In 2025, Colorado Rockies starters had a combined 6.65 ERA, more than a full run higher than the next-worst Washington Nationals. It would be difficult to exaggerate how poorly this group performed over the past few seasons.
But it’s a new day.
The rotation enters 2026 having taken steps designed, not only to stop the bleeding, but also to foster experimentation in order to build a long-term identity.
The Locks
The Rockies spent more money on free agent starting pitchers this offseason than they had in any other since signing Jorge De La Rosa to a two-year deal (with a couple of option years) in 2010.
With that money, they secured the services of three veteran arms that are expected to — alongside rotation stalwart Kyle Freeland — provide the bulk of innings for the major league club in 2026. While the context that brought them here differs, Tomoyuki Sugano, José Quintana, and Michael Lorenzen enter the organization sharing a striking number of similarities as pitchers:
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They have been consistently available to take the mound; as a trio the past two seasons they have averaged 26 ⅓ starts a year.
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Each has a wide pitch arsenal ranging from Quintana’s five pitches to Lorenzen’s whopping eight.
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They’ve all had playoff experience (Sugano’s coming in NPB where he was a three-time MVP).
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None of them collects many strikeouts or even throws particularly hard (Lorenzen’s 8.07 K/9 and 93.5 mph fastball are both the high marks for the group).
All of this is also true of the only rotation lock that was present on the team last year: Kyle Freeland.
Now the franchise leader in career games started and bWAR, Freeland has managed to remain a major league quality pitcher for nearly a decade. It’s been years since hope of regaining his near Cy Young form from 2018 seemed reasonable, but the club clearly valued the sort of stability he provides enough to go get three more arms just like his.
There is one other thing everyone in this category has in common: They are in their mid-30’s, and their futures with the organization past 2026 is murky.
Sugano (36) and Quintana (37) are on one-year deals. Lorenzen (34) has a not-insubstantial $9 million club option for 2027. Freeland (32), has an option for 2027 that will vest if he reaches at least 170 innings pitched this year (a number he hasn’t reached in any of the past three seasons).
For this season, though, they will not be expected to shut down the competition, but simply to remain reliably competent.
Under consideration
Beyond those veteran arms that, barring injuries, will provide the bulk of starts for the club is an eclectic group of pitchers vying for the final rotation spot (or two) to start the year.
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The front runners are Ryan Feltner, whose 2024 success is clouded by a 2025 lost to injury, and Chase Dollander, one of the most well-regarded pitching prospects in franchise history, who struggled mightily when at Coors in his rookie season.
They both spent their offseasons attempting to overcome the factors that kept them from succeeding last year: For Feltner, that meant gaining strength, whereas for Dollander, it took the form of making mechanical adjustments to be “more direct to the plate.” They both have at least five pitches in their arsenal, like the veterans at the top of the rotation, but they haven’t been able to harness them with consistency. What upside exists with this year’s rotation primarily comes from these two.
Tanner Gordon and McCade Brown (No. 18 PuRP) are in their mid 20’s (28 and 25, respectively), and both have gotten some chances with the major league squad over the past couple years (109.2 and 25.2 innings respectively). Neither is viewed as a future ace (though Brown has seen his stock rise after remaking his delivery last year), but both are arguably major league ready.
The likeliest outcome for Gordon, a finesse pitcher who had a 93rd percentile walk rate last year, is that he’s pushed into a long man/spot starting role. If Brown — who hasn’t pitched more than 102 ⅓ innings in a season — doesn’t make the rotation right out of the gate, he’ll likely see time back in the minors so he can build up to a starter’s workload.
Finally, we get to the two biggest question marks in this equation.
Jimmy Herget, with his funky side arm delivery, had a phenomenal 2025 season but has pitched from the bullpen his whole career. The same cannot be said for Antonio Senzatela who, having been a rotation mainstay when healthy since 2017, lost his spot last August. This was due, in large part, to an overreliance on his fastball, despite it being the worst in the league according to Statcast’s wFA (Fastball Runs above Average).
Both have, somewhat surprisingly, come into the spring being given a genuine chance to win a starting spot. For either to earn a spot in the rotation — and then perform well in it — would be a major win for the new coaching staff.
Regardless of who from this group ends up in the major league rotation on opening day, it’s likely that all of them (with the exception of Herget) will make starts for the Rockies at some point during the season. Injuries, regression, and/or trades will open up opportunities for them, the question is just which of them forces the team to keep them in that spot.
On the Farm
While the new front office made it a priority to bring in veteran reinforcements for the major league rotation, they have yet to put their stamp on the minor league side of things. They’ve inherited a system that has quite a few realistic back-of-the-rotation-type arms that could be ready to make their big league debuts over the next couple years.
It is, however, sparse when it comes to potential impact talent. The one arm within this group that has true top of the rotation potential is Brecht, but he hasn’t pitched above Low-A and has legitimate command concerns to work on.
That’s not to say this group is without future big leaguers — far from it. Guys like Sullivan, Hughes, and Brown are likely going to be in the majors soon and could end up as solid options for the foreseeable future. It remains to be seen, however, whether or not the new pitching development staff can find ways to pull something more than is currently projected out of anyone already in the system.
If not, this may be an area of the organization that sees quite a few new names added over the next year or two.
Closing thoughts
The main theme that has emerged with this group over the course of the offseason is this: depth.
That means depth in the number of arms Warren Schaeffer can feel comfortable turning to for any given game; depth in the number of pitch types that opposing batters have to think about when digging in against each of those arms; depth in experience with other organizations to pull from; and, finally, depth in the potential young replacements for when the veterans depart.
As things stand, there is no one in this group that a playoff-bound team would feel confident in handing the ball to in an elimination game. However, the Rockies are no longer counting on anyone to start for them that wouldn’t get a major league job with another team.
There is still a long way to go before anyone would call the Rockies rotation good, but it should no longer perform so poorly that it’s historically significant.
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