Welcome to the 2026 edition of Ranking theRockies, where we take a look back at every player to log playing time for theRockies in 2026. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the lowest rWAR and end up with the player with the highest.
No. 22, Seth Halvorsen (0.3 rWAR)
Seth Halvorsen’s potential was always as high as his 100-plus-mph
fastball velocity.
But that potential hit roadblocks in 2026 — most notably shoulder inflammation in his throwing arm, a lower strikeout rate and the highest ERA of his three-year MLB career — and that ended Halvorsen’s career with the Colorado Rockies.
Throughout the first half of 2026, Halvorsen — who the Rockies drafted in the seventh round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of the University of Tennessee — went back and forth between Triple-A Albuquerque and the Rockies. Through the end of June, Halvorsen ranked No. 7 in MLB with consistent heat, throwing 233 pitches at 100 mph or faster since the beginning of 2025. Outside of his four-seam fastball, Halvorsen uses a split-finger and splitter, which can lock up hitters.
Just ask San Diego’s Ramón Laureano.
On June 30, Halvorsen had a rough outing, giving up three runs on four hits with one walk in one inning against the Miami Marlins in what would be his final outing in purple. By July 4, Halvorsen was placed on the 15-day IL, retroactive to July 1, with right shoulder inflammation. The 26-year-old was sent on a rehab assignment with the Isotopes on July 19. That same day, he threw one scoreless inning despite surrendering two hits against the Sacramento River Cats.
He didn’t pitch with Rockies organization again, however, as he was dealt to the Dodgersfor RHP Nick Frassoand outfielder Landyn Vidourek (HM PuRP) on July 20.
Halvorsen ended his last season as a Rockie with 21 appearances (19 innings), posting a 4.74 ERA with two holds, 17 strikeouts and 15 walks with a 1.95 WHIP. In 16 games with the Isotopes, he was impressive, recording a 2.04 ERA with 24 strikeouts and only seven walks in 17.2 innings.
He followed a similar pattern with the Dodgers — showing promise in Triple-A, but struggling with command in the big leagues. In bouncing between the Oklahoma City Comets and Dodgers, Halvorsen never surrendered a run in 9.2 innings, while striking out 13 and only walking four for the Comets. For L.A., Halvorsen only threw 11 innings over 10 appearances because he posted an 8.10 ERA. Three homers didn’t help, significantly contributing to his nine earned runs.
Halvorsen combined to make 32 appearances in 2026 between the Dodgers and Rockies. He finished with his worst season with a 5.80 ERA and a 16.3% strikeout rate, way down from 28.3% in his short rookie campaign in 2024. His 100-mph four-seamer average from 2025 was reduced to 98.9 mph in 2026, even though he threw 114 fewer MLB pitches (636 in 2025 vs. 522 in 2026).
Halvorsen seemed like the type of pitcher the Rockies could really use in their bullpen, bringing heat and shutdown velocity. That promise didn’t come to fruition and the Rockies ended up getting Frasso to try to have that impact in the bullpen.
As Purple Row reported at the time of the trade, Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta told media, “I think Seth is going to be a really good major league reliever. He’s already had some major league success. It’s obviously a huge fastball, and I think he’s got the right mentality to pitch late in games. So again, it wasn’t something we were anxious to do, but in this case, we were presented with an opportunity where we get a player back that we think can actually fill a similar role to what we envisioned for Seth going forward.”
Frasso, a 28-year-old fourth-round pick by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2020 MLB Draft, didn’t fare much better. Frasso made his MLB debut on Aug. 4 and made 20 appearances. In 21.2 innings, he gave up 25 hits and 14 earned runs with 22 strikeouts and seven walks.
Both pitchers still have sky-high potential. If the Dodgers are able to help Halvorsen reach his, it won’t be the first time a former Rockies pitcher finds his way with L.A. With Frasso still in need of some work, and Vidourek struggling in his short time with the Low-A Fresno Grizzlies, time will tell whether the Dodgers or Rockies will win the Halvorsen trade.
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