Rockies rookie right-hander doesn’t jump off the charts with his size or his velocity. The 13th-round pick has never been a pitcher defined by hype or overwhelming advanced metrics. But as his junior college coach explained — and as evidenced by three tattered pitchbacks over the course of a single summer at 11 years old — Adams’ journey to the bigs was “built in simple consistency.”

“A lot of guys you see in the majors made big jumps at some point in their career, but Mason never made a big jump,” said , who coached Adams at Florida SouthWestern State College. “Mason, slowly and surely, built himself physically, built himself mentally. He didn’t gain a bunch of weight all of a sudden. He didn’t gain a ton of curveball command all of a sudden.

“At the start of his first year (at Florida SouthWestern), he barely made the team. He was one of the last guys we put on the roster. And even when he went on to Jacksonville (University), I never had anybody call me and be like, ‘Oh my gosh, Mason Adams is suddenly this amazing dominant pitcher.’ He just made consistent jumps, and that’s why he is where he is now.”

That consistency can be traced back to Adams’ upbringing in the rural Florida Heartland, where he first developed the command that led him to fast-track through the minors. Colorado hopes that Adams, who debuted on Aug. 25 at Nationals Park, can help shore up the rotation in 2027 and beyond after the club acquired him in a deadline trade that sent center fielder Brenton Doyle to the White Sox.

The summer that Adams wore out three pitchbacks, Adams’ dad, Todd Adams, would come home from work to a broken pitchback again, sigh, and simply ask his son, “Another one?”

“The net would get frayed, the springs would get stretched out,” Todd Adams recalled with a laugh. “He would stand quite a ways back, all the way in the neighbor’s yard, and throw against it. … We spent a lot of time when he was young on his windup, working on his fastball. I sat on a bucket a lot and he threw and threw and threw. When I wasn’t there, he was constantly out there with the pitchback.”

‘An awesome opportunity’ ahead

Now with the Rockies — a team Adams rooted for and wore the apparel of growing up, because his dad had family who lived in Colorado and they would sometimes vacation to Denver — Adams is getting his shot to prove his worth in the club’s thinned rotation.

in April 2025, costing him all of that season, but returned to the mound in ’26 with a gust of momentum. The White Sox started him out slow, with rehab assignments in rookie ball and then High-A, before Adams was sent to Triple-A Charlotte on June 11.

There, he posted a 4.25 ERA in nine games (seven starts) before being dealt to Colorado on Aug. 3 in a trade that also brought 16-year-old Venezuelan infield prospect Carlos Vielma to the organization. Adams had a 2.08 ERA in three starts for Triple-A Albuquerque before getting called up to take the rotational spot of southpaw Kyle Freeland, who is on the injured list with a pinched nerve in his neck.

“I was building some steam and feeling really good (going into the 2025 season), and then to get hurt at the end of spring training sucked,” Adams said. “Sitting in Arizona all year, that taught me a lot. Then this year, I knew it was a good thing that I was getting traded, even though I wasn’t sure what the whole situation (with the Rockies’ rotation) was or anything like that at the time.

“But now, I know it’s an awesome opportunity ahead of me.”

Heading into his Coors Field debut on Saturday night against the Cardinals, Adams looked solid in his first two big-league starts.

That included four innings of one-run ball in his debut against the Nationals to help Colorado snap a season-worst seven-game losing streak. In his next outing, Adams allowed two runs over five innings in an extra-inning loss in Atlanta. Adams had five strikeouts in both games, and Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer has been impressed by Adams’ poise so far.

“That’s not normal for a young guy to come up and do that his first two starts, especially on the road in hostile environments,” Schaeffer said. “Also (impressive) is his ability to know what he does well on the mound and stick to it. He’s shown the ability to make in-game adjustments already. Obviously, the physical stuff has been really good too — his ability to spin the ball, his ability to throw his heater where he wants to.”

Considering Adams’ average fastball velocity ranks in the bottom quarter of baseball at 92.7 miles per hour, Adams’ success relies on finesse.

In addition to his fastball, Adams primarily uses a sinker, curveball and cutter, and throws from a lower arm slot that allows him to create east-west movement on his pitches. And if his minor-league homer and walk rates translate to the majors — 0.7 HR/9 and 2.4 walks/9, respectively — the Rockies could have a future rotational pillar on their hands.

, Adams’ pitching coach at Jacksonville, says Adams’ effectiveness in filling up the zone hasn’t changed since his Division I days when he entered the Dolphins’ program as a bullpen arm before emerging as

“The art of throwing strikes has been lost a little bit on us these days because we’re so caught up in the metrics, everybody trying to throw 100, the induced vertical break on pitches and all that type of stuff,” Edwards said. “What’s been lost in all that is guys that can truly pitch. And Mason is a pitcher. He’s always been a pitcher.

“So as you’re younger and you have the ability to throw strikes like Mason has always done, then your stuff develops, it makes you a much better pitcher than the guys who develop a little bit faster and throw hard but never really are consistently in the zone.”

Rotation projection for 2027

Adams is one of several young starters the Rockies hope can help fill out their rotation as the club tries to become competitive again.

Colorado’s offense has made dramatic improvement this year, but the Rockies still rank last in baseball with a 6.05 starting ERA, a year after their historic 119-loss team set a modern record with a 6.65 starting ERA. (There’s still plenty of work to do in the bullpen, too, where Rockies relievers rank 26th with a 4.69 ERA.)

Alongside Adams, fellow rookie Gabriel Hughes (who debuted July 3) and third-year big-leaguer Tanner Gordon (who took the rotational spot of Michael Lorenzen after the latter was designated for assignment on Aug. 17) also have chances to show their stuff over the season’s final three weeks. The trio’s opportunity down the stretch is even more important considering likely vacancies in the Rockies’ rotation heading into 2027.

Ryan Feltner remains under club control for two more seasons. Despite a career-worst 5.84 ERA in 21 games this year, he is expected to be cemented into the rotation for next season, barring a surprise. And Chase Dollander, who had season-ending internal brace surgery on his elbow in late June, will be back at some point in 2027. Beyond that, there are question marks.

Tomoyuki Sugano has been Colorado’s best starter this year, even as he’s struggled lately, including an 8.61 ERA in five August starts. Sugano will be a free agent, as will longtime Colorado mainstay Kyle Freeland, who is not going to reach his 2027 conditional player option that vests with 170 innings pitched. The Rockies could try to re-sign one or both of them; whatever happens, it’s likely Colorado will bring in at least some veteran help for 2027, as the front office did with Sugano, Lorenzen and Jose Quintana (injured most of the year) in 2026.

“We don’t know what (president of baseball operations) Paul (DePodesta) and (general manager Josh Byrnes) are going to do in the offseason in terms of acquisitions and building the rotation out that way as well,” Schaeffer said. “But the young arms we’ve got, they’re good pieces, and we like all those guys.

“To be honest, I don’t think the service time matters. We just want guys who are willing to compete here at Coors Field and aid to our winning process. Age (or being a veteran) doesn’t matter for me. Production matters.”

That’s where Adams hopes he can come in, with the same mindset he’s had since arriving as a scrawny, little-recruited pitcher with a high-80s fastball and braces.

“I’m approaching (the future) the same way as I did when I first got into college ball and first got into pro ball — just getting better little by little the entire time,” Adams said. “I just got up here, but of course I want to still be here and I want to be pitching well and helping these guys win (when the rebuild comes to fruition).”

Prior to the matinee rubber match on Wednesday against Baltimore at Coors Field, the Rockies manager spoke at length about the frustration he’s been dealing with amid the club’s struggles in close games this season.

“What’s most frustrating for me is when you’re getting close, and (you keep) getting closer, but you’re still losing,” Schaeffer said. “But that is when you take the 1,000-foot view and you back up, and you look at last year compared to this year, and you look at where we’re going — you can see all the progress.

“You can see it that we’re in those games, and the enormous chasm between last year and this year. We’ve lost a ton of close ballgames this year. Last year we weren’t in (very many) close ball games. That in itself has been a step forward that we’re in them. Now we need to win them more, like we did (Tuesday) night.”

The Rockies did just that on Wednesday, rallying in the ninth and then again in the 11th to win the game on Brett Sullivan‘s two-out, two-strike, two-run walk-off single to take the game 6-5 as well as the series.

Two frames prior, Colorado was also down to its final out, but rookies Cole Carrigg and Zac Veen came through to tie the game and send it into extras. With two outs, Carrigg doubled, then Veen followed with a two-strike, pinch-hit double to tie the game 3-3.

Renck: Rockies’ Cole Carrigg can’t give fans the bird, but Colorado needs his edge to win

Colorado is now 28-41 in games decided by one or two runs this year. Despite that mark, Schaeffer says there is much more belief in this year's clubhouse than there was during last year's historic 119-loss season.

"(Our players) expect to win," Schaeffer said. "I don't know if that was always necessarily the case last year."

Wednesday's dramatics capped a strong series for the Rockies against Baltimore, who is in contention in the American League wild card race. It would've been a sweep for Colorado if not for a incredible web game in Monday's series opener.

The Rockies achieved franchise infamy that night with a record-setting 10th straight loss at Coors Field that came in brutal fashion. Colton Cowser robbed Jake McCarthy of a would-be two-run walk-off homer by leaping up and snaring McCarthy's hit that was headed over the center field wall.

WHEN COWS FLY

COLTON COWSER HOME RUN ROBBERY TO END IT!!

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles)

In a streak that began with a sweep by the Rays in early August, Colorado was also swept by the Dodgers and Guardians en route to Monday's record-setting 2-1 loss, which eclipsed the previous longest home defeat streak set by the inaugural 1993 squad at Mile High Stadium.

Colorado finally snapped that skid on Tuesday, using a two-run homer by TJ Rumfield in the bottom of the seventh to break a 2-2 tie. Juan Mejia held the fort in the eighth and Jordan Romano recorded his 14th save in the ninth to cement the 4-2 win.

Rumfield's 14th homer continued his torrid debut season that has him in the conversation for NL Rookie of the Year, even as Reds corner infielder Sal Stewart is currently the Vegas favorite to win the award. Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt had been the frontrunner for most of the season, but has slumped in the second half and was earlier this week.

In terms of Rumfield versus Stewart comparison, the Rockies first baseman is slashing .290/.384/.443 with an .827 OPS, 14 homers, 26 doubles and 63 RBIs. Meanwhile, the all-star Stewart is slashing .268/.338/.489 with an identical .827 OPS, 31 homers, 25 doubles and an MLB-leading 105 RBIs.

While Rumfield has been impressive swinging the bat, his plate discipline also stands out. He's riding a 10-game on-base streak, and his 64 walks are four short of surpassing Dexter Fowler for the most walks by a rookie in franchise history. And there's still more room for improvement there, as Rumfield is swinging at 30.5% of pitches outside the zone, which ranks in the 41st percentile.

Following Rumfield and solid pitching lifting Colorado to the win in Game 2, in Wednesday's rubber match, it appeared the Rockies would revert back to this season's norm: unable to find a way to break through in tight games.

After forcing extras, Baltimore plated two in the top of the 11th to go ahead 5-3. Colorado responded with Rumfield's leadoff RBI single in the bottom of the frame to cut the deficit to a run.

Adael Amador nearly homered with two outs and Rumfield on first, but the ball came up just short of going out, then bounced over the wall and out of play for a ground-rule double. Had the ball stayed in play, Rumfield would've easily scored to tie the game.

But Sullivan came through the next at-bat with the game-ending heroics.

"Sometimes it doesn't go our way, and there's reasons for that... but today, the grind, the never-give-up, the amount of two-strike knocks... what a game," Schaeffer said. "That was awesome."

After an off day on Thursday, Colorado's homestand continues Friday with the start of a three-game series against the Cardinals. The Rockies (54-86) need to go 9-13 over their remaining 22 games to avoid a fourth consecutive 100-loss season.

Rockies Cole Carrigg flipped off fans in Atlanta on Saturday, and manager Warren Schaeffer punished the center fielder by not starting him in consecutive games.

He entered as a late-inning substitute in both cases.

Were you rolling your eyes? Me too. So I decided to look closer and ask those involved.

The conclusion: The incident will make Carrigg better if it helps him find the correct temperature for his simmering default setting.

“I know I can’t do what I did (in Atlanta). And it is not going to happen again,” Carrigg told The Post of a reaction that stemmed from narrowly missing a game-winning catch and a group of fans letting him have it over two days. “But, I am not going to change anything in how I play.”

Needle meet thread. As the Rockies suffer through a mouth-agape 10-game home losing streak, players like Carrigg represent hope.

For years, the Rockies have not only been bad, but soft. The lack of consequences for inept players and incompetent executives made losing comfortable.

Carrigg plays full throttle, in-your-face, unapologetically. It’s refreshing.

It is also easy to see why there will soon be no neutrality from opponents as he becomes an established big leaguer. They will either dislike him or hate him.

“And we love Cole. I want to make that very clear,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said from his office before batting practice. “We have needed an edge on this team, and we get that from Cole, and to a lesser extent Zac (Veen). You can’t hope for something, want something and when it gets here, you try to change it. I refuse to muzzle him. I want him to be who he is without crossing the line. And I believe we can accomplish both things.”

Carrigg would rather use a splinter from one of the countless bats he has broken to floss his teeth than fail. He plays like he is trying to get even with someone.

This competitive gene will help the Rockies execute a U-turn. A team that has forever been a pushover has someone who will push back.

“You can’t make that kind of gesture to the fans. But Cole is on the short list of our most exciting players to watch. Our opponents feel him,” general manager Josh Byrnes said. “He runs hot at times. And that is why it was good for him to have a chance to reflect on what he did.”

The punishment came across as half-baked. Like grounding a child without taking away their phone and video game privileges. My preference was to bench him Sunday — all nine innings — and move on.

But Schaeffer believes that stretching it over two games had a greater impact.

“If he had just sat one game, it would have been like a regular day off,” Schaeffer said. “So how do you want to get the message across? To do it this way was not normal for him. He felt it. He understands what he did was wrong. And listen, I trust him moving forward.”

Schaeffer knows Carrigg better than most. As a manager, these are the type of decisions he must nail when evaluating the Rockies’ trajectory under his watch.

The good news is that he did not make excuses for Carrigg. Accountability is lacking in sports, but Schaeffer refused to let him off the hook.

What happens next will reveal whether it worked.

“You are definitely on to something,” Carrigg said. “As the game gets harder, I have to adjust.”

Watching Carrigg, he gives off Troy Tulowitzki vibes. I covered Tulo’s entire career in Colorado. He arrived with infectious belief and played with the equivalent of a clenched fist.

He was more talented than Carrigg.

But as a young player, like Carrigg, he spewed lava.

Tulo once broke a bat so violently that he landed on the disabled list with an injured hand. Carrigg reacts to outs like he was cut off in traffic, letting out words that must be muted on the broadcast.

Several helmets and bats have lost their lives to his temper.

“Do I feel badly for the (equipment)? No,” Carrigg said matter-of-factly. “They are free.”

Again, his personality is more sandpaper than satin. This is why I like him.

You win with players like this. Balance, though, is required. The Rockies need a percolating Carrigg. He will lose his usefulness — and test his teammates’ patience — if he must always be handled with oven mitts.

“I can learn from guys like Kyle (Freeland) and Jake (McCarthy), who just let stuff go. It works for them. It is a really hard thing to do. I get frustrated,” said Carrigg, who is hitting .260 with six home runs, 27 extra-base hits and eight stolen bases in 69 games. “I put a lot of (bleeping) effort into my craft, and I expect to do well. When I don’t, I get pissed off.”

Baseball is a series of solo performances in a concert. It feeds egos because players are defined by numbers. Byrnes and Schaeffer don’t see Carrigg as “selfish.” They believe he is driven by the standings.

“He has so much passion for the competition, for doing well and helping his team,” Byrnes said. “Some of it is just him finding the right dial setting.”

Carrigg went too far in Atlanta. He cannot let hecklers get in his head. He must wake up seeing rouge, not red.

Yet, he cannot change who he is. If you want to flip out over him flipping someone off, I understand. There is no place for it.

But the confidence and fury of Carrigg’s game? Yes, please.

Carrigg will show he has taken full responsibility if he does not repeat his actions.

The Rockies don’t need obscenities. They need his hostility.

“If I am frustrated, I need to go in the tunnel and not let it affect my teammates and be smarter about it,” Carrigg said. “But I have always played balls to the wall. And I am going to continue to do that for the rest of my career.”

ATLANTA — Michael Harris II hit a two-out, two-run double in the eighth inning to lift the Atlanta Braves to a 2-1 win over the Colorado Rockies, the sixth straight for the National League East leaders.

Brent Suter (2-2) pitched 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief and picked up his first victory since joining the Braves at the trade deadline. Rookie Didier Fuentes allowed two baserunners in the ninth but retired Jake McCarthy to end the game and pick up his third save.

Harris lifted a fly ball to left center field that was just out of the diving reach of Cole Carrigg and scored Matt Olson from second and Mauricio Dubón from first.

Scheduled Rockies starter Ryan Feltner due to illness and replaced with Zach Agnos as manager Warren Schaeffer went with a bullpen game, using six pitchers. Jaden Hill (0-3) surrendered Harris’ double in the eighth.

The Rockies entered the game with an MLB-worst 5.54 team ERA but came within four outs of just their second shutout of the season.

Colorado’s lone run came in the sixth inning when Castro knocked Braves starter Martín Pérez with a bases-loaded single that scored Hunter Goodman. Pérez, who was seeking his 100th career win, struck out six in 5 2/3 innings, allowing five hits.

Connor Norby was 2 for 3 for the Rockies, who entered the game having lost 9 of 11.

In the seventh inning, home plate umpire Ron Kulpa took a foul ball from Ozzie Albies off the facemask and left the game after meeting with the Braves athletic training staff. The game was delayed 13 minutes as he was replaced by Manny Gonzalez.

MLB said in a statement that Kulpa was being evaluated under concussion protocols and that, at a minimum, he would be off the field Sunday.

The game was delayed 16 minutes at the start due to rain.

Up next

Braves RHP Tyler Mahle (5-10, 4.41) will face Rockies RHP Mason Adams (0-0, 2.25) to wrap up the three-game series Sunday.

After getting blasted 11-5 in the series opener that ended with first baseman/outfielder Troy Johnston pitching for Colorado, the Rockies battled in the final two games of the series at Coors Field, but lost 7-6 and then 6-4 in 10 innings.

“We expect to win every night — I don’t care who we’re playing,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. “Every guy (in our clubhouse) expects to win. We fight until the end every night, and that’s something that makes you proud. But the end goal is to win baseball games — it’s not to feel good by coming close. That’s not what we’re here to do. We’re getting there.”

The Dodgers had lost four of their last five series entering this week, but got back on track against their divisional foe that they’ve made a habit of bullying over the past half-decade.

• Colorado’s now gone 19 straight series without a series win against the Dodgers, the longest consecutive stretch against any opponent in franchise history. The second-longest stretch was 12 straight series against the Phillies from 2007 to 2021.

• Shohei Ohtani headlined the first two Dodgers wins this week, with four hits and two homers on Monday followed by another longball on Tuesday, when the Rockies’ late-game rally fell short. Ohtani continues to be the most sensational opposing hitter in Coors Field history, even as he had his 22-game Coors Field hitting streak snapped on Wednesday.

• Willi Castro was Colorado’s star in the Tuesday game, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs, a homer and two walks. In Wednesday’s rubber match, Mickey Moniak’s two-run homer in the 7th tied the game 4-4. Moniak’s 20th homer of the season made him the first Rockies outfielder with consecutive 20-plus home run seasons since Charlie Blackmon (2016-19). But in the 10th, a sacrifice fly by Freddie Freeman and an RBI single by Mookie Betts (who homered earlier in the game) sealed the sweep.

• Los Angeles won the season series 10-3 as the Rockies were swept for the eighth time in 2026. It’s the first time Colorado’s been swept in consecutive home series (the Rays also broomed them Aug. 3-5 prior to the Rockies’ season-long nine-game, 11-day road trip) since June 2022.

• Of starting pitching note, Tomoyuki Sugano took the loss in Game 1, Ryan Feltner took the loss in Game 2 and then Kyle Freeland exited in the fourth inning of Game 3 due to neck tightness. Freeland, who had spun three strong starts to open August including his first career complete game on Aug. 2 against the Royals as well as eight innings of one-run ball last weekend in San Francisco, allowed four runs on six hits.

• Of relief pitching note, the Colorado bullpen has been amid a solid stretch. It has allowed one or fewer runs in five of its last six games, with a 2.55 ERA (7 earned runs in 24.2 innings), six walks and 19 strikeouts in that span. Rookie Mark Manfredi, Nick Frasso, Jaden Hill (in his return from the injured list) and Jordan Romano all threw up zeros to send the game into extras. Manfredi, acquired via trade with the Brewers in exchange for Antonio Senzatela on Aug. 3, became the 10th Rockies player to debut this season. It’s now the third straight season that Colorado has had double-digit debuts, and the club’s 35 debuts since ’24 are second behind the White Sox (39).

Colorado resumes its homestand on Friday with a three-game series against Cleveland, which sits 1.5 games out of the second wild card spot in the American League. The Rockies (50-77) need to go 13-22 in the remaining 35 games to avoid their fourth consecutive 100-loss season.

Giants catcher Drew Cavanaugh had just blocked a pitch, and the ball sat right under his feet. Veen, taking an aggressive lead off third, took advantage of the moment. His helmet flew off as he dashed home, slid head first into the plate to beat Cavanaugh’s tag, and then popped up with his sunglasses falling off his face and screamed.

“I saw the ball in a spot where I didn’t think (Cavanaugh) was going to see it,” Veen said. “So I just went for it.

“I’d say I’m always trying to anticipate anything happening. I’d also say I’m playing with a lot of faith right now — just going out there and doing what feels natural, and letting (the game) take care of itself.”

The play epitomized the Rockies’ Zac Veen Thrill Ride, which also features a complementing counterpart in rookie utilityman Cole Carrigg, who possesses the same speed and fearlessness as Veen. Colorado farm director Chris Forbes has described Carrigg as a “wild stallion” and a “GTO.”

Together, those two young players are capable of providing a spark that the lagging Rockies franchise desperately needs as part of the plan to eventually return to contention.

“They’re two different players, but they are two players who play without fear and don’t care what it looks like out there,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. “They don’t care what anybody thinks about them. They are just going to play the way they play.”

For Veen, his return to the majors this season following a brief stint last year came after addressing his substance abuse issues and then dominating all summer in Triple-A.

The 2020 No. 9 overall pick is hitting .333 with a couple homers through his first six games of 2026, and while his plate discipline has shown drastic improvement, Schaeffer says Veen’s maturity off the field has been the most impactful aspect in his developmental jump.

“The biggest adjustment has been how he’s taking care of himself off the field,” Schaeffer said. “Which has allowed him to prepare better, which has allowed his mind to be locked in, his being to be free. You can’t put a price tag on that, and I couldn’t be more proud of that and I’m happy for him.”

Meanwhile, Carrigg — who debuted June 9 — has emerged as a lineup and defensive pillar. While seeing starts in center field and, more recently, shortstop, the 2023 second-round pick is slashing .284/.367/.474 with 5 homers and 34 RBIs through his first 58 big-league games. Carrigg’s near-elite speed element is similar to Veen’s, as both players’ sprint speed ranks in the top 15% of baseball.

“What (Carrigg) has done speaks for itself,” veteran outfielder Mickey Moniak said. “He’s come up here hungry, playing free. That’s what we want him to do. You’re seeing his talent show through his numbers and what he means to our offense, and causing chaos on the bases.

“(That energy) is something we talked about in spring training. It’s something we wanted our identity to be. He’s a perfect example of that.”

Both Veen and Carrigg have quickly emerged as favorites for a fanbase desperate for exciting up-and-coming talent to latch onto. Both players wear their emotions on their sleeve on the diamond, especially Carrigg.

He’s after a bad at-bat. He swears in the box when he misses a pitch he thought he should’ve mashed, sometimes causing the TV audio to briefly cut out for those watching at home. He was at the center of a bases-clearing incident on July 6 in Los Angeles, when Carrigg and Rushing exchanged words after a play at the plate.

As Moniak explains regarding Carrigg’s competitive fire, “what you see is what you get.”

“He plays (the soccer tabletop game) Biñho with (third baseman Kyle) Karros all the time in the clubhouse,” Moniak said. “You’ll hear Carrigg yelling from across the hallway. Anything he’s playing, he’s competitive. He’s yelling and getting feisty.”

Carrigg vows that fiery nature won’t change, though he acknowledged he’s still working on ensuring tough moments don’t stay with him throughout a game.

“I’ll always have that competitive nature, that competitive edge,” Carrigg said. “(That comes from) being the best player that I can be to help my team win ballgames, and if I’m not doing that at any point in time, I’m going to be rather upset about it.

“But that’s something I’m definitely still working on to not let it (simmer in my mind) — whether it’s traveling (with that emotion) into the dugout or whatnot, I just try to keep it to myself as much as I can. But I’ve always been a super competitive-edge type of player, and I’ll always be like that.”

While Carrigg vows to harness his emotions, Veen continues to approach each game from a place of gratitude. It was not long ago that Veen was skating on thin ice within the organization, especially after the outfielder was benched for a stint last year after he was caught smoking marijuana during a Triple-A game at Isotopes Park.

But Veen showed up to spring training sober from weed and alcohol, and has been attending recovery meetings all season. Getting sober also led to a marked physical change for the outfielder who can play all three spots. After playing last season at around 195 pounds, Veen was about 250 pounds in spring training, and his playing weight this season has been approximately 225 pounds.

“I think that (weight is) probably the best version of myself,” Veen said. “… Ultimately last year, I think I took the field kind of just knowing how good I was and I never really understood how grateful I was to be here and in this locker room, or any locker room. I’m just so grateful and blessed. So every day I come in here (to the majors), it’s just a reminder of trying to be the best I can be.”

Neither Veen nor Carrigg is anywhere close to a complete product, but they both could be part of Colorado’s long-term rebuilding plan. That is barring an offseason trade in which Veen, amid the club’s outfield depth, is the more likely candidate to be shopped for the Rockies’ most in-demand element: starting pitching depth.

With minimal service time and both having minor-league options remaining should they hit rough patches, the Rockies can continue to develop the sparkplugs into big-league veterans over the next six seasons while they are under club control.

The Thomas Jefferson graduate and Rockies mainstay has struggled this year, with a 6.27 ERA in 22 starts that ranks among his worst seasons in purple pinstripes. But the southpaw has turned it on in August as his contract year winds down, including another gem this weekend in San Francisco to jumpstart Colorado winning a second straight road series.

Freeland threw eight innings of one-run ball in a 5-2 win on Friday at Oracle Park. After San Francisco won 7-1 on Saturday, the Rockies bounced-back with a see-saw 13-7 victory on Sunday to clinch the series against their fellow National League West cellar-dweller.

“As we come down the stretch here, I’ll have a lot of those thoughts the last (six weeks of the season) of what my time meant here and how I want to finish everything up, and how I want to say my goodbyes to this organization as a whole,” Freeland told The Denver Post last homestand. “Because it’s been a long time and I’ve made a lot of friends, created a lot of family and created a lot of memories here. So it’s going to be bittersweet.

“This isn’t the end of my career. I still plan on playing baseball after this year and we’ll see where that is.”

He has a 1.27 ERA in three August starts, which began with his first career complete game against the Royals at Coors Field on Aug. 2. He entered that game as one of two pitchers in MLB history with at least 250 starts and no complete games, along with Diamondbacks’ left-hander Eduardo Rodríguez.

Freeland has a conditional player option for 2027 that vests if he pitches 170 innings this season. He’s currently at 120 2/3 innings, with eight scheduled starts remaining. He’d have to average more than six innings per start the rest of the way to vest that option, which is unlikely.

The Rockies’ starting pitching depth is extremely thin, so it’s possible the club entertains bringing Freeland back on a short deal to try and prop up the rotation in 2027. But it’s also possible that Freeland, despite a down year, signs elsewhere. Playing for a contender is on his radar, and wherever he goes, he could project as a back-end starter or even possibly a middle reliever.

“I obviously want to be a starter,” Freeland said. “But if it comes down to a prove-it contract (somewhere else) or that I could potentially be on a contender out of the bullpen — whether it’s this, that, or the other, that would be a decision that myself and my wife (Ashley) would have to make and see what would be the best fit for me.”

Freeland’s next start comes against the Dodgers on Wednesday in LoDo opposite Los Angeles right-hander Roki Sasaki. Freeland has a 5.23 career ERA in 28 starts against the Dodgers, against whom he made his MLB debut on April 7, 2017, with six innings of one-run ball.

Rockies road offense revitalization continues. The Rockies hammered the Giants pitching on Sunday. In only the fifth time in 233 games at Oracle Park where Colorado has scored 10 or more times, the club’s 13 runs were the third-most runs in franchise history in San Francisco. (The record is 17 in a win on May 5, 2016).

Colorado is averaging 4.33 runs per game on the road in 2026, a significant jump from its 2.81 road scoring average in ’25 that is the largest year-by-year increase in franchise history.

On Sunday, every starter in the lineup got a hit minus Jordan Beck, who walked twice. The Rockies were 5-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Adael Amador hit a three-run homer in the second inning, and Brett Sullivan hit a three-run homer in the seventh that put the game on ice. Zac Veen also had a highlight when he dashed home from third on a blocked pitch in the four-run sixth, a play that made it 7-7 and tilted the momentum permanently in Colorado’s favor.

“Veen, playing with his energy, was awesome when he took home there,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer told Rockies TV. “I had Veen in ’22 in the (Arizona) Fall League, so I’ve seen that many times. I’ve seen him walk and run directly to second base on a passed ball.

“He plays the game differently than other people. Having him and (rookie utilityman) Cole Carrigg on the same team is pretty special. He plays without fear — that’s what that is, and we like that.”

Hunter Goodman shoulder issue. The Rockies’ all-star catcher did not play in the series in San Francisco due to left shoulder inflammation, which Schaeffer Schaeffer said the injury occurred earlier in the road trip during a swing in the Rockies’ series win over Arizona, and Sullivan caught all three games against the Giants.

Goodman entered Sunday ranked fifth in the majors with 34 homers. He’ll have to remain healthy, and get piping hot over the last six weeks, to make a push for the Rockies’ single-season home run record of 49. That mark was set by Larry Walker in 1997, and then matched by fellow National Baseball Hall of Famer Todd Helton in 2001.

Also of note to track: the NL single-season Reds Hall of Famer Johnny Bench holds that record at 45 (38 hit as a catcher) in 1970, while the Braves’ Javy Lopez holds the NL record for most homers while playing the position at 42 in 2003. Goodman has a better shot at breaking Bench’s mark. He’s hit 28 homers this season while playing catcher and 6 as the DH.

Up next. The Rockies now head home from their season-long 11-day, nine-game road trip to host the two-time defending champion Dodgers followed by the Guardians at Coors Field.

Entering Sunday, Los Angeles remains in command of the NL West but is two games back of the Brewers for the top seed in the league. And Cleveland is one of a bunch of teams hanging around the American League wild card race, as the Guardians are one game back of the second spot.

The Rockies (50-74) need to go 13-25 down the stretch to avoid their fourth consecutive 100-loss season. With the series win in San Francisco, Colorado is also just one game back of the Giants for fourth place in the division. The last time the Rockies didn’t finish last in the NL West was 2021.

“This was huge (to win consecutive road series), especially in-division,” Brett Sullivan told Rockies TV. “We believe in this group, and we’ve shown it this road trip.”

SAN FRANCISCO — Logan Webb gave up four hits and one run in six innings, Drew Gilbert had three hits including a home run and three RBIs, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies 7-1 on Saturday.

Webb (8-7) struck out seven and did not issue a walk and secured his 1,100th career strikeout when he fanned Zac Veen swinging on a four-seam fastball in the second inning.

Gilbert got San Francisco on the board in the third with a home run just over the right field wall.

The Giants scored six runs in fourth inning. Turner Hill, in his major league debut, got the rally started with a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded. Gilbert hit a two-run single, prompting Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer to pull starter Michael Lorenzen (3-11).

Lorenzen allowed four hits, six earned runs, and walked three batters in 3 2/3 innings. He threw 82 pitches.

Rafael Devers knocked in a run on a ground-rule double down the left field line, Gilbert scored on a wild pitch by reliever Parker Mushinski, and Bryce Eldridge batted in one more run for a 7-1 lead.

Webb took a hit to the right shoulder area on a comebacker in the fifth but continued pitching after the Giants’ medical staff came to the mound to check on him. The righty was relieved by Carson Seymour after the sixth inning. Seymour only allowed one more hit in two innings. Dylan Smith closed out the ninth.

Cole Carrigg drove in Colorado’s run in the third.

San Francisco’s Jung Hoo Lee added two hits and a walk. It was the fifth time this season the Giants’ offense had 10 or more hits.

Colorado finished with five hits and had its three-game winning streak halted.

Up next

San Francisco’s RHP Blade Tidwell (0-0, 2.78 ERA) opposes Colorado’s RHP Gabriel Hughes on Sunday for the final game of the series.

PHOENIX — Kyle Karros hit a two-run homer before leaving the game following a collision with a teammate, Tomoyuki Sugano threw six solid innings and the Colorado Rockies rallied for a 3-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night.

The D-backs fell to 64-57 as they fight for National League playoff position in a tight race. They’re currently in a three-way tie with the Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres for the final two wild-card spots.

Rockies recall Zac Veen as 2020 first-round pick returns to majors

Karros hit his game-tying shot in the sixth off D-backs lefty Mitch Bratt that made it 2-all. In the bottom of the inning, he had to exit the game after colliding with shortstop Ezequiel Tovar while both players were trying to field a ground ball.

Karros appeared to hit his head and looked dazed while he sat on the ground for a few minutes, but the third baseman was eventually able to walk off the field. Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said postgame that Karros was in concussion protocol.

Colorado’s Hunter Goodman led off the seventh with a triple to the right-center gap and Mickey Moniak brought him home on a sacrifice fly for a 3-2 lead.

Jordan Romano worked the ninth for his 11th save of the season in 14 chances, including five in seven chances while pitching for the Rockies.

The D-backs took a 2-0 lead in the first after Corbin Carroll and Ketel Marte both hit homers. Carroll’s long ball was his 17th of the season while it was Marte’s 21st.

Sugano gave up two runs on six hits, striking out five.

Bratt had a scoreless streak of 14 innings before Karros’ two-run homer. The left-handed rookie gave up two runs on four hits and a walk over six innings, striking out four.

Up next

The D-backs will start RHP Merrill Kelly (8-9, 4.88 ERA) on Wednesday vs. Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (4-6, 5.71)

Fresh off signing a seven-year, $65.3 million contract extension that foretold his status as the Rockies’ shortstop of the future, Tovar slashed .269/.295/.469 in 2024 with a .763 OPS, 26 homers, National League-best 45 doubles and 3.6 bWAR.

But amid that success, Tovar also struck out a dubious distinction that foretold his offensive struggles over the next couple seasons because of his inability to control the zone.

Tovar’s freefall last year and this one have become an unmissable blight, especially as the Rockies’ offense has demonstrated drastic overall improvement in 2026. By the traditional stats, the sabermetrics and the eye test, Tovar’s playing like a shell of his breakout self from two seasons ago.

While Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer has continually backed the shortstop, Tovar acknowledged his backslide.

“I’m not going to put my head down,” Tovar told The Denver Post through an interpreter. “I understand that a lot of people had high expectations for me, and I also had high expectations for myself. I had my goals and I’m not hitting them this year. But I’m going to continue to battle out there.

“I know I can (hit better), but I have to keep working. I have to keep improving. I have to get more out of myself. So believe me, I’m looking for a way out of this.”

°Â³ó¾±±ô±ðÌýlast year’s dip  this summer’s continued struggles raise the question of whether the shortstop will ever be the caliber of player the Rockies expected when they inked that contract.

How much longer can Colorado afford to wait for Tovar to figure it out? It will surely be a question the front office reckons with this offseason, especially considering how the over the next four seasons. He’ll make $8.2 in 2027, $11.2 million in ’28, $14.2 million in ’29, $16.2 million in ’30 and then has a $23 million club option in ’31 that includes a $2.5 million buyout.

What initially looked like a team-friendly deal has now become a possible payroll albatross, especially given that trading the shortstop this offseason is probably not a realistic possibility due to the combination of his contract and his performance.

The most worrisome part is, it’s not just an extended slump that’s behind Tovar’s lack of offense this season. As that 200-K campaign in ’24 foretold, it’s Tovar’s total lack of command and undisciplined approach in his at-bats. Consider the following:

Tovar chases more than anyone in baseball, and he swings too much. Entering Friday’s series in St. Louis, his swing percentage on pitches outside the strike zone the worst in MLB. He also swings at more pitches inside the zone than anyone, too, at 83.0%. Of those in-zone swings, his contact rate is 84.5%, which ranks 28th-worst. So on top of unnecessarily expanding the zone, he’s also missing pitches in the zone at a well-above average rate. His total swing rate is 61.5%, 4% higher than the next most aggressive hitter, Toronto’s Ernie Clement at 57.5%. The end result has been dwindling average (.207, including .201 at home), power (9 homers) and value (-0.8 bWAR).

Tovar isn’t dictating his at-bats and is getting dominated by two pitches. Tovar’s 71.5% first-pitch strike percentage is the highest in MLB, so he’s falling behind quicker than any hitter in the game. Nearly 80% of the pitches he sees are either fastball (51.9%) or slider (26.9%). with the high fastball, and getting him to fish on sliders low and away. He ranks last in MLB in wFB (fastball runs above average) at -16.0, hitting just .185 against the pitch, and is 16th-worst in wSL (slider runs above average) at -4.1. All of this is contributing to another season with a high strikeout rate (25.4%, bottom fourth of baseball) and much lower barrel rates than he posted in 2024 (42 barrels that season, ranked 51st, as opposed to 17 so far this year, ranked 126th).

The bat isn’t the only concern — the glove’s fallen off a cliff, too. When Tovar won the NL Gold Glove Award in ’24, he was a wizard at shortstop who was one of the most valuable fielders in the game. But the sabermetrics don’t lie — his glove has been far from that level this season. He has -2 defensive runs saved this season, so below average, after posting 10 defensive runs saved in ’24. in the 44th percentile in range with 0 outs above average in ’26, just two seasons after he was in the 98th percentile in the metric with 15 outs above average.

With those three breakdowns in mind, the Rockies currently don’t have many options to replace Tovar.

Ryan Ritter and Chad Stevens are other shortstops who are in Triple-A; beyond that, Andy Perez is a promising 22-year-old in Double-A while top prospects Ethan Holliday (out for season ) and Tyler Bell (No. 10 overall pick this year, but out for the season with shoulder surgery) are still far off from arriving in LoDo.

The most obvious solution could already be on the active roster: rookie Cole Carrigg. Colorado has beta-tested Carrigg at shortstop, where he’s played four games and had one start in addition to his duties in center field. Carrigg says he’s ready to play there more, if called upon. It’s a position he played sparingly in college and the minors.

“It’s definitely pretty wild to be playing short in the big leagues,” Carrigg said. “I think you’ve just got to play with confidence and just believe in yourself, no matter where it is, and playing everywhere is something I’ve always done. But whatever (Schaeffer) needs, I’m going to do it, and do it to the best of my ability.”

If Carrigg got more starts at shortstop down the stretch, Jake McCarthy would become the de facto starting center fielder in the post-Brenton Doyle era, with utilityman Tyler Freeman capable of also seeing more time out there to help keep McCarthy fresh.

Whatever the case, the final couple months of the season would be a good time for the Rockies to see if Carrigg, whose bat has been potent through his first 47 career games, could warrant more time at shortstop. Meanwhile, Colorado will surely keep plugging Tovar into the lineup; the 25-year-old has been hitting better lately, including a .333 average over the past couple of weeks.

“I look at every aspect of the game, not just my chase (rate), that I need to improve on,” Tovar said. “…  That’s something that every coach out here and everyone (in the organization) is trying to help me with. And that’s something that we are collectively trying to answer.”

Tovar will have all offseason to dig into his issues, make changes, and attempt to bring a fresh approach into 2027. Barring a big surprise, he’ll remain the starting shortstop going into next season. But the clock is now ticking. If the Rockies are going to truly turn the corner into contenders over the next few years, a weak-hitting shortstop can’t be part of the plan.