Today marks the official halfway point of the 2026 season for the Colorado Rockies. As they prepare to face off against the Boston Red Sox for the 81st game of the year, it seems appropriate to look back on some of the good, the bad, and the ugly qualities of this team at this point in the season.
The Good
New additions pulling weight
The Rockies’ new front office did as much as they could to reshape the roster this offseason, and some of those efforts have met with success.
TJ Rumfield has been a revelation
at first base, thanks to his incredible first half, and he deserves recognition in the Rookie of the Year conversations. Speedy outfielder Jake McCarthy has rebounded with the Rockies as an everyday outfielder alongside Troy Johnston, who turned an unexpected Opening Day roster spot into a regular spot in the lineup and one of the best batting averages in the league.
Willi Castro, the lone major free agent signing among position players, has also been quietly consistent at the plate while utilizing his defensive versatility.
Meanwhile, Tomoyuki Sugano (菅野 智之) has held down the pitching front as the most consistent of the starting pitchers, leading the team in quality starts, and just generally giving the Rockies a chance to win ball games nearly every time he takes the mound.
Not just a fluke
One of the biggest questions heading into the 2026 season was whether Hunter Goodman and Mickey Moniak could replicate their success from 2025. Turns out the answer thus far is yes.
Moniak proved to be one of the best power hitters in MLB through his first 43 games of the season before dealing with an ankle injury. Prior to going on the IL, he put up 12 home runs and 28 RBI in 164 plate appearances.
Goodman, on the other hand, has once again positioned himself as one of the best power-hitting catchers in all of baseball with 21 home runs. He’s also been able to show off his skills with ABS challenges and is ripe to be an All-Star once again and perhaps even an intriguing trade chip.
Both of the 2025 breakout stars, managing to bring that consistency into 2026, hopefully break a trend of the last several years of the lackluster encore.
The Bad
Old habits die hard
The need for change has been a constant theme for the Rockies in 2026, and while there is plenty of evidence of progress, some old habits are hard to break.
The team has continued to struggle to sustain an offense driven by a sometimes overaggressive approach at the plate and a lack of power. Strikeout rates have been improving this season, but it will always be a thorn in the Rockies’ side if they don’t corral chase rates.
Meanwhile, the Rockies continue to struggle with walks for both the offense and the pitching. The Rockies are roughly middle of the road in both departments, which isn’t awful, but it’s not good. Considering everything that has happened with the team, things that are bad are still somehow much better than most things from 2025. A bad team with normal problems is a leg up over an ugly team with severe problems.
The 2026 Rockies have shown an ability to progress in these old habits; it’s just taking a little longer.
Tovar’s struggles
A clear example of struggling to change has been Ezequiel Tovar.
Since his tremendous 2024 campaign, Tovar has been unable to replicate that success by any measure. 2025 saw him struggle with injuries and inconsistency, while 2026 has been marred by a lackluster plate approach so far. While his defense remains on point, Tovar continues to struggle with his chasing tendencies as his strikeout rate has risen back to career-highs, and his walk rate is at a career-low 1.8%. He had a solid 20-game stretch in May where he seemed to have conquered the demons and was on the up-and-up, but he has collapsed in June, when he has slashed .175/.200/.281 with two walks and 24 strikeouts.
Signed through 2030, it’s hard to gauge where the 24-year-old fits into this team going forward if he can’t find consistency.
The Ugly
Pitching meltdowns
The goal of 2026 was to take steps to solve pitching in Colorado, and the front office has learned that’s easier said than done.
There was hope things could turn around after the pitching staff put up a solid month of April, but things have deteriorated quite a bit since then. The Rockies have the highest team ERA in all of baseball, including the worst ERA among starting pitchers and the second-highest among relievers.
Michael Lorenzen discovered that Coors Field is tougher to tame than he may have initially thought, leading to a lot of soul-searching on the mound. The bullpen, perhaps overworked at times, has run into a wall of struggling in the late innings while issuing walks. Both groups have struggled in the run prevention category, as the Rockies have a run differential that is the worst in baseball.
There have been hints of what good pitching for the Rockies looks like, but the puzzle is still getting solved. Until all the pieces are placed where they need to be, there is still going to be some ugly pitching for the Rockies.
Injuries
Every team deals with injuries and has to adjust accordingly. However, it doesn’t help when injuries start to derail plans and cost an organization players for an extended periods. The Rockies have dealt with their fair share of injuries this season, and the struggles of the pitching staff can partly be traced to injuries.
Tommy John surgery has cost the Rockies at least three pitchers in 2026. Pierson Ohl, RJ Petit, and Welinton Herrera all suffered the dreaded injury for pitchers, knocking them out of the year. Chase Dollander, who appeared to finally form into the pitcher the team hoped he could be, has undergone surgery to put in an internal brace for his elbow injury. Veteran starter José Quintana was supposed to help anchor the rotation, but he is out of commission with an elbow injury with no timetable to return any time soon. There have been other scary arm injuries that are also cause for concern, even when those players have returned. The injuries have depleted an already shallow pool of big-league arms and will be a major concern to address throughout the rest of the season.
Moving forward
Over the next 81 games, the Rockies have plenty of things to do. The trade deadline looms at the start of August. Prospects continue to pound on the door, demanding a seat at the big league table. Competition will only get better as teams fight for the playoffs.
The Rockies are definitely in a better place at this point in the season than they were a year ago. Excitement and hope are bubbling for the team, which is more than you can say about the last few years. This is a team that is continuing the climb, and the good, the bad, and the ugly help illustrate how far they’ve come and how far they need to go.
On the Farm
Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes 11, Salt Lake Bees 3
Albuquerque scored 10 runs through the first four innings as they cruised to an 11-3 victory. The team had 16 hits, with each of the four through seven hitters collecting three hits. Zac Veen led the charge with three doubles, Charlie Condon and Chad Stevens were both a home run shy of the cycle, while Sterlin Thompson had three singles. All of them had two RBI alongside Adael Amador out of the eighth spot in the lineup. Jordan Beck and Brenton Doyle both kicked off a rehab assignment. Doyle went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts, while Beck went 0-for-4 with a strikeout. Ryan Miller served as an opener, throwing two scoreless innings. Valente Bellozo then followed with 3.2 innings, allowing two runs on three hits with four walks. Evan Shawver went 2.2 innings, giving up a run on four hits. Andrew Baker closed out the game, getting the final two outs of the ninth inning.
Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats 7, Portland Sea Dogs 5
The Hartford Yard Goat utilized plenty of speed on the bases to set themselves up on offense and held on to a 7-5 win over Portland. Hartford stole nine bases as a team as they collected seven hits, but went just 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position. They added two runs apiece in the first and second innings, then took the lead with a three-run inning in the seventh. GJ Hill had himself a day with four stolen bases, including swiping home twice. Aidan Longwell had a two-run single in teh first inning. Dyan Jorge also drove in two runs during the game. Jack Mahoney started on the mound, going 4.1 innings, allowing four runs, two earned, on nine hits with two strikeouts and a walk. Eventually, Fidel Ulloa secured his fifth save of the year in the ninth inning.
High-A: Tri-City Dust Devils 4, Spokane Indians 2
Despite collecting 10 hits to Tri-City’s eight, Spokane fell 4-2 on the night to kick off the week. Tommy Hopfe led the way with three hits while Max Belyeu, Tevin Tucker, and Kelvin Hidalgo had two hits apiece. The only extra-base hit Spokane had was a Jack O’Dowd double. Spokane went 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position and had 11 strikeouts against just three walks. They managed to get the tying runs on second and third in the bottom of the ninth, but Tucker’s strikeout ended the game. Lebarron Johnson Jr. went six innings in his start, allowing four runs on six hits with three strikeouts. Tyler Hampu followed in relief with three scoreless innings.
Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies 6, Lake Elsinore Storm 4
Fresno scored all six of its runs in the top of the first inning, then managed to survive a late rally for the 6-4 win. Thanks to three hits, two walks, a hit by pitch, and an error, Fresno scored six in the first inning. They managed just two more hits the rest of the game as they struck out 10 times and drew six walks. Wilder Dalis had three walks and Jeremy Ciriaco had a two-run double. Brady Parker allowed just one run over six innings, striking out eight and allowing just four hits. Manuel Olivares gave up three runs in 0.2 innings, but Dylan Crooks and Grif Hughes managed to lock things down to secure the win.
Rockies prospect Montgomery, a first-round pick in 2021, retires | MLB.com
In case you missed the news, Benny Montgomery retired from baseball this week. Selected eighth overall in 2021, Montgomery stalled out in Double-A as injuries took their toll and he continued to struggle at the plate.
Strike 1: Coaching errors add to Rockies’ pitching woes | Mile High Sports
Mark Knudson laments some of the bullpen usage of the Rockies lately. He feels that the team should have more defined roles in the bullpen to help players in their routines.
Affected by Altitude Episode 215: Ninth Inning Nonsense | Rocky Mountain Rooftop
On this episode of the podcast, Evan Lang and I discuss the crowded outfield dilemma, the late-game woes of the bullpen, and check in on the CBA negotiations.
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