The moment Troy Tulowitzki took off that Rockies cap in favor of a Blue Jays one, there was a shift in power down at Coors Field. For years, chants of Tulo reverberated throughout LoDo; he was the face of the franchise, and the best player to ever don the purple and black.

But now, the reins have been released, and Nolan Arenado has taken over without hesitation.

While working his way up through the minor leagues, Arenado long drew the excitement of the Rockies faithful, but even his most ardent supporters couldn’t have predicted this rise to stardom. A defensive wizard, Arenado has surprised all of baseball with his increasingly powerful and jaw-dropping offensive talents.

When it comes to all-around infielders, there are few better, if any.

And ESPN recognized that, as they ranked Arenado as the 24th best player in baseball, 53 spots higher than he sat last offseason. Here’s what they had to say:

“Colorado’s third baseman just keeps improving. Few expected Arenado, a renowned top defender, to also be one of the top power hitters, even with Coors Field as his backdrop. No NL batter hit more home runs in 2015, and Arenado actually hit more than half of the blasts on the road. Arenado is one of the sport’s elite run producers and should add more All-Star appearances and Gold Gloves to his ledger.”

Oh, and just in case you were wondering … he’s ranked 15 spots above Troy Tulowitzki, who tumbled 26 spots from his No. 13 rank in 2015.

Positionally, ESPN ranked Arenado as the third best third baseman in baseball (he was eighth in 2015). Charlie Blackmon (10th) and Carlos Gonzalez (5th) were the only other Rockies to be ranked inside the top 10 at their position.

And it shouldn’t be all that surprising that the Rockies have three offensive studs inside the top-10 at their positions; they’re a great offensive team. Colorado finished the 2015 season inside the top 10 for nearly every offensive statistic, including hits, home runs and batting average.

It’s at the pitching position, though, where they Rockies are painfully absent.

Until that gets corrected, it won’t matter how many offensive powerhouses are in the lineup; the Rockies aren’t going anywhere. If there’s anything we’ve learned over the years, it’s that.