The Colorado Rockies may have been the first team in baseball to get eliminated from the playoffs, but there’s still real reason to look forward with this group. The club is nearly 20 games better than it was at this point last season, and that kind of jump matters even in a tough year.
A big part of what’s making this offense worth watching is TJ Rumfield. The rookie has been doing the heavy lifting at the plate, and his numbers put him right in the NL Rookie of the Year conversation. He leads the Rockies in hits, batting average, walks drawn, on-base percentage, and OPS.
Rumfield has earned every bit of the attention he’s getting, but Cole Carrigg is making his own case too. The only issue is that Carrigg didn’t even join the roster until the second week of June, which makes it fair to wonder where he’d sit in that rookie race if he had been around from day one.
What Carrigg brings is speed, and he’s shown it off plenty of times, including a little league home run that stands out in a game that sees fewer and fewer plays like that as defenses keep getting better. He also doesn’t strike out much, which is part of what makes him intriguing. He has had some streaky stretches, but that has come as pitchers adjust to him - and he’s learning how to answer back once they do.
Lately, that adjustment seems to be coming. Over his last seven games, Carrigg has been batting over .300 with a .933 OPS. That stretch has pushed his season line to .266/.333/.465, with his OPS sitting just two points below .800.
And that’s the part that should really have Colorado interested. Carrigg has only scratched the surface, and by the time September ends, he’ll have played barely more than half a season. If this is what he can do with limited time and no real experience, 2027 is going to be a fun one to watch.
Tie game thanks to Cole Carrigg! pic.twitter.com/OIzMj4Ikuf
For a Rockies team that has already been knocked out of the postseason picture, the season could have gone sideways in a hurry. Instead, the young talent and the turnaround from 2025 to 2026 give them plenty to build on.
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Rockies Lose Willi Castro After Expected Return Fell Apart
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Castro had been expected to return, a hopeful development for a club looking for any added flexibility down the stretch, but the pain proved too persistent. He will need an anti-inflammatory shot before he can even begin to think about a comeback, leaving Colorado to move forward without the versatility he might have provided in the final weeks. [Read more 🡒]
Rockies Rookie First Baseman Is Forcing A Bigger Conversation
TJ Rumfield has quietly become one of the most important bats in the Rockies lineup since arriving from the Yankees, and the timing of his surge has made him impossible to ignore. After an uneven first month, the rookie first baseman settled in and turned September into a statement stretch, pairing steady contact with the kind of production that has given Colorado a much-needed lift.
Rumfields rise has also started to change the conversation around where he fits in the Rockies long-term plans. He has been one of the clubs most consistent offensive players down the stretch and has put himself in the mix for Rookie of the Year, which only adds to the intrigue around a player who is no longer just a nice development story but a real part of the lineups present. [Read more 🡒]
Rockies Rotation Getting Quintana Back Comes With Bigger Stakes
Jose Quintanas path back to the Rockies rotation has taken on a little more meaning than just getting a veteran arm healthy again. After dealing with a left elbow sprain, Quintana chose a PRP injection over surgery and has kept moving through his rehab, while Colorado has had to shift the timing of his return because of how heavily the bullpen has been used.
Warren Schaeffer has pointed to Quintanas perseverance and leadership during the recovery, a reminder that this is about more than one pitchers timetable. For a Rockies staff trying to stabilize itself late in the 2026 season, getting Quintana back is part roster fix, part larger test of how much strain the group can absorb before he returns to the mix. [Read more 🡒]