The Colorado Rockies are a team in the midst of a rebuild. With this in mind, the staff at Purple Row thought it would be useful to revisit the “State of the Position” series that we ran in March to see where things stand. We’ve asked authors of the spring articles to re-evaluate their earlier remarks with an eye toward the August 3 trade deadline.
What was said in March
When my colleague Renee Dechert evaluated the Rockies’ outfield group back during spring training, one thing was very clear: Brenton Doyle was the uncontested
starter in center field. The two-time Gold Glove award winner had overcome a -2.0 rWAR first half in 2025 with injuries and personal trauma to finish the season with positive wins above replacement per Baseball Reference. He looked like the Brenton Doyle from 2024 and was expected to be one of the most stable parts of the Rockies’ lineup heading into the 2026 season.
Backing up Doyle occasionally in center field as well as playing regularly in left would be Jake McCarthy. The Rockies made a surprising intradivision trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the lightning-quick outfielder in exchange for a pitching prospect.
With McCarthy in left, the young Jordan Beck would move to right field for his true sophomore season. Beck could continue to build on a solid 2025 campaign at the plate while working to improve his defense by utilizing his speed and solid arm strength.
Mickey Moniak would be the fourth outfielder and designated hitter for the Rockies. After a truly awful defensive season in 2025 that sank his value into the negatives for rWAR, Moniak could focus on putting his bat to good use in the Rockies lineup and only playing corner outfield (and hopefully the very, very rare center field appearance) when necessary.
Behind the core four, a group of utility players in Tyler Freeman, Ryan Ritter, Troy Johnston, and Willi Castro would be available in a pinch. Freeman was a regular presence in the outfield last season, but his defense was… an adventure. Ritter–who debuted last season–added outfield to his repertoire during the off-season and spring, and the newly acquired Willi Castro (a free agent) and Troy Johnston (a waiver claim from Miami) both had outfield experience.
Where the Rockies are now
The Starters
The Rockies’ outfield through the first half of the 2026 season has been complicated and crowded. They’ve used ten different players in the outfield to varying degrees of success and what has emerged is a transitional group completely detached from preseason expectations.
Brenton Doyle–the surefire starting center fielder–has been on the injured list since May 20th. He sustained a left oblique contusion while making a diving catch and then developed a nagging groin strain during his rehab assignment with the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes. His rehab assignment has since been shut down and his timeline for return is unknown.
However, when he was on the field over the first 43 games of the season, Doyle struggled. He hit just .207/.279/.270 with just four doubles, one home run, four RBIs, and nine stolen bases. His trademark gilded defense also took a hit with -2 defensive runs saved, zero outs above average, and a -1 fielding run value.
Jordan Beck also struggled early in the season, hitting .183/.227/.305 with five doubles, one triple, one home run, and ten RBIs in 30 games. He found very little success against right-handed pitching and was relegated to a platoon role before a hamstring strain landed him on the injured list. He was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque fter missing more than a month of action and completing a rehab assignment.
Without Beck and Doyle playing, there has been room for new challenger to emerge in top prospect Cole Carrigg (no. 4 PuRP).
The 2023 second round pick proved he was ready for a call-up after a blistering hot start to the season in Triple-A Albuquerque in which he hit .338/.414/.529 with 15 doubles, five triples, six home runs, 42 RBIs, and 30 stolen bases over 57 games. Now it seems unlikely that the 28-year-old Doyle will get his job in center field back from the 24-year-old Carrigg if the former returns this season.
Since making his Major League debut on June 9th, Carrigg has been as good as advertised. He is hitting .273/.356/.515 through his first 31 big league games and 119 plate appearances with six doubles, three triples, four home runs, 22 RBIs, and a couple of stolen bases. Even more impressive has been the rookie’s plate approach. Known for being aggressive and “playing with his hair on fire,” Carrigg has drawn 13 walks to 26 strikeouts. His 10.9% walk rate is among the team’s best, above fellow rookie TJ Rumfield and just below Kyle “3-2 count” Karros.
With excellent speed and one of the best arms in the Rockies’ system, Carrigg’s defense in center field has been a strong point. In 241.1 innings patrolling the position, his two defensive runs saved, two outs above average, and three fielding run value have already made him the Rockies’ best defensive outfielder.
With Carrigg settling in out in center field, Jake McCarthy has been the most common choice for the Rockies in left. There he can make use of his blazing speed without his weaker than average arm being too much of a hindrance.
After falling out of favor with the Diamondbacks last season due to a -0.6 rWAR season where he hit .204/.247/.345, McCarthy was sent to the Rockies in exchange for pitching prospect Josh Grosz (who had in turn been acquired from the New York Yankees at the 2025 trade deadline).
Arizona’s loss has been Colorado’s gain. McCarthy has quickly become a tremendous asset in the Mile High City as both a leadoff hitter and fan favorite. Hitting .301/.347/.516 so far this season, McCarthy has 18 doubles, six triples, and has donned the Rockies’ purple home run coat a career high ten times. Two of his home runs have been of the inside-the-park variety, making him the third Rockies hitter to have two inside-the-park home runs in a single season (Brandon Barnes, 2014 and Charlie Blackmon, 2017) and the first hitter with two leadoff inside-the-park home runs since 1929.
With all the injuries and shuffling, Tyler Freeman has somehow repeated his role from last season as the Rockies’ primary right fielder. While his defense has been somewhat improved compared to his abysmal 2025 where he was worth -10 defensive runs saved, -8 outs above average, and a -6 fielding run value, Freeman is still one of the worst defensive right fielders in baseball this season. His -9 defensive runs saved is the worst of any regularly playing right fielder while his -6 outs above average and -4 fielding run value are both in the bottom ten.
Freeman is regularly on base with a .265 average and a .343 on-base percentage. He seldom strikes out and can even be a threat to steal bases. However, with little in terms of pop, his offensive numbers are fairly empty. He has just six doubles, a triple, three home runs, an 23 RBIs this season. This combines with his atrocious defense to make him baseball’s current least valuable player with -1.5 wins above replacement per Baseball Reference.
The Backups
After missing the start of the season with a right finger sprain, Mickey Moniak hit the ground running as one of the Rockies best hitters against right-handed pitching. He hit .280/.335/.607 with nine doubles, two triples, 12 home runs, and 28 RBIs through his first 43 games of the season and looked like a potential All-Star candidate for the Rockies.
Unfortunately, he was sidelined again in late May with right ankle tendonitis and swelling that kept him out of the lineup for over a month. Moniak returned in late June, and while he hasn’t had as much of a power stroke, he has continued to be a solid hitter for the Rockies. He has hit .271/.302/.492 with two doubles, a triple, three home runs, and ten RBIs since returning.
Moniak has actually been serviceable with the glove this season, which comes as a pleasant surprise after terrible defense last season was a major criticism of the former first overall draft pick. The Rockies have largely utilized Moniak in left field instead of right or center field, where he has been worth a perfectly cromulent -1 defensive runs saved, zero outs above average, and a zero fielding run value.
Next to Moniak on the outfield bench is 29-year-old Troy Johnson, a second-year MLB player who was acquired off of waivers from the Miami Marlins this off-season.
Johnston quickly captured the hearts of Rockies fans with his excitable, golden retriever-like personality. His teammates are similarly enamored. Helping his case in the hearts and minds of the baseball public has been his surprising aptitude for hitting. Johnston even earned a decent number of All-Star votes as a designated hitter by slashing .301/.374/.417 in the first half. His 23 doubles has him as one of the league leaders in the category–tied for fourth place with Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman and future Hall of Famer Freddie Freeman.
However, Johnston is much better served as a designated hitter. His defense in right field–where he’s gotten the most playing time–leaves a lot to be desired (and the less said about his work at first base, the better).
Willi Castro exists mostly as an emergency or late inning switch option of the outfield. He is much better suited to second base with the occasional appearances at shortstop and third when Kyle Karros or Ezequiel Tovar are in need of a day off.
Rounding out the bench is a surprising name: catcher Braxton Fulford. The Rockies have been working with Fulford to expand his defensive skill-set this season with the starting role behind the plate firmly in the hands of Hunter Goodman while backup catcher–and occasional relief pitcher–Brett Sullivan still sees a decent amount of playing time. Fulford has the speed and glove skills to make corner outfield work in a pinch, and made his first career appearance either in college or professionally in left field on July 8th.
On the Farm
Sterlin Thompson (no. 13 PuRP) made his Major League debut earlier this season after a strong start in Triple-A Albuquerque. Thompson took some solid at-bats and was up with the Rockies for 27 games, but wasn’t quite ready for a full-time big league job. He hit .232/.312/.377 with four doubles and did hit his first two big league home runs. He has since been returned to the Isotopes, where he continues to hit well. So far this season in Triple-A he has slashed .314/.457/.459 with seven doubles, a triple, six home runs, and 42 walks to 38 strikeouts.
Two of Thompson’s Albuquerque teammates are stealing the show, however, and pounding on the door for big league call-ups of their own.
Zac Veen (no. 9 PuRP) has reinvented himself by getting sober and bulking up after a disastrous debut last season. Veen has been hitting very well with the Isotopes, going .311/.385/.578 in the first 81 games of the Triple-A season. He leads the Pacific Coast League with 26 doubles and has also hit five triples, 16 home runs, and has driven in 59 RBIs. He’s also been much more disciplined at the plate, drawing 39 walks to 76 strikeouts.
2024 first round pick Charlie Condon (no. 1 PuRP) has been playing a significant amount of right field this season in Albuquerque, a potential necessity with the emergence of TJ Rumfield at first base. After a slow start over the first few months of the season, Condon’s power exploded in June. He enters the All-Star break hitting .289/.414/.584 with 16 doubles, six triples, 20 home runs–the third most in the Pacific Coast League–and 60 RBIs. Condon is also among the Pacific Coast League leaders in walks with 53 compared to his 87 strikeouts. He also participated in the All-Star Futures Game for a second time this season.
Closing Thoughts
The only real building block of the future for this Rockies squad currently playing every day is Cole Carrigg in center field. Outside of that, the Rockies outfield is largely crowded and in a state of transition. There are simply too many outfielders–or players who play in the outfield like Tyler Freeman–on this roster.
With Zac Veen ad Charlie Condon arguably ready for their big league debuts, where ideally they would flank Carrigg in the outfield corners, decisions need to me made. The trade deadline is in a few weeks and at least one outfielder such as McCarthy or Moniak should at least be on the market for contending teams. While having skilled backups like Brenton Doyle is important, other players–potentially even Doyle himself–will need to be optioned, designated for assignment, or have their future with the organization assessed during the off-season.
For now, the Rockies outfield you see today is very unlikely to be the one you see next year.
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