The optimistic improvement of the 2026 Colorado Rockies

DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 1: Colorado Rockies players, from left, center fielder Jake McCarthy (31), left fielder Mickey Moniak (22), center fielder Cole Carrigg (16), and shortstop Ryan Ritter (8) celebrate the win after a game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on S

What is the story about?

During the 2024 and 2025 seasons, it seemed like the Colorado Rockies were finding ways to make the record books in the worst ways imaginable every day. It was so frequent that I took it upon myself to try to chronicle those records and statistics, compiling them into articles to cap off the2024and 2025seasons.

I entered 2026 expecting to do the same thing, preparing a document that the Purple Row crew and I could add to throughout the year. To my joyous surprise, I won’t be writing that dubious history

article again. Despite the Rockies becoming the first team since the 1965 New York Mets to have four consecutive 100-loss seasons, there wasn’t a lot of notable historical failings for the club. Instead of being historically awful, they were mostly just bad in 2026, which is a milestone in its own right.

Rather than dig through the weeds to find more reasons to point the finger at how far this team has to go, let’s look at the improvement for the club that inspires some inkling of hope for the future.

The record

I know it seems asinine to celebrate the fact that a team lost only 104 games, but considering that the Rockies lost 119 a year ago, that 15-game improvement feels remarkable.

Remember how they didn’t have 10 wins until June 2 last season? Well, the 2026 club managed to secure the 10th win on April 22. The 2025 squad’s 43rd and final win didn’t come until September 21, during their final home game of the season. The 2026 team secured their 43rd win on July 31 and were up to 45 wins at the end of a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals on August 2.

The separation of a few weeks between when the 2025 squad lost their 100th game (Game No. 139) and when the 2026 team lost their 100th (Game No. 157) shows a team that made some steady improvement. The fact that it was a real possibility in the middle of August that the team could avoid 100 losses made the collapse through the end of the season all the more painful.

Considering where the team started coming into the year, 104 losses is still some positive momentum, even if it’s ugly to look at.

Offensive improvement

The majority of improvements for the 2026 season are thanks to the offense. While still flawed in ways, the Rockies batters made a massive leap forward under Brett Pill and Jordan Pacheco.

In 2025, the Rockies offense was the worst in franchise history. Compared to the rest of baseball, Colorado ranked:

23rd in AVG (.237)
30th in OBP (.293)
24th in SLG (.386)
29th in runs scored (597)
25th in HR (160)
29th in K% (25.9%)
30th in BB% (6.7%)
30th in wRC+ (75)
30th in fWAR (-3.0)

Across the board, the Rockies were not a good offensive team last season. So, the emphasis of the new front office and coaching staff was to boost production and approach at the plate through a new philosophy and personnel.

The results ended up speaking for themselves. At the end of the 2026 season, the Rockies ranked:

4th in AVG (.254)
7th in OBP (.322)
5th in SLG (.417)
7th in runs scored (752)
19th in HR (180)
21st in K% (22.8%)
27th in BB% (8.1%)
29th in wRC+ (91)
30th in fWAR (8.0)

In the basic counting stats, the Rockies saw such incredible improvement. Instead of being a bottom feeder in most every single category, they managed to put the ball in play more and get on base. It helped by having an influx of talent for the season and a better overall lineup.

The team still strikes out too much and walks too little, but the fact that they were able to get back toward the league average in both of those categories is an important step forward for the club. The Rockies were at their best when they were able to draw walks and get base hits to drive in runs.

They scored nearly 150 more runs in 2026 than they did last season. The run differential still wasn’t great at -192, but considering the Rockies had a historically bad -424 differential last season, that’s a promising improvement that could get better if the Rockies can get the entire offense working cohesively and more consistently.

Road warriors

Part of the significance for the offense was that they looked like a more competent team on the road. Despite the natural regression for the offense away from Coors Field, where there was much more offensive output, the road offense was actually one of the best for the franchise since 2002.

The Rockies batted .237 on the road this season, which actually ranked 11th for the franchise since the introduction of the humidor at Coors Field, with the .704 OPS ranking sixth. In 2025, the Rockies had a .203 AVG and .589 OPS, which was by far one of, if not the worst, road offenses in team history.

The key factor was that they managed to score more runs on the road. Their 346 road runs ranked 21st in baseball this season but ranked third for the club since 2002 and most since they scored 340 road runs in 2009. If the pitching had been better, there is no doubt that the Rockies could have won more than 25 games on the road this season.

Bits and pieces of the pitching

Pitching, particularly starting pitching, was the major flaw of the Rockies in the 2026 season, a theme that carries throughout team history. The rotation was truly awful this season and took a nosedive over the final two months. However, there are some inklings of positive notes from the pitching staff this season.

The offense did a lot of heavy lifting to improve the 2026 Rockies, but the bullpen held its own for most of the season. The Rockies pitching staff had a league-worst 5.59 ERA, but the relievers had a 4.80 ERA, which ranked 27th in baseball. Compared to the 5.18 ERA for the bullpen in 2025, that’s a steady improvement with room for more growth, especially with the infusion of some young arms like Mark Manfredi and Nick Frasso.

The Rockies also proved that struggling arms could find new life in the bullpen. Chase Dollander found a groove starting the year as a bulk reliever out of the bullpen before carrying over into the rotation. Antonio Senzatela was one of the best relievers in baseball to start the season after struggling so long in his career as a starter. Ryan Feltner found a new gear coming out of the bullpen to end the season as a bulk reliever. Jordan Romano reestablished his ability to be a high-leverage reliever worthy of closer opportunities.

While he faded down the stretch, Tomoyuki Sugano (菅野智之) brought a stabilizing, reliable veteran presence to the rotation and recorded 12 wins in the year, the most for a starter since 2021. There were plenty of lessons to be learned from top to bottom for the pitching staff.

Something that shouldn’t be overlooked is that the Rockies made incremental progress in walks allowed. An 8.7% rate in 2025 improved slightly to 8.3% in 2026, which isn’t much, but it’s enough to take the Rockies from 11th-highest to 21st-highest.

If the Rockies could improve their ability to miss bats and start getting more strikeouts across the board, it would certainly help complement the slight improvement in walks allowed.

A long way to go

Ultimately, it’s clear the Rockies have a long way to go. However, they are trending in the right direction in some areas. The offense has a clearer identity and a group of players capable of doing good things. TJ Rumfield and Cole Carrigg, along with Kyle Karros, headlined a group of young hitters that can make a big impact. You had experienced players like Jake McCarthy and Willi Castro put together extraordinary bounce-back seasons. You had the explosive power of Hunter Goodman and Mickey Moniak (when he’s healthy).

2026 mostly boiled down to finding an offensive baseline that works. There is plenty of work to do to take the next step offensively, but you can see the path forward.

The pitching is another story. The franchise has to find a way to build a pitching pipeline, complemented by better acquisitions. We saw hints of what a competitive rotation can do for the club back in April, but things quickly went off the rails. Adjustments and recalculations will have to be made, and new experiments need to be conducted, but you can see potential in the arms and what could be if things start clicking.

Either way, 2026 was a step in the right direction and, if nothing else, gave me hope that things can get better.