The Rockies may be out of the standings picture, but they still have work to do in the final stretch. With little left to chase in the present, Colorado can use these games to sort out who fits into the next version of the club and who may not.
Friday’s lineup against the Braves offered a clear snapshot of that process. Hunter Goodman is planted in the middle of it, batting third as he keeps pushing toward 40 home runs on the season. At the other end, Ezequiel Tovar is down in the nine spot while trying to salvage something from a rough offensive year.
Tovar’s place in the order makes sense given how his season has gone. He’s hitting .210/.259/.338, and his Statcast profile is loaded with blue. His chase rate, strikeout rate, xwOBA and hard-hit percentage all point to a difficult year at the plate after he came in hoping for a rebound.
Connor Norby, meanwhile, has been doing the opposite. The 26-year-old has been scorching hot, batting .344/.444/.652 over his last seven games. Colorado got him from the Marlins at the trade deadline, and so far that move has looked like a real win.
Norby has mostly been used in the fifth-to-seventh range over the past week, but there’s a case for giving him a bigger opportunity. A higher spot in the order would let the Rockies see how his bat plays with more traffic around him and more chances near the top.
If Norby climbs, somebody has to slide back, and Cole Carrigg is the obvious candidate. He’s been ice cold lately, hitting .138/.219/.276 over his last seven games.
A move that puts Carrigg fifth and Norby second would give Colorado a different look at both players. Carrigg has actually done much better from the fifth spot this season, though in a limited sample, posting a 1.084 OPS there compared with .570 when he bats second.
And if it doesn’t change anything? The Rockies don’t lose much. With the playoffs far out of reach, there’s no reason to treat the current lineup setup as untouchable.
For Colorado, the point now is simple: gather as much information as possible. Shifting Norby up and Carrigg down would add another piece to the puzzle as the team figures out which players - and which roles - make the most sense for 2027 and beyond.
In Other News...
Rockies Head To Atlanta With Their 100-Loss Fight Getting Real
After splitting a four-game set in Washington, the Rockies move on to Atlanta for the next stop on a seven-game road trip, with the schedule now offering another look at how much fight is left in a season that has already gone sideways. At 52-82, Colorado is trying to keep the last month from becoming another long march toward an unwanted number, and the margin is simple enough to understand: the club needs 11 wins in its final 28 games to avoid a fourth straight 100-loss season.
The challenge only gets steeper against a Braves team that will test a pitching staff still trying to find stability on the road. Colorado has already lined up its probable starters for the series, and the rotation picture matters now more than it might have a month ago, with every turn carrying more weight as the Rockies try to give themselves some breathing room and, just as important, a reason to believe the final weeks can look different from the ones that came before. [Read more 🡒]
Rockies Still Have One Late Chance To Avoid More History
The Rockies have spent most of the last several seasons trying to climb out of the same hole, and this year has looked a lot like the ones before it. At 52-82 with 28 games left, they are still dealing with the familiar mix of poor results, a tough closing stretch and the reality that recent roster moves have only added more uncertainty as the season winds down.
There is at least a little late-season meaning left, because the final weeks now carry a chance to keep the franchise from stacking another ugly chapter onto an already difficult run. Colorado has been here often enough since 2017 that the stakes feel larger than one more rough year, especially with Kyle Freeland on the injured list and still searching for the kind of winning season that came early in his career. [Read more 🡒]
TJ Rumfield Is Giving Rockies Fans A Bright Spot To Watch
Amid another stretch that has tested Colorados patience, TJ Rumfield has given Rockies fans something sturdier to latch onto than the standings. The rookie has kept his offense rolling with a steady approach at the plate, showing up in the box score with walks, singles and timely RBIs even as the results around him have gone the other way. For a club looking for any sign of forward momentum, his consistency has stood out.
Rumfields production has also come with a clear sense of routine, and that matters for a young hitter trying to settle in over the long haul. He keeps a personal notebook to help stay focused and sharpen his approach, a small detail that says plenty about how he is trying to build something lasting in the majors. For now, it has made him one of the more watchable parts of Colorados day-to-day grind, and the Rockies will keep hoping that kind of progress keeps holding. [Read more 🡒]