The Rockies are a hurtin’ unit, in a lot of ways: physically, competitively, and emotionally.
The latest piece of bad news came on Friday when word got out that Ethan Holliday, the Rockies’ No. 1 prospect, will undergo surgery for a stress fracture in his left foot and miss the remainder of the season. Colorado has not announced the surgery.
According to MLB.com, the decision came after several examinations Holliday underwent since being scratched from Single-A Fresno’s lineup last Thursday. A date for the shortstop’s surgery has not been set.
Holliday, 19, will end the season slashing .262/.395/.557 with one steal, two triples, nine home runs, and 32 RBIs across 152 plate appearances.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Holliday was drafted out of Oklahoma’s Stillwater High School last summer with the fourth overall pick of the 2025 draft. He signed for $9 million, a record for a player getting drafted out of high school.
Holliday’s dad, Matt, the former Rockies outfielder, was a seven-time All-Star and won a World Series with the Cardinals. Ethan’s big brother, Jackson, was the first overall pick out of Stillwater High in the 2022 draft by the Orioles.
The Rockies, hit hard by injuries to the big-league club, opened a three-game series vs. the Giants on Friday night at Coors Field, coming off a difficult 1-6 road trip through Arizona and Los Angeles.
The Rockies finally got a day off on Thursday, their first after a stretch of 16 consecutive days playing a ballgame. They were 4-12 over that stretch.
Reeling rotation. There are a lot of issues for a team that was 6-19 this month entering Friday’s game, but front and center are the struggles of the injury-depleted rotation.
Veteran lefty Jose Quintana was transferred to the 60-day injured list on Thursday with a left elbow sprain. Although the injury won’t require Tommy John surgery, Quintana will be out for an extended period of time.
Right-hander Chase Dollander, on the 15-day IL since May 15 with a sprained elbow, has not begun throwing. There is no timetable for his return.
Asked where he is regarding his rehab, Dollander said, “I’m not sure yet. I still haven’t thrown yet. We want to make sure that we take our time.”
Veteran struggles. Left-hander Kyle Freeland and right-hander Michael Lorenzen were being counted on to stabilize Colorado’s rotation, but both have struggled mightily.
Freeland has an 8.08 ERA after getting shelled for eight runs on nine hits (including three home runs) in four innings on Tuesday night in Colorado’s 15-6 loss to the Dodgers in Los Angeles.
On Friday, Freeland was candid about his struggles, which include a stint on the IL for shoulder inflammation.
“I’m going through some things, and I’m trying to figure things out,” he said. “It’s not easy to figure things out when your confidence has been ripped away from you. Things have not been good since I came off the IL (on April 28). Nothing has been pretty, nothing has been crisp.”
Manager Warren Schaeffer said he has not considered putting Freeland in the bullpen, in part because the rotation is so thin.
“That doesn’t even cross my mind,” Schaeffer said.
Lorenzen entered Friday night’s start against the Giants with a 7.21 ERA, including a 10.03 ERA at Coors Field.
“Michael, behind closed doors, is working very, very hard,” Schaeffer said. “He’s analyzing (things) and making adjustments.”
Feltner’s return. There is some good news on the pitching front. Right-hander Ryan Feltner, out since April 24 with right ulnar nerve inflammation, is scheduled to start Saturday night’s game against the Giants. Feltner made two solid minor-league rehab starts. He struck out four in 3 2/3 scoreless innings at Double-A Hartford and gave up one run on six hits over five innings at Triple-A Albuquerque, fanning five and walking one.
“I was happy with my stuff in the Hartford start,” Feltner said Friday. “It’s the best I’ve felt in a long time, physically and with my stuff. In Albuquerque, the same thing.”
Doyle’s injury. Centerfielder Brenton Doyle has not begun any baseball activities and is not close to returning. He’s been on the IL with a left oblique contusion since May 20.
“I don’t need surgery or anything,” he said. “I don’t really have a set timetable, just taking it day by day, see how it progresses. And yesterday was probably the first noticeably better day for me, so that’s a good sign of relief that we’re heading in the right direction.”
Still, Doyle has some painful moments.
“When I sneeze,” he said. “Anytime I have to really brace my core for anything, like coughing, sneezing, blowing my nose, that kind of stuff kind of flares it up. But yesterday was a good day, so we’ll go from there.”
Pitching probables
Saturday: Giants RHP Adrian Houser (2-4, 5.30 ERA) at Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (1-1, 6.30), 7:10 p.m.
Sunday: Giants LHP Robbie Ray (3-6, 4.60) at Rockies RHP Tanner Gordon (0-0, 5.85), 1:10 p.m.
TV: Rockies.TV
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM
