The club’s No. 2 prospect is having a splendid spring. The 23-year-old entered the weekend slashing .414/.471/.828 (1.299 OPS) with three home runs and three doubles in 15 games. His K-rate was just 17.6% (six strikeouts in 34 plate appearances).

But that doesn’t mean Condon has kicked down the big-league door to the majors. Not yet. The first baseman is unlikely to break camp with the Rockies because the club wants to ensure he has a solid foundation across all areas of his game.

Still, I would not be surprised if Condon is playing in the majors before the All-Star break. But if they wait until August and he stays with the team for the rest of the season, the club doesn’t waste one of his minor league options.

Regardless, the third overall pick in the 2024 draft isn’t shy about his aspirations for 2026.

“I think about that a lot,” Condon said early in spring training when I asked him about debuting this season. “But it����ap not what I’m worried about, it����ap not what I’m playing for. I’m trying to play the best baseball I can.”

The Rockies want to see several things from Condon this spring, especially his ability to consistently hit major league fastballs. So far, at least, he’s passed that test.

The club is also testing Condon’s skills as an outfielder. The 6-foot-5, 220-pounder is a terrific athlete, but he’s still a work in progress as a corner outfielder. Keep in mind that rookie T.J. Rumfield, acquired from the Yankees in a trade, looks like he’s played his way into a starting position at first base.

Rumfield, 25, entered the weekend hitting .367 with a team-high four home runs. And keep in mind that Rumfield has played 430 games in the minors. Condon, slowed by injuries in each of his two professional seasons, has played in just 124, including 22 in the Arizona Fall League.

The Rockies front office — like many front offices, past and present — is hesitant to throw a player into the fire too soon. The road to hell is paved with rushed prospects.

That’s because baseball is filled with false springs. Young hitters blossom when they face big-league pitchers who are still working on their changeup or saving their gas for the regular season. Prospects rake against minor league pitchers who leave sliders hovering over the heart of the plate.

But, often, promoted prospects fade under the majors’ harsh spotlight. Jackson Holliday, the oldest son of former Rockies star Matt Holliday, is a prime example. In April 2024, Jackson made his debut at the tender age of 20, but spent just 16 days with the Orioles before being shipped down to Triple-A Norfolk. Jackson hit 2-for-34 (.059) over his first 10 games for Baltimore.

There are, of course, exceptions to the rules of baseball promotion.

In spring training 2013, Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado’s glove work was already golden. He hit .278 with four home runs in 19 Cactus League games, and many thought he should have made the team. He didn’t.

But Arenado couldn’t be kept down for long. He debuted on April 28 at age 22 and 12 days. He ended up hitting .267 with 10 homers and 52 RBIs in 133 games. Plus, he won the first of his 10 Gold Gloves.

And there is precedent for a terrific spring training translating into a direct ticket to the show: Trevor Story.

In 2016, the 23-year-old shortstop blasted his way onto the Rockies’ major league roster by slashing .340/.407/.792 (1.199 OPS) with six home runs, four doubles, and a triple in 20 Cactus League games.

He didn’t slow down. In April, Story crushed 10 home runs, six of which were 425 feet or longer. He was named National League rookie of the month after rapping out 17 extra-base hits. The only other players in modern history (since 1901) with as many extra-base hits during the month in which they made their major-league debut were Joe DiMaggio, then 23, with the Yankees in May 1936, and Albert Pujols, then 21, with St. Louis in April 2001.

Story’s 12 home runs in his first 40 games were the most in big-league history. Before a left thumb injury ended his season at the end of July, Story hit .272 with 27 homers and 72 RBIs in 97 games.

I’m not predicting that Condon is the next Arenado or the next Story. Arenado played 432 games in the minors before his debut; Story played 537.

But Condon has similar star potential, and remember, he was a great player at the University of Georgia. That’s a big deal.

I’m eager to watch him rake at Coors Field. If we don’t see that until June, July, or even August, I’m fine with that.

It will be up to Condon to prove there’s nothing false about his spring. I’m confident that’s going to happen.

Pose a Rockies- or MLB-related question for the Rockies Mailbag.

This is the first time in a long time that I feel good about the future of our team. What do you think is the most optimistic yet realistic expectation we should have? I feel like 70 wins is the ceiling, and a couple of our prospects emerge with solid seasons, like Zac Veen and Chase Dollander. What do you think?

— Marshall, Parker

Marshall, your optimism is refreshing. I do feel like there was a new energy at spring training, and the players have bought into the Rockies’ new direction under Paul Depodesta, the president of baseball operations, and manager Warren Schaeffer.

To reach 70 wins, the Rockies would have to improve by 27 games from their 43-119 record. That would be a quantum leap, and I don’t see it happening. You have to remember that Colorado was outscored by 424 runs last season.

The infamous Chicago White Sox went from 41-214 in 2024 to 60-102 in ’25. If the Rockies lose only 102 games this season, that would be progress.

Renck: What’s new with Rockies pitching staff? Chase Dollander will show you

I think Dollander will improve markedly this season, though he's not a lock to break camp as a member of the starting rotation. I don't believe that Zac Veen will make the 26-man roster out of camp, and I don't know if he'll make a big-league impact this season.

The three young players I'm most intrigued by are third baseman Kyle Karros, first baseman TJ Rumfield, and utility player Ryan Ritter.

And, of course, the Rockies need comeback seasons from shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and center fielder Brenton Doyle, whom I wrote about on Sunday.

Rockies’ rebuild in 2026 depends on Gold Glove performances by Ezequiel Tovar, Brenton Doyle

Great spring training reports and insight into 2026. I was looking over the Rockies' players who made the World Baseball Classic rosters. The only one of note was Ezequiel Tovar playing for Venezuela. Tovar is one of the best-performing Rockies so far. I am not sure who to come to the ballpark to really get a glimpse of stardom (from the home team, of course), who do you see being worthy to pay to see, and who might emerge at this year's Troy Tulowitzki or Nolan Arenado?

— Robert Emmerling, Limon

Thanks for the compliment, Robert; it's appreciated.

I don't see anyone bursting on the scene as Arenado did in 2013 when he won a Gold Glove as a rookie, or as Story did in 2016 when he mashed 27 home runs and hit .273 in 97 games. Story likely would have been the rookie of the year if he hadn't torn ligaments in his left thumb and missed the rest of the season.

But, to answer your question, I'll go with third baseman Kyle Karros. He's capable of Arenado-like plays, and I think he's going to become a force at the plate, too.

I'm kind of blown away that the oldest hitter on the Rockies' roster is 28. That has to be a record for the youngest offense. They know Kris Bryant is not going to be there. It appears to be a poor decision by the GM and the manager not to have a veteran professional hitter mentoring these kids. No team does this. Why didn't they pick up a Randal Grichuk or Justin Turner, Tommy Pham, or Rhys Hoskins, all still available? The Rockies just keep doing things nobody else in MLB does. Why?

— Harvey, Denver

I totally disagree with you, Harvey. The Rockies brought in Willi Castro, 28, to be a veteran catalyst on the team. Given the team's payroll constraints right now (they owe Bryant $27 million this season) and with a labor war looming, it wouldn't have made sense to spend money on an over-the-hill veteran hitter. The Rockies need their young players to play.

I think you're going to see growth from players such as Jordan Beck, Kyle Karros, and TJ Rumfield. Where the Rockies desperately needed some veteran stability was in their starting rotation. They addressed that issue by signing Tomoyuki Sugano, Jose Quintana, and Michael Lorenzen.

Can Rockies fix swing-and-whiff offense from disastrous 2025? New hitting coach keeps it simple

Has covering the Rockies gone from one of the worst beat jobs to one of the most interesting? They've gone from unwilling to change (and change from being horrible) to willing to try anything new with a cutting-edge coaching staff and upper management that went from never doing or saying anything to Moneyball 2.0 at altitude, where moves are frequently made and always explained in depth by Paul Depodesta. It also seems like a much more interesting mix of players this spring than in the past five years. Are you enjoying the switch as a reporter as much as I'm enjoying it as a fan?

— Isaac Bowen, Fort Collins

Holy cow, Isaac! Hold your horses!  I love your enthusiasm and optimism, but I've become much too cynical to jump on your bandwagon (wow, I used three cliches in three sentences).

I will say this: things will be more interesting. I'm thankful for that, and it should be fun to watch this team improve. But it's not one of the most interesting beats in baseball. Covering a team in the thick of the race in August and September is what I hope for before I retire.

This was no daydreaming. Vank, a promising right-hander who is the No. 1 starter for Northeastern Junior College, is playing for the Czech Republic in the He is one of only a handful of college players to make a 2026 WBC roster.

Japan is in pool for the tournament, setting up the possibility of Vank facing off against Dodgers superstar designated hitter Shohei Ohtani when the two teams play on March 10 at the Tokyo Dome.

“It’s every kid’s dream to face Ohtani,” said Vank, who will pitch out of the bullpen for the Czech Republic. “I’ve visualized facing Ohtani a couple times already. How I might start him off, and what I might throw in certain counts.

“I’ll take the showdown with respect, but I also don’t want to give him too much respect — I want to believe in myself that I can do the job and put him away.”

The appearance in the WBC for , the Region IX Pitcher of the Year last year for the Plainsmen, is a culmination of a lifetime of work in the game despite growing up in a soccer- and hockey-dominated country where baseball is very low on the list of sporting priorities.

Vank started playing for Czech Republic’s youth national team at 12, and by age 16, he was pitching in the country’s highest league, the Czech Baseball Extraliga. As a teenager competing against adult men, he won the award for the league’s top junior player.

His journey on the diamond took him all around Europe and the world, including to Taiwan, Italy, Nederland, Germany, Spain and Japan already. Vank also went to London for an MLB Development Camp, North Carolina where he played his junior season of high school, and Phoenix for a showcase before arriving on Colorado’s eastern plains.

The 6-foot-1 right-hander from Prague has a low-90s fastball, a slider and a curveball and also recently added a changeup. Before he got to Northeastern, he was primarily a fastball/slider pitcher. But the expansion of his arsenal, and a strong first season in Sterling, put him on the radar of Division I recruiters.

“In the last 18 months, him fully developing into a four-pitch repertoire type of guy is opening up opportunities for him, whether it’s Division I or professionally, to now have more options and be either a starter, a reliever or a closer,” Northeastern head coach said.

Kachel said Vank’s signature moment so far with the Plainsmen came in the regular season finale last season, when Vank baffled Western Nebraska Community College with eight innings of shutout ball, scattering three hits while racking up 10 strikeouts.

Vank’s catcher, Northeastern Junior College sophomore Brayden Stufft, says the sacrifices the pitcher is making to come play ball thousands of miles from home — leaving behind family and friends in the process — is apparent. So, too, is Vank’s “energy and aura.”

“At the beginning of last season, he was super quiet, and you could tell he was here for business,” said. “He was here to dominate and make his family back home proud. He has. Many of his starts have been electric.

“And for him to play in the WBC, it brings a lot of attention to us as a program. We’re striving as a team to win a (region) title and go to a district and eventually go to the JuCo World Series. That’s our goals, and seeing our ace on the world stage gives us confidence as a team that we belong.”

Vank’s mother, Marie Vanková, says that while growing up, her son earned the nickname “srdcař” from his teammates. The rough English translation of that is someone who does something with immense passion, because Vank was always determined to become one of the top baseball players in his country.

“He’s had times growing up when he was not as successful as he wanted, and he wasn’t on the path to (where he is now),” Vanková said. “So he stopped speaking about it and went to work really hard. Before school, he would wake up at 5 in the morning and go to the gym. He’s always given this game everything he has.”

As the WBC begins on Wednesday ahead of the Czech Republic’s first game on Thursday against Korea, back in Sterling, Vank’s Plainsmen will be pulling hard for “srdcař”.

“We’re going to be eyes-locked on the TV — we’ll put the game on in the clubby, or we’ll just put it on a projector somewhere,” Stufft said. “We will be watching and supporting him from afar, with probably tons of phones out (to record) when he gets on the mound.

“And no matter what happens (against Japan), we’ve all been joking with him to get an Ohtani signature to bring us back as a souvenir.”

Players with Colorado ties in the 2026 WBC

Local names to watch for in the that culminates with the championship on March 17 in Miami.

Rockies players/prospects

LHP Brennan Bernardino (Mexico)
INF Cole Carrigg (Israel)
UTL Willi Castro (Puerto Rico)
LHP Antoine Jean (Canada)
OF Troy Johnston (Israel)
2B Edouard Julien (Canada)
RHP Michael Lorenzen (Italy)
RHP Juan Mejia (Dominican Republic)
LHP Jose Quintana (Columbia)
RHP Antonio Senzatela (Venezuela)
RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (Japan)
SS Ezequiel Tovar (Venezuela)
RHP Victor Vodnik (Mexico)

Ex-Rockies, locals

Puerto Rico 3B Nolan Arenado (ex-Rockies)
Dominican Republic RHP Carlos Estévez (ex-Rockies)
Puerto Rico RHP Rico Garcia (ex-Rockies)
USA RHP Griffin Jax (Cherry Creek, Air Force)
USA RHP Paul Skenes (Air Force)
Venezuela RHP Anthony Molina (ex-Rockies)
Italy RHP Adam Ottavino (ex-Rockies)
Nederlands OF Jurickson Profar (ex Rockies)
Canada RHP Cal Quantrill (ex-Rockies)
Czech Republic RHP Ondrej Vank (Northeastern Junior College)
Czech Republic UTL Terrin Vavra (ex-Rockies prospect)

Coaches of note

Mexico bench coach Vinny Castilla (ex-Rockies, current special assistant)
USA hitting coach Matt Holliday (ex-Rockies)
Israel bullpen coach Jason Marquis (ex-Rockies)
Canada hitting coach Justin Morneau (ex-Rockies)
Venezuela first base coach Gerardo Parra (ex-Rockies)
Great Britain third base coach Jeff Salazar (ex-Rockies player/hitting coach)

“I looked and thought, ‘Wow, this is kind of weird,'” Arenado said. “But hey, the unis are nice.”

The former Rockies and Cardinals star might not rise to his former glory in the desert, but he’s confident he’ll make the D-backs a better team. He padded that confidence with a solo home run in his first Cactus League at-bat, punishing a hanging sweeper from Rockies right-hander Antonio Senzatela.

“My expectations are high, and they are high for this group,” Arenado said after taking batting practice at Salt River Fields. “I think this team is really good. This is a top-10 offense without me, but I think I can really help it. I think I’m making adjustments that will really help me.

“You know me, I like to keep goals to myself, but I do have hefty goals. I don’t think I am ever going to change that.”

Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer predicts that Arenado will be a force upon his return to the National League West, where his career began with Colorado in 2013.

“I think he’ll be a force no matter where he’s at, absolutely,” Schaeffer said. “You never, ever count him out.”

Rockies’ manager remains an Arenado fan

Schaeffer and Arenado crossed paths with the Double-A Tulsa Drillers in 2012. Schaeffer’s playing career was dying a quiet death. At age 27, he hit .189 in 80 games in what was his final season. Arenado, just 21, was flashing stardom, hitting .285 with 12 homers in 134 games. Web gems were already part of his portfolio.

“I remember just really enjoying watching him play,” Schaeffer recalled. “He was the young kid coming up, and I was the old guy who sat on the bench. He played one of my positions. I just admired the way he played.”

And Schaeffer marveled at the gym-rat mentality Arenado brought to the baseball diamond.

“I always thought I was the best (at practice). Always,” Schaeffer said. “I loved it. I loved diving at ground balls and practicing. That was where my joy came from, in baseball. He was the first guy I ever saw who would show up and do even more than me. That’s why he was great.

“And, mix that with talent … and that’s why he’s a future Hall of Famer. He’s unbelievable. He’s probably my favorite baseball player that I have ever seen.”

Arenado, a 10-time Gold Glove winner, eight-time All-star and five-time Silver Slugger, turns 35 on April 16. He’s entering the autumn of his career. His season with St. Louis last year was the worst of his career. Hampered by injuries, he slashed just .237/.289/.377 in 401 at-bats with 12 home runs. The rebuilding Cardinals traded him to Arizona last month, with the Cardinals picking up $31 million of the remaining $42 million owed to Arenado over the next two seasons.

Arenado, a native of Orange County, Calif., where most of his family still resides, waived his no-trade clause to join the D-backs.

“That was a big part of it, being a little closer to home,” he said. “I have two kids now, so that makes it easier. And obviously, this is a good team, and they showed interest in me early. I talked it over with my family, and we felt like it could be a good place for me.

“Obviously, with the year I had, I didn’t have a whole lot of options, but when I saw that Arizona was one of the options, I was excited because of (outfielder) Corbin Carroll and (infielders) Ketel Marte and (Geraldo) Perdomo. It made me excited pretty early.”

Taking a lighter approach

During his eight seasons in Colorado, Arenado was the consummate grinder. If he wasn’t hitting in the cage — or practicing dry swings in front of the mirror — he was taking groundballs at third. Those days are gone, proving that Father Time casts a spell on even the most elite players.

“I have scaled it back; I think people would be proud,” he said with a laugh, tossing a bone to those who said he was too obsessed with baseball. “Today, I didn’t take groundballs or anything. I just did a workout in the gym, and then came out and hit. That����ap my workout for today.

“There is a lot more gym stuff now. A lot more workouts. That part has kind of been tough because I just want to hit and take groundballs all day, but I just can’t do that anymore.”

Arenado, who nursed a right shoulder injury in the offseason, slowly realized that relaxing can sometimes be the better part of valor.

“I think I learned that the hard way last year,” he said. “Now, I know I can still feel really good. Like yesterday, I played and felt really good, and today I felt great. Usually, after the first game of spring, I feel really sore, but today I feel great.”

Schaeffer sees Arenado’s transition as bittersweet.

“That’s wisdom on his part; he understands himself better now,” the manager said. “He knows how his body works.”

Schaeffer took a beat, then continued.

“But the biggest thing about wanting to practice hard? It’s here. And it’s here,” he said, pointing first to his head and then to his heart. “He still wants it, he still has that.”

The Diamondbacks are seeing that for themselves.

“Nolan’s just got a great heartbeat, he’s so even-keeled,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “He’s a hard worker, a very dedicated teammate.”

“Amazing, amazing, amazing,”   “This is going to be his breakout season this year, for sure. He’s going to look like he’s 28 years old again.”

Time and the box score will tell, but Arenado is thrilled to have a fresh start. And eager to show his stuff to Team Puerto Rico in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. Arenado’s mother, Millie, is of Puerto Rican and Cuban ancestry. His dad, Fernando, was born in Cuba.

Arenado played for Team USA in the 2017 and 2023 WBC. He batted .385 in the most recent WBC, going 10-for-26 with four extra-base hits and five RBIs as the U.S. finished as the runner-up to Team Japan. In 2017, he was on the USA team that defeated Puerto Rico, 8-0, in the championship.

“I didn’t get asked to play for Team USA (this time), and I didn’t deserve to get asked,” he explained.

It was former Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, who’s managing Team Puerto Rico, who first prompted Arenado to play in the WBC. Arenado was hesitant at first because he was rehabbing his shoulder. Now, he’s excited.

“It’s not Team USA, but I do have Latin roots, so I said to myself, ‘I should do this,’ ” Arenado said.

After Arenado finished his batting practice, a long line of Diamondbacks fans waited patiently in line to get his autograph. If Arenado does end up in Cooperstown, those fans can say they own a bit of history.

Doug Barber, 43, a longtime D-backs fan who lives in Phoenix, was first in line. He attends a lot of games at Chase Field, and he thinks Arenado will shine there.

“I can’t wait,” Barber said. “He’s going to rake at Chase Field, I know it.”

Explain, please.

“Not just be a player, but one of the best third basemen in the game,” the 6-foot-5, 230-pound Rockies rookie said.

On a rebuilding team, coming off a 119-loss season, Karros is intent on being part of the turnaround by playing 24-karat defense at the hot corner and becoming an offensive force — starting this season.

“Realistically, in order for us to get this team turned in the right direction, I don’t think it����ap just going to be a matter of, ‘Oh, this guy squeaked out a spot on the roster over this guy,’ ” Karros said. “It����ap going to take players taking a big step and showing that they are some of the best players in the game.”

During a one-on-one meeting early in spring training, he shared his lofty goal with manager Warren Schaeffer.

“I had this conversation with ‘Schaeff,’ and I told him that the expectations for myself are set at a pretty high standard,” Karros said. “We talked about what I wanted to get out of this camp. That, truth be told, I’m not here to beat out someone else or win a spot. I’m here to be a dude in the big leagues.”

So, does ‘Schaeff’ believe in Karros’ dude mentality?

“Oh, yeah,” the manager said without hesitation.

Rockies fans might be surprised by the spring bravado. After all, in 43 games last season, Karros didn’t exactly mash. After a hot start — 4 for 11 with two doubles in his first three games — he cooled off, finishing the season with a .226/.308/.277 slash line with four doubles, just one home run, nine RBIs, 15 walks (9.6% BB-rate) and 41 strikeouts (26.3% K-rate).

Schaeffer says those late-season numbers were misleading.

“Rockies fans, last year, watching Kyle Karros, have to realize that he was 20 pounds underweight and he had pretty much gone through his first full professional season,” Schaeffer said, noting that Karros was down to 210 pounds by the end of the season. “And getting called up, and getting thrown into the fire, without his best body, and without his best ability at the time? And still see flashes of good stuff? Kyle Karros has the potential to be a Gold Glove defender at third base for a long time.

“And he’s going to hit. He’s got long levers, he’s got the baseball acumen, he wants it. Now he just has to go out there and do it.”

Major League pedigree

A big part of that acumen comes from his father, Eric Karros, who played 14 seasons in the majors, most of them with the Dodgers. Eric had a career .268 batting average and slugged 284 homers. He said his son has the physical skills and intangibles to eclipse his career.

“Kyle’s desire to be great and be the best at whatever he does is 100%,” Eric said.

Eric and his wife, Trish, were at Chase Field on Aug. 8 last season when their son made his major league debut against the Diamondbacks and witnessed his first big-league hit in his first at-bat. There were hugs, and proof that there is crying in baseball.

In the dugout, after hitting an RBI single off Zac Gallen, Kyle made the mistake of catching a video of the TV broadcast.

“The camera panned to my dad and mom,” he recalled. “They were getting emotional. Then I started tearing up in the dugout. I was just trying to analyze how Gallen pitched to me in my first at-bat. I ended up walking away from the iPad with some tears in my eyes.”

Eric used to work overtime on his hitting, the very essence of a baseball cage rate. He was, and remains, obsessive about baseball, even now as he works as an announcer for select Dodgers games.

“Kyle’s very different from me,” he said, laughing. “I lived in the batting cage. Even now, I eat, breathe, and sleep baseball. That might be kind of screwed up. I don’t know.

“Kyle will take groundballs forever, and I know he will do anything to compete. But he knows how to get away from things better than I did. That’s good.”

At 19, Kyle was “kind of lanky and awkward,” according to his dad, who added, “Maybe people didn’t see the kind of body he would grow into.”

Injuries during his collegiate career at UCLA caused Kyle to fall a bit on the draft board, and he slid to the Rockies in the fifth round of the 2023 draft. But he rocketed through the minors.

He earned MVP honors in the High-A Northwest League in 2024, when he led Spokane to the championship by slashing .311/.390/.485 in 123 games. Last year, he impressed at Double-A Hartford, hitting .294 with four homers among his 23 extra-base hits over 55 games. In a 16-game stint at Triple-A, he hit .306 with two homers, four doubles and a triple.

When the Rockies shipped Ryan McMahon to the Yankees at the trade deadline, room opened up at third base. Colorado baseball fans, used to seeing sparkling plays, first by Nolan Arenado, and then by McMahon, could be in for more acrobatics at third base.

“I’ve heard people say, ‘At 6-5, there’s no way Kyle can play third base,” Eric said. “But, I know it’s going to sound corny, but Kyle looks effortless at third base, it’s pretty to watch. It’s smooth, that’s the best way to describe it.”

Growing pains

Regarding his son’s relatively rough start at the plate last season, Eric said he’s not the slightest bit concerned.

“Last year, getting a taste of the big leagues and getting called up when he did is probably the best thing that could have happened for Kyle,” he said. “The exposure he got, against some of the game’s best pitchers, showed that he can play at this level and hold his own.”

The pitchers Kyle faced during his first 43 games included Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes (the 2025 National League Cy Young Award winner), Dodgers ace lefty Blake Snell, three-time Cy Young winner Justin Verlander, and Dodgers’ World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

“Offensively, the production, obviously, wasn’t there for me,” Kyle said. “But honestly, I never felt like I was overmatched by any of the pitchers or pitches that I saw. And I faced some pretty legitimate pitchers while I was up.

“I do think there is some natural swing stuff that I had to clean up. I’m working on that. You have to, because you get a lot fewer pitches to hit in the majors than you do in the minors. So, when you miss your pitch, it����ap definitely going to make it hard. I definitely felt that. I’ll work to adjust.”

His manager expects significant growth this spring.

“Kyle knows how this game works,” Schaeffer said. “He knows that nothing is given to you. I think a lot of that has to do with growing up in the clubhouse, along with his dad. He gets it.”

If there’s a lesson from Kris Bryant’s time — or lack thereof — with the Rockies, it’s that.

As we celebrate the return of another blessed baseball season, the diamond wonks on the Grading The Week team wanted to clarify a few things to the Cubs fans in the Front Range and all across the world watching the latest in the Bryant saga.

First, the majority of Rockies fans don’t dislike Kris Bryant. Or shouldn’t. Not personally. Not even professionally, really. The man’s a symptom of franchise ineptitude. Not the cause.

He’s done. Nobody wants to say it, because of lawyers and agents and agendas. But everybody’s thinking it. Bryant showed up at Camelback Ranch in pain last week and was put on the 60-day disabled list to open the season, with no clear timetable for a return.

There are no winners here. It’s just … sad. Sad and stupidly expensive. The Rockies’ third baseman/outfielder/DH isn’t dodging If anything, there’s a chance he’s shortened his career by actively trying — and pushing — to come back and justify Colorado’s expense. Especially in 2022 and ’23, the first two seasons of that deal, when the Rox were desperate and the ink had barely dried.

Second, none of this happens without Nolan Arenado. Or rather, none of it happens without the Rockies botching the Arenado thing so badly that CEO Dick Monfort and the family felt obligated to take this massive swing to try and replace him.

In other words, they messed up twice.

Worse yet, they gave in twice to desperation — and set the franchise back about a decade, competitively, in the process.

Kris Bryant saga gets sadder — D

In February 2021, the Rockies slammed shut their own competitive window, one that had peaked too briefly in 2017 and ’18, by trading Arenado and $51 million to the Cardinals for Austin Gomber and four stiffs. By the end of August 2025, none of those five players were on an active MLB roster.

In March 2022, roughly a year after the worst trade in franchise history, they decided to fill the Nolan-sized hole they’d created themselves by giving Bryant a seven-year deal.

Insiders winced. Pundits shrugged. The nicest thing anybody said at the time was that it looked like an overpay for a guy who was about to land on the wrong side of 30.

And as we know now, sadly, he landed with a thud. Bryant’s played just 170 games in purple. He appeared in 48 games over the last two seasons. It’s anybody’s guess whether he’ll suit up ever again.

That’s $233 million in payroll — $51 million to the Cardinals and $182 million to KB23 — that could have been used toward improving the roster while Arenado was still here. And should have, in hindsight.

The Rockies signed Bryant to be their David Wright, and they got it — only it was Wright after the age of 30, when a lower back stress fracture for the ex-Mets star led to spinal stenosis and, eventually, retirement in 2018 at 35 years old.

Bryant turns 35 next January. His $182 million is guaranteed. Super agent Scott Boras got him the money — and made Monfort look like a fool for giving it.  Now they’re among the loudest hawks on opposite sides of a potentially ugly labor impasse that looms once MLB’s collective bargaining agreement ends on Dec. 1.

Monfort is pushing for a salary cap. Boras is drawing a hard line against a hard cap and warning his clients not to cross it.

Bryant, meanwhile, looks trapped in the middle — while the labor tussle to come makes it even less likely that Boras would recommend one of his clients do Monfort a solid and negotiate a more painless settlement. Are you kidding?

If Rox fans want to point fingers, they should point them at the owners and agents who steered this car off a cliff. Don’t hate the player. Hate the guys who broke a franchise’s back in order to make him their poster child.

Last season, the veteran right-hander threw his four-seam fastball 57.6% of the time and got clobbered doing it. He lost his job as a starting pitcher and finished the season with a 6.65 ERA. Opponents hit his fastball to the tune of a .356 average.

This season, Colorado’s new pitching coaches want their pitchers to be less reliant on fastballs, starting with Senzatela, who says he wants to be part of the starting rotation in 2026. But Senzatela’s not the only pitcher trying to develop a bigger arsenal. The Rockies want all of their starters to be more versatile and less predictable.

In Colorado’s 3-2 loss to the Diamondbacks in Friday’s Cactus League opener at Salt River Fields, Senzatela got the start, allowing one run on three hits in two innings. The run he allowed came on a second-inning home run to former teammate Nolan Arenado, who made his spring debut with Arizona. Arenado crushed Senzatela’s hanging, 82.9 mph sweeper onto the berm beyond left field.

Friday morning, manager Warren Schaeffer was asked to elaborate on Senzatela’s spring training game plan.

“He is working with brand new pitching coaches and they are collaborating very well together,” Schaeffer said. “They are giving him different things to use. So it’s the commitment to these new things that he’s being given. Also, a shrinking fastball percentage in terms of usage.”

After his start, Senzatela was upbeat.

“My arm feels really good and my body feels really good,” he said. “My sinker was working pretty good, too. My sweeper was a little high, and Nolan clipped it.”

As for utilizing an expanded pitch mix, he said, “It feels like I have a lot of weapons to throw. Just not so many fastballs.”

Overall, Schaeffer was pleased with the first live pitching experiment of spring.

“It didn’t matter that he gave one up to Nolan,” Schaeffer said. “He was working on all of his pitches and got ahead in the count early. He did exactly what we wanted him to do today.”

Arenado’s debut. The D-backs’ third baseman, who played eight years with the Rockies and five with the Cardinals before being traded to Arizona last month, was pleased with his first game of spring.

“It feels great to hit the ball hard,” he said. “I feel like I saw the fastball pretty good, too, which is nice. Good to get that first (homer) out of the way in the first game.”

Prospect watch. Switch-hitting infielder Cole Carrigg, the Rockies’ No. 3 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, will soon depart to play for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic. He made a nice impression on Friday, playing shortstop and delivering an RBI triple.

Schaeffer loves watching the 23-year-old play.

“It’s incredible — he plays like a wild horse with his hair on fire,” Schaeffer said. “I love the way he plays. We need more of that. But it’s just about him being here, refining some things. We talked in his player meeting this morning and said that exact word — it’s just all about refinement, without taking away his energy and what he brings to the table.”

Carrig, who played last season at Double-A Hartford, has the kind of speed that Schaeffer wants to see on the Rockies’ roster. Carrigg’s 14 triples led the minor leagues in 2024, and he’s hit 20 triples over his last two seasons. His 99 stolen bases over the last two seasons ranked 13th among minor leaguers.

A 10-time Gold Glove winner, Arenado has played for the Cardinals the past five seasons and was shopped extensively after the 2024 season by a rebuilding team. The 34-year-old isn’t the offensive force he used to be but will still provide a veteran presence at the position after the D-backs traded slugger Eugenio Suárez at last season’s trade deadline.

Arenado batted. .237 with 12 homers and 52 RBIs last season and as two years and $42 million remaining on a . He is owed $42 million, with salaries of $27 million this year and $15 million in 2027.

St. Louis agreed to send Arizona $22 million to offset this season’s salary — $2,666,666.67 on the 15th of each month from April to September — and $9 million on Nov. 1, 2027.

Arenado waived a no-trade provision to accept the deal.

“We are grateful for Nolan’s five years as a Cardinal, on and off the field — for his drive, his competitiveness, and for all of the memories he gave us,” Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom said in a statement.

“As we continue to move forward, we are pleased to add another intriguing pitching prospect to our organization, and excited for the opportunity this move creates for a number of our players to step up and further establish themselves at the big league level,” Bloom added.

Martinez was an eighth round pick by the D-backs out of Arizona State in 2025.

Arenado is a career .282 hitter and has 353 homers over 13 seasons with the Cardinals and Rockies.

On Thursday, Goodman won the Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award for a catcher in the National League. The 26-year-old became the first Rockies catcher to win the award.

In 144 games, Colorado’s lone All-Star slashed .278/.323/.520 with 31 homers, 28 doubles, five triples and 91 RBIs. Goodman was the first NL catcher to hit 30 home runs in a season since the Braves’ Javy Lopez hit 43 in 2003. He was also the first Rockies player to hit at least 30 home runs since Charlie Blackmon (32), Trevor Story (35), and Nolan Arenado (41) in 2019.

Goodman’s home runs, 150 hits, 64 extra-base hits and 91 RBIs are all the most by a Rockies primary catcher in a single season in franchise history.

He is one of six catchers to hit at least 30 home runs and drive in at least 90 runs in their age-25 season or younger. Goodman joined Rudy York (1937-38), Joe Torre (1966), Johnny Bench (1970, ’72), Mike Piazza (1993) and Gary Sanchez (2017).

The Silver Slugger is the top offensive award in Major League Baseball, presented to the season’s best hitters at each position as selected by a vote of MLB coaches and managers in their respective leagues.

Thairo Estrada becomes free agent

The Rockies enter the offseason searching for a solution at second base.

After declining the 2026 option for veteran second baseman Thairo Estrada on Monday, Colorado outrighted him off the 40-man major league roster on Thursday, and Estrada opted for free agency. Estrada was limited to 39 games in 2025 because of injuries. He broke his right wrist in spring training, then suffered a sprained left thumb and a strained right hamstring during the regular season. Estrada hit .253 with three home runs and 21 RBIs.

Also on Thursday, Colorado claimed right-handed reliever Garrett Acton off waivers from Tampa Bay.  Acton, 27, made his big-league debut in 2023, playing six games with the A’s and posting a 12.71 ERA. Last year at Triple-A Durham, Acton went 5-1 with a 3.68 ERA in 45 games, including four starts. He pitched one scoreless inning for the Rays.

In four minor league seasons, Acton is 16-12 with a 4.39 ERA in 151 games (six starts), and he has 283 strikeouts vs. 85 walks.

The Rockies currently have 39 players on their 40-man roster.

This autumn, there are no on-field heroics, no sold-out crowds at Coors Field, no playoff drama. Those memorable moments are in the distant past.

But the Rockies have reached a critical crossroads, forced to make the most significant choices since the team was first assembled as an expansion franchise before the inaugural 1993 season. Walker Monfort, the executive vice president, has been tasked with rebuilding the front office after three consecutive 100-loss seasons, which culminated in an embarrassing 119-loss season in 2025.

And the route he takes will likely determine if this will indeed be a new era, or just a rebrand of the same old Rockies.

“This is one of the most crucial decisions the Rockies will ever have to make,” said Ryan Spilborghs, the former Rockies outfielder, member of the 2007 World Series team, and Rockies TV analyst since 2014.

“They have been put in a position where it feels like they need to rearrange their grandparents’ furniture and remodel the house,” Spilborghs continued. “If you have ever had to do that, you know it’s not easy. It’s not easy to get people to change when they are set in their ways.

“So, to find their next person to head baseball operations, in a short period of time, and allow them to change their world — flip it upside down — requires an incredible amount of trust. It’s like speed dating to get married for life. The decision-making here is monumental.”

General manager Bill Schmidt and assistant GM Zack Rosenthal resigned earlier this month, leaving the Rockies on the clock. And it’s ticking, with the offseason just a few weeks away. Free agency begins the day after the World Series ends. The general managers’ meetings take place on Nov. 10-13 in Las Vegas.

There are currently five teams looking for a new on-field manager, six if you count the Rockies, who have not told interim manager Warren Schaeffer if he’ll have a chance to return. Scheffer, who has not been interviewed, said he expects to know about his future when the new front office boss is hired.

This coming week, Monfort, the oldest son of team owner and CEO Dick Monfort, is expected to narrow his list of finalists for a new head of baseball operations. He’s also creating a new position — a chief revenue and strategy officer — that will be tasked with helping grow the Rockies from the business side to invest more money in data, analytics and strategy. Those are areas where the Rockies have long lagged behind the rest of Major League Baseball.

Looming questions include whether the new head of baseball operations will have genuine autonomy to reshape the team, and if Dick Monfort will step aside to take a lesser role in constructing and operating the team.

“If there ever were a time he would, it would be now,” said a former major league executive, who spoke to The Denver Post under the condition of anonymity because he still works for MLB. “But will he invest in the right people and infrastructure to go along with the autonomy? That’s probably the bigger question.”

According to a , Colorado has interviewed at least three candidates to head a revamped front office: Toronto Blue Jays executive and former Houston Astros general manager James Click, Kansas City Royals assistant GM Scott Sharp, and Cleveland Guardians assistant GM Matt Forman. It’s not known what other candidates the Rockies might have interviewed.

Spilborghs, who hosts a national radio show for SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio and has also worked as an analyst for Apple TV’s Friday night baseball coverage since 2023, is well-connected throughout baseball. He said he has not learned of any other candidates.

“Walker and the Rockies have done a good job keeping this search quiet, keeping things close to the vest,” Spilborghs said.

Thad Levine, who has ties to the Rockies, has been speculated as a possible candidate, but he’s not known to have interviewed with them. Still, he remains the No. 1 choice for Matt Holliday, the former Rockies All-Star outfielder. Holliday has a vested interest in the Rockies’ future success because his son Ethan was drafted by them with the fourth overall pick of the MLB draft in July.

“I love Thad Levine, but I don’t know if he’ll get an interview,” Holliday said. “But I don’t know why he wouldn’t.”

Levine worked under former Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd from 1999 to 2005 before becoming the assistant GM of the Rangers and later the GM and senior vice president of the Twins. He left the Twins after the 2024 season. During his eight years in Minnesota, the Twins won three AL Central titles and earned four postseason berths.

Holliday said that whoever the Rockies pick, the team needs a dynamic new voice.

“I’m hoping that they hire somebody who has a vision of what it’s going to take to turn this around,” Holliday said. “I’m hoping they hire a person with a plan to improve player development. I want them to bring on coordinators within the (farm) system that can really coach and develop.

“First and foremost, I’m hopeful for a head of baseball ops that is given the reins to set up a system like some of the other mid-market organizations, which seem to be functioning at a high level.”

Holliday is referring to organizations such as the Brewers and Guardians, which have been perennial playoff teams in recent years despite ranking in the bottom half of the MLB in terms of payroll.

Near the end of the season, Schaeffer was asked to provide an example of a step the Rockies need to take to catch up to other teams.

“We need information that the players are provided with in terms of how to get better and prosper at this level,” he said. “We can do better.”

Holliday concurred: “If you are not going to be out in the free-agent market signing big-time players, you have to come up with a holistic approach to getting better. Whether it’s R&D or analytics, whatever other organizations are doing, Colorado seems to have been left behind. That’s what I hear when I talk to other people about how Colorado compares to other organizations. I’m hoping the funding, the freedom given to whoever is next, and the ability to set up a great staff will take this organization back to where we all want it to be.”

Given the Rockies’ track record — seven consecutive losing seasons and just five playoff appearances in 33 years — and the challenges and vagaries of playing baseball at a mile above sea level, the job of rebuilding the franchise might seem undesirable for many. Spilborghs, however, believes that leading the offices at 20th and Blake is a highly coveted job.

“I have talked to virtually every organization for the past couple of years,” Spilborghs said. “A lot of executives have asked me about the Rockies. They ask me what’s going on. Then I ask them, in turn, what they think of the situation. I cannot tell you how many of them have told me, ‘That’s my dream job.’ ”

Why would that be the case?

“Because of the location, the fan base, and being able to build from scratch,” Spilborghs continued. “Though their eyes, from their vantage point, having the chance to revamp, reempower, and reengage, it just seems so enticing.

“If you are any sort of person who likes to run toward the fire instead of running away from it, this is exactly where they want to go.”

Spilborghs added that he hopes the Rockies are taking enough time and have scouted enough candidates for the job.

“There should be a line of candidates out the door who want to present and want to show you what they would do in Colorado,” he said. “I would assume that the list of executives is very robust, or at least it should be.

“But the thing is, there might be people that the Rockies might not be asking because they think they might not be willing to come to Colorado. Whereas, really, it’s quite the opposite. If you call them, they would come.”

Several rival managers have said that the Rockies, run the right way, could become a formidable team to contend with, especially at Coors Field.

“I have always admired the Rockies’ ability to develop position players,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said last spring. “Guys like Charlie Blackmon, (Trevor) Story, Nolan Arenado, D.J. (LeMahieu) and CarGo (Carlos Gonzalez). … They made Coors such a tough place to play.”

But the Rockies, fielding an anemic offense and failing to build a dynamic roster, have not posted a winning record at home since 2022.

“Coors has to be the home-field advantage that it can be and has been in the past,” Holliday said. “The Rockies should know the pros and cons, and what works and what doesn’t at Coors, better than anybody else. It should be the greatest homefield advantage in the sport.”

Ethan Holliday, just 18, likely won’t make his big-league debut for at least another two years. But his dad hopes that the critical decisions the Rockies make now will create a brighter future — one that will change the way the franchise is perceived around the league.

“I hope this is a chance to hit a home run on a hire that gets the organization turned about and heading in the other direction,” Matt Holliday said. “I’d like it to become an organization where other teams look at what the Rockies are doing and say, ‘Wow, they really flipped this thing on its head in a hurry, and now they are kind of a model organization.’ That would be my hope.”