Like ugly bookends, two first-inning touchdowns summed up the Rockies’ main issue this season.
In Colorado’s home opener on April 3, the Phillies blasted Michael Lorenzen for seven runs in the opening frame. And in the Coors Field finale on Sept. 24, the for six runs in the first. In both games, the Rockies were down 8-0 after two innings as neither the veteran Lorenzen nor the young Gordon could stop the bleeding.
Those two performances encapsulated Colorado’s starting pitching problem, which has long been the central riddle for the Rockies to solve. The enigma has been exacerbated amid the Rockies’ recent nadir, as the club has endured four straight seasons with 100-plus losses.
Manager Warren Schaeffer, who enters the second season of a two-year deal in 2027, knows Colorado has to come up with something.
“We can’t put a limit on how we’re going to use (starting pitchers) next year,” Schaeffer said. “We need to get creative.
“… We brought in Michael Lorenzen for all the right reasons. A veteran pitcher who’s strong, that can withstand a season, specifically at altitude, with his body. He’s got six pitches. It just didn’t work out well.”
The Rockies had the worst pitching staff in baseball for a fifth straight season, with a 5.59 overall ERA and 6.28 starting ERA. Colorado’s ongoing struggles on the mound negated the strides the offense made since last year’s 119-loss disaster.
Colorado’s three veteran fillers brought in to prop up the rotation largely tanked. Jose Quintana made just 11 starts before Lorenzen posted baseball’s highest ERA at 7.08 before being cut in mid-August. And Tomoyuki Sugano was the Rockies’ best starter, but he faded hard down the stretch.
Meanwhile, the Rockies’ returning options weren’t any better. Kyle Freeland, a pending free agent whose Rockies tenure is likely over, had baseball’s second-highest ERA at 6.65. Ryan Feltner (5.40 ERA) was inconsistent. Gordon set a Rockies record with a 9.25 home ERA. Chase Dollander went down in June with season-ending elbow surgery. Gabriel Hughes (6.33 ERA) was battered around and eventually sent back to Triple-A Albuquerque on Sept. 19.
And for fellow rookie Mason Adams, the centerpiece in the deadline trade with the White Sox for center fielder Brenton Doyle, the jury is still out after making just six starts.
No matter how improved the offense was, the startling lack of effective starting pitching created what Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns — describing his team’s ’26 failures like an investment manager who had a bad year — dubbed an
In normal-person words, it was a spiral the Rockies couldn’t get out of en route to 104 losses. A spiral that will continue into 2027 and beyond unless Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta pulls several rabbits out of his hat during what will be a tumultuous and unusual offseason, considering the .
Defensive struggles compound pitching woes
Schaeffer maintains his faith in Feltner. He says Adams is “a huge part of the future,” Gordon “has been good for us in spurts,” and Hughes also “has a bright future.” But the fact remains that every single starter that Colorado has under contract going forward has yet to prove himself as a consistent, quality arm; there are little-to-no major-league-ready starters currently in the high minors; and Denver remains a destination that zero top-tier free-agent starters would reasonably consider.
Outfielder Mickey Moniak says the team’s position players can’t worry about Colorado’s pitching problem, but rather must focus on playing “more cohesive baseball,” especially considering the Rockies had one of the majors’ worst defenses this season by both advanced metrics and traditional stats.
“We’ve had games this year where we’ve put up eight runs and the other team puts up nine,” Moniak said. “And we’ve had games this year where we’ve given up two runs and they scored three. So it’s on us to find a way to (win both of those types of games).”
The Rockies were competitive in many more games this year than when they set a modern record with a -424 run differential last year. But establishing a winning culture still eluded them. Colorado lost 49 games by two or one runs this season, the most losses in close ballgames in the National League. What gives?
“It’s a question that deserves repeating over and over again because it’s the biggest thing that we need to do,” Schaeffer said. “We have to flip those one- and two-run losses into one- and two-run wins. It’s the little things.
“One at-bat a game. It’s hitting better with runners in scoring position. It’s making the big pitch in the right time. It’s experience developed by young players where when the moment comes, they’ve been there before and now we can make the next step into succeeding in those moments. It’s a whole slew of things where you’ve seen progress this year, and it’s just taking the next step with it next year.”
A young nucleus of talent
Despite that, Colorado seems to have found a core positional group to build around, even with a couple of big disappointments in the lineup. Two Opening Day starters had terrible seasons: right fielder Jordan Beck and shortstop Ezequiel Tovar. Both accounted for negative wins above replacement and have much to prove entering 2027.
But beyond those two, Colorado had five batters worth at least 1.5 fWAR for the first time since the club’s last playoff season in 2018. That year, Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, Charlie Blackmon, DJ LeMahieu, and Carlos González were the lineup pillars. This year, it was Jake McCarthy, Hunter Goodman, TJ Rumfield, Kyle Karros and Cole Carrigg.
All are under club control for an extended time, with McCarthy the earliest in 2029, followed by Goodman in 2030. And Moniak, who signed that takes him through 2028, had a strong first half before playing through a partially torn ligament in his right ankle that affected his second-half production.
In the case of Goodman, the catcher/DH believes the power behind his 72 homers over the past two All-Star seasons is sustainable. The Rockies currently have no plans to move him from behind the plate. Goodman says he is open to discussions on a contract extension in the offseason, though the labor unrest will complicate the ability to get that done.
“I don’t know if 40 homers is the number every year, but I think consistently hitting 30 or whatever it may be is definitely doable,” Goodman said. “Being able to stay healthy is a huge part of that. So if I can continue to stay healthy, I can keep doing similar things offensively.”
MLB’s labor battle clouds future
Goodman might not get a realistic chance to hit 30 homers — and the Rockies could sidestep becoming only the second MLB team ever to lose 100 games five seasons in a row — if the 2027 season is shortened due to the lockout. The current CBA expires on Dec. 1. Owners want a hard salary cap, which the Major League Baseball Players Association is vehemently against.
There is a growing belief that around 60 games could be canceled next season because that number aligns with Whatever the case, Moniak and others in the Rockies clubhouse believe it’s important that the players association stands its ground.
“I hope that we can come to an agreement as soon as possible,” Moniak said. “There’s firm beliefs that we have as players and as a union that we believe are fair and what’s best for us and our families and our careers. The ultimate goal is to not miss games. But this offseason will be interesting.
“We’ll definitely be a part of it, be paying attention and be hoping for the best. But it’d be a shame if we stop this momentum that baseball has because I think the game’s in such a good spot.”
