As much as I tried to temper my expectations this season, the never-say-die baseball optimist in me took over.
As the Rockies improved this season, with late-inning comebacks and exciting prospects, my hope grew. Instead of just hoping for a slightly better season and building a better foundation for the future, I got greedy. Now I want more wins — at least 63 of them to avoid a fourth-straight 100-loss season.
It’s not rational. There’s no magic benefit to hitting the milestone, but it’s the psychological
finish I need to at least put some fuel in my fan tank. The cumulative effect of eight straight losing seasons, including three 100-plus loss years in a row, has Rockies fans running on empty for far too long.
But after a 3-7 stretch over the last 10 games and the fourth-hardest strength of schedule in MLB remaining, the Rockies are 41-63 with 58 games left. While they’ll no doubt surpass their 43-win total from 2025, are there 22 more wins on the schedule?
Just over a week ago, I made the silly second-half prediction that the Rockies could finish 63-99. Now I am not so sure, mostly due to three reasons: the schedule, the current slump, and potential trades.
Strength of schedule
If you average together the winning percentages of all 16 of the opponents the Rockies have left on their schedule, it’s .520. Colorado has 37 games left against winning teams, calculated through Wednesday’s results, including 27 against teams who would go to the playoffs if the season ended now. That’s six more than the 21 games the Rockies have left against sub-.500 teams. Tankathon lays it out nicely here:
Twelve of the harder games come on the road against the Milwaukee Brewers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees. So far this season, the Rockies have gone 19-38 against winning teams. If we apply that .333 winning percentage to the 37 games the Rockies have left, that’s 12 wins.
On the other hand, the Rockies have gone 22-25 against teams below .500. With 21 games left against those teams, the .468 winning percentage would project 10 wins. 10 plus 12 mean 22 and the magical 63 wins that negate triple-digit losses, but that’s just using the past as a predictor.
One of the greatest things about baseball is that anything can happen on a given day. That being said, the Rockies schedule doesn’t do them many favors in avoiding 100 losses.
The slump
On the season, the Rockies have a -101 run differential in 104 games. That’s second-worst in MLB behind the A’s -122. Lately, the run differential has been much worse.
During the last 10 games, the Rockies have lost seven and been outscored 59-38 (-21). Going back to the 4th of July, the Rockies have gone 5-14 in their last 19 games, being outscored 86-63 (-23) during the stretch.
It takes a struggling pitching staff and hitters to put up a run differential like that. Wednesday’s shutout was only the third of the season the offense has suffered. While a streaky offense is part of the problem, the biggest problem is the pitching, as Kyle Freeland explained after the 7-3 loss to the Washington Nationals on Monday.
“They’re [offensive players] doing a good job of putting runs on the board, but the big thing is pitching,” Freeland said after giving up four runs in six innings in his ninth loss of the season. “It’s been the trend the whole season. We’re not throwing the ball especially well. We’re making our offense fight and claw at the end of games to come back.”
Whether it’s the starters or the bullpen, the Rockies, for the most part, aren’t reliable on the mound right now. Facing hard teams as the grind of the length of the season really starts to set in come August and September, it’s hard to picture the Rockies pitching getting better. This also doesn’t fare well for avoiding 100 losses.
Potential trades
If the new front office is going to talk the talk and walk the walk, more trades than dealing Seth Halvorsen are coming. The whole purpose of the trades will be to build up the farm system with a few MLB players in the mix. While that’s the smart move, and one the Rockies didn’t often make under the last front office, it won’t help with wins this season.
I can come to terms with that, but it’s also brutal to think about how much the offense will struggle without catalysts like Hunter Goodman, Mickey Moniak, Jake McCarthy, Troy Johnston, or Willi Castro. The same goes when imagining a rotation without Tomoyuki Sugano (菅野 智之) and a bullpen without Antonio Senzatela, even though either could net a good haul for the future.
Final thoughts
This season, Purple Row’s Cory Cohen has written about how the Rockies can follow turnaround blueprints from the White Sox and Miami Marlins. There is, indeed, a lot to be learned from both organizations — from who to trade and who to keep, and focuses for drafting and development; the front offices have guides to follow. But there could be lessons to learn as a fan as well.
After setting the record for most losses in MLB modern history in 2024 with 121, which the Rockies narrowly avoided with 119 losses in 2025, the White Sox went 60-102 in 2025 and currently sit atop the American League Central standings. If the Rockies have to put up one more triple-digit loss season in 2026 to turn into a potential contender — obviously for a Wild Card spot because they have the ill fortune of residing in a division with the Dodgers — then I can better swallow that losing pill this season. If the Rockies improved by 19 wins this season like the White Sox did in 2025, that would put Colorado at 62-100 at the end of this season.
At the same time, the Marlins went 62-100 in 2024, improved to 79-83 in 2025 and are now vying for a Wild Card spot. As Cory wrote, however, the Marlins are perennially flush with pitching talent, which is harder to develop and maintain in Colorado. Their model of a 17-win improvement would put the Rockies at 60-102.
Either way, this season is just the foundation to building the bridge to a better future. Most indicators still put the Rockies on track for their fourth-straight 100-loss season. In the end, I have to remember that this season’s record won’t matter as much as next season’s, even if I want more wins now.
On the Farm
Triple-A: Round Rock Express 14, Albuquerque Isotopes 1
The Express sped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and just kept adding to it in a blowout on Thursday. Round Rock out-hit the Isotopes 20-7 and went 8-for-22 with runners in scoring position while Albuquerque went 1-for-8. The Isotopes lone run came in the eighth inning when Brenton Doyle hit an RBI single to score Richie Martin Jr. Doyle, the DH, went 2-for-4 with a strikeout in the game. Chad Stevens went 3-for-4 in the game.
Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats 3, Richmond Flying Squirrels 1
Dyan Jorge hit a sacrifice fly that scored two runs thanks to a Squirrels throwing error, and Roc Riggio hit an RBI triple in the eighth inning to replace a 1-0 deficit with a 3-1 come-from-behind win on Thursday night. With one out in the eighth, Cole Messina drew a walk, GJ Hill joined him on base after being hit by a pitch and Andy Perez also walked to load the bases. That’s when Jorge and Riggio came up clutch for the win. Jack Mahoney had a stellar start, giving up one run on three hits with five strikeouts and only one walk in six innings. Carlos Torres picked up the win by finishing it off with three scoreless innings and he only allowed two hits while striking out one.
High-A: Tri-City Dust Devils 7, Spokane Indians 6
A six-run fifth inning doomed the Indians on Thursday night. Despite an early 2-0 lead thanks to a two-run single by Caleb Hobson and a three-run sixth, Spokane couldn’t complete the comeback. In the sixth, Tommy Hopfe grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored Robert Calaz before Ethan Hedges hit a two-run single to cut Tri-City’s lead to 7-6. Ismael Luciano and Francis Rivera held the Devils scoreless in the final three innings but the Indians only mustered one hit in the final third of the game at the plate.
Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies 17, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 6
Fresno scored in seven out of eight innings, including a seven-run seventh, in an offensive explosion that included 14 hits in a massive win on Thursday. Wilder Dalis drove in four runs, homered, doubled and scored two runs, while Derek Bernard recorded three RBIs on two hits and scored two runs. Cruzmel Arias tripled, singled and scored two runs, and Clayton Gray went 3-for-6 with three runs driven in and one run scored. Marcos Herrera gave up four runs in 4.2 innings on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts for the win while Manuel Olivares threw the final 4.1 innings, surrendering only two runs on three hits with three strikeouts and one walk.
ACL: ACL Rockies 3, ACL Athletics 0
The ACL Rockies closed out the rookie Arizona Complex League with a shutout win on Thursday, clinching the best record in the league at 40-19 and will now play in the League Championship Series starting on Saturday. Eliezer Pena pitched three scoreless innings to start the game before three other Rockies chipped in to preserve the shutout. The Rockies scored first in the third inning when Parker Coddou stole home on a double steal that also saw Dariel Garcia steal second. Kamuel Villar followed with a single to score Garcia to make it 2-0. Ben Wilmes scored on a wild pitch in the sixth for insurance. Each was held to four hits in the game.
OMG! Iglesias to make Broadway debut in Buena Vista Social Club | MLB.com
Many former MLB players go on to exciting careers after their baseball career ends. But former Rockie Jose Iglesias is really making a splash as he’s set to make his Broadway debut on Aug. 27-Oct. 4 as the narrator in the hit musical Buena Vista Social Club. Iglesias, who played for the Rockies in 2022, is from Cuba, the home of the real-life Buena Vista Social Club in Havanna. Iglesias, also known as Candelita, the pop star with the hit song OMG from 2024 when he was still playing with the Mets. The song became an anthem of sorts for the team.
The Rockies’ history of three-homer games | Purple Row
Hunter Goodman’s bomb-blasting exploits of recording two three-homer games this season inspired this fun story that recaps some of the glory days of the Blake Street Bombers and some surprising hitters who put up three-HR games, which has happened 22 times in Rockies history.
Everyone is talking about Hunter Goodman as one of the most in-demand hitters on the market. While the trade rumors will fly until a deal happens or the Aug. 3 deadline passes, Kyle Newman took the chance to recap Goodman’s rise to his All-Star status. Newman chronicles Goodman’s breakout moment as a freshman at the University of Memphis.
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