It has been a season full of bright spots for the Colorado Rockies, even with the club already locked into another losing year. One of the biggest has come from Jake McCarthy, who has turned a fresh opportunity in Colorado into the best stretch of his career.
McCarthy, acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks in an offseason trade, arrived with a reputation as a dependable fourth or fifth outfielder who had trouble finding steady playing time. He did get into 142 games in 2024, but this year has been a different story. The Rockies have used him as a regular starter from almost the start, and he keeps answering with production.
Friday against the Seattle Mariners, McCarthy added another milestone to a season packed with them. His RBI single in the fourth inning trimmed Seattle’s lead to 3-2 and pushed his on-base streak to 20 games, a new career high.
Jake extends his on-base streak to 20, a career best! pic.twitter.com/UNxuGslEr9
That latest mark fits right into what has become a breakout campaign. McCarthy is tracking toward the best offensive season of his career, with a batting average that is hovering near .300.
His previous high was .285 with Arizona in 2024. He has already established new personal bests with 15 home runs and 82 RBI, topping his old highs of eight homers and 56 RBI from last season.
He also has 30 doubles, another career best, and he is on pace for his first season with an OPS of .800 or better.
For a Rockies team that has spent the year searching for answers in batting average and slugging, McCarthy has been exactly what the lineup needed. The left-handed hitter has provided production at the plate and stability in the field, and his rise helped give Colorado the option to move on from Brenton Doyle at the trade deadline.
And this may only be the beginning. McCarthy is still under team control for two more seasons, with arbitration years in 2027 and 2028 based on service time.
That gives the Rockies some breathing room, but it also opens the door to something more permanent. Colorado already made that kind of move with Mickey Moniak earlier this season, and McCarthy’s season has put him squarely in the same conversation.
He has done enough to look like part of the future in Colorado. The next question is whether the Rockies decide to make sure that future lasts beyond 2028.
In Other News...
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Freeland has been a frequent presence in Colorados charitable efforts, especially through his support of Special Olympics Colorado, where he and his wife have hosted medalists at Coors Field and helped raise funds through raffles. It also fits with the kind of company he keeps in the Roberto Clemente Award conversation, with Burger named the Rangers 2026 nominee and Freeland earning the Rockies nomination for the fifth straight year, a reminder that his impact in Denver keeps extending past the mound. [Read more 🡒]
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The harder question is what kind of legacy that actually creates. Freeland has been roughly league average over his career, with an ERA+ of 103, which puts him in a different lane than some of the more memorable peak seasons turned in by Rockies arms like Ubaldo Jimenez, Aaron Cook and Jhoulys Chacn. So the discussion around Freeland is less about whether he has mattered and more about whether longevity alone is enough to define him, or whether Colorado still needs a bigger signature moment to settle the argument. [Read more 🡒]
Rockies Need This Start To Show Their Rotation Still Has Hope
The Rockies have at least given themselves a better record than last season, but the finish line has been rough, with a 2-12 stretch since Sept. 4 underscoring how uneven the final weeks have become. Even so, there are still reasons to keep watching, especially on the position-player side with Hunter Goodman, TJ Rumfield and Cole Carrigg offering some hope that the offense can keep moving in the right direction.
Jose Quintana is the latest arm the Rockies are leaning on as they try to get a read on the rotation before the season closes. He is back after a left elbow injury kept him out for nearly four months, and this start matters less for the standings than for what it can reveal about where Colorado's pitching stands heading into the offseason. [Read more 🡒]