The Colorado Rockies are getting something they rarely see this time of year: games that matter to somebody else.
They won’t be playing for a postseason spot themselves, not unless they somehow close the year with six straight wins and turn the whole thing upside down. More likely, they’re headed for their fourth consecutive 100-loss season. But as the calendar flips into the final week of the regular season, Colorado is positioned to play the role of spoiler against two teams with far more on the line.
First up is Arizona, which has to sweep the Rockies at Coors Field to stay in the hunt. That series comes right before the Diamondbacks face the San Diego Padres in a three-game set against the club they’re chasing for the final National League wild-card spot. The Padres currently lead by five games, so the trip to Denver is a must for a Diamondbacks team that includes former Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado.
Then comes Chicago. The White Sox are still in the mix for the AL Central title and/or a wild-card berth when they arrive this weekend, which gives Colorado another chance to disrupt somebody else’s plans. For a club that lost 121 games two years ago and piled up triple digits in the loss column again last season, the possibility of having its season twisted into a headache for opponents is a little ironic.
And there’s always this: teams with nothing to lose tend to play freer. Colorado can lean into that while Arizona and Chicago feel the weight of every pitch.
For the Rockies’ younger players, that matters. Even if the standings are already settled for them, this is a chance to get a taste of baseball under pressure in late September.
The recent results haven’t been pretty. Colorado is 2-8 in its last 10 and 7-23 over its last 30.
The progress from last year’s mess is real, but the gap between “better” and “good enough” still looks wide, especially on the mound. It’s hard to watch this team right now and see a .500 club next season without a lot more help arriving.
Still, there are signs the season won’t end as a complete standstill. The Rockies should finish with something like a 15-game jump from last year’s disaster.
Their run differential is still ugly at -177 entering the final week, but it’s nowhere near last season’s staggering -424. They’ll wind up last in the NL West again, yet not by the same enormous margin; the San Francisco Giants are only seven games ahead with six to play.
There have been some bright spots on the position-player side. Jake McCarthy, TJ Rumfield, Cole Carrigg, Hunter Goodman and a few others have turned in strong seasons.
Goodman could get to 40 home runs this week. Rumfield has put himself in the NL Rookie of the Year conversation.
McCarthy looks like a future presence at the top of the lineup.
The bigger problem is the one that always hangs over this team: pitching. The White Sox’s improvement started on the mound, and that’s not where Colorado can point and feel especially confident about what comes next. Several young arms still need better coaching and development, and the Rockies will need to add a couple veteran pitchers who can steady things if they want real progress.
If that doesn’t happen, next September could look a lot like this one: the Rockies back in the spotlight, only as the team somebody else is trying to survive against.
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Jordan Romano has given the Rockies a steadier look since joining the club, while Kyle Freeland and Jose Quintana have offered a less certain mix of production and health. For a team trying to rebuild both competitiveness and credibility, the question is not just whether to keep any of them, but how much value the front office sees in continuity when the rotation and bullpen have been such a concern. [Read more 🡒]