All-Star Break,” he recalls. “It was fun. I wanted to go into the All-Star Break with at least one. So that was a great day. My family was there, my college coaches were there too, so it was a great day.”
Ritter was originally drafted in the fourth round of the 2022 Draft out of the University of Kentucky. He worked his way up through the minors and ended up in Double-A Hartford near the end of the 2023 season. Prior to his call-up, he was on a 17-game hitting streak, hitting .453/.500/1.027 with 10 doubles, three triples, nine home runs, 13 strikeouts and only eight walks. He was also named PCL Player of the Week and Rockies Organizational Player of the Month for two weeks for May.
However, like any debut season, 2025 was not without challenges for Ritter.
“This is a new level of baseball and it’s definitely a challenge,” he said. “I would say: the daily grind of just learning [has been the biggest challenge]. But the veterans have taken me under their wing, and I’m learning and trying to adapt to the game as quickly as possible. It was a good challenge.”
In particular, he mentioned Kyle Farmer and Orlando Arcia as two veterans who helped him adapt to the big leagues.
“They just teach me,” he said. “I mean, they’ve all been doing it in this game for a long time, so they’re just teaching me the little things. Nothing crazy, just how to be a professional in general.”
And they helped him with game planning, especially Farmer.
“I feel like what these guys are doing here is a good game plan of what they think pitchers are trying to do to them,” he said. “So I just listen to them and what they think. I know it’s really important to have a plan when you play. I definitely lean on [Farmer] for advice. If you’re not playing, he’s a nice guy to sit next to during the game.”
Looking ahead, Ritter is working on improving his game.
“[I’m most looking forward to] I gained some confidence in the offseason,” he said, “and then improved my game in every aspect and got stronger. It will be a big priority, but I couldn’t be more excited about the future.”
Ritter had a strong rookie season, but saw some of the wear and tear towards the end of the season, like many of the others. Warren Schaeffer even said Ritter should hit the weight room this offseason to build up more endurance for the 2026 season.
With Tovar on the roster, the shortstop will likely be locked up for the foreseeable future, so Ritter will likely compete for second base alongside Adael Amador and possibly others. Paul DePodesta has a lot to think about going forward, and one of those questions is whether Ritter was strong enough to stay on the Rockies roster.
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