3 Wild Predictions for the Rockies After First 2 Games of 2026

The Colorado Rockies are 0-2. Uh oh. Coming off a 119-loss season in 2025, fans will be quick to jump ship, but wait a minute. The scoreboard so far may not tell the full story.

Both games have been one-run deficits. The Miami Marlins beat them by a score of 2-1 on Opening Day and then came back in Game 2 to win again by a score of 4-3.

It is far too early in the 2026 season to draw any firm conclusions about anything. It’s not too early, though, for a few bold predictions.

1. TJ Rumfield Become a Key Piece of the Lineup Faster Than Expected

The early signals seem to point positively when looking at the Rockies' pickup of TJ Rumfield. Late in the offseason, Colorado found a trade with the New York Yankees to send Angel Chivilli to New York and bring Rumfield to Colorado.

After a strong spring and a home run in his first Major League game, Rumfield is already showing the ability to contribute at the plate.

Through two games Rumfield is 2-for 7 slashing .286/.375/.714 with a 1.089 OPS. He also has his first home run and an RBI.

This is the kind of power the Rockies need. He’s not just putting the ball in play; he’s driving it. Combine that with his strong spring training ball, where he had a .913 OPS, and the trend looks positive.

Prediction: Rumfield won’t stay at the bottom of the lineup for long.

2. The Offense Will Be Better Than It Looks Right Now

Colorado Rockies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Now just stay with me here. I know, it hasn’t looked strong, but it hasn’t looked awful either. Colorado is showing some signs of life.

Early standouts for the team include:

Ezequiel Tovar, who has one home run, two RBI, and an .875 OPS.
Hunter Goodman has three hits and a .375 AVG.
Jordan Beck only played in the first game with three at-bats, where he got one hit, one RBI, and one walk.

Sure there are some players struggling. Brenton Doyle has seven at-bats and hasn’t hit one yet, but did get a walk.

With such a small sample size, it’s hard to say anything is outstanding or the opposite yet, but they are getting contributions from multiple spots.

Prediction: Once a few cold bats heat up, this offense becomes more consistent and starts to be much more competitive than expected right now. They also earn respect at Coors Field.

3. The Pitching Won’t Be the Disaster Many Expect

MLB Colorado Rockies pitcher Brennan Bernardino | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

The 2025 pitching was a disaster. That’s not even a question. The team went out and made some changes to the staff, signed a few one year contracts and took some chances.

To literally everyone, pitching was the main concern (if you could point to just one) as the season started to roll around. It hasn’t been impressive but it also hasn’t been a collapse either.

Kyle Freeland has pitched 4.1 innings with two earned runs. Michael Lorenzen went 4.1 innings with three earned runs.

The bullpen has shown some flashes of positivity as well. Zach Agnos threw 1.1 innings with zero earned runs; Juan Mejia went two innings with zero earned runs; Brennan Bernardino had scoreless outings. Bernardino is the only pitcher who has played in both games.

Yes, there have been some bumps in the road to kick off the season, but we haven’t had blowups yet. That’s the difference.

Prediction: The Rockies’ pitching staff won’t be dominant, but it will be good enough to keep games within reach more often than expected.

Looking Forward

The Rockies are 0-2. Clearly this is concerning to a fanbase who is tired of losing, but they didn’t look overmatched.

They look like a team that can hit enough to stay in games. They have some emerging contributors, and they could have enough pitching to compete.

Two losses don’t define a season. They probably don’t even give enough to make predictions but they can reveal important details.

Colorado might not be good yet, but they also might not be as bad as some want to believe either.

If these early trends continue, the narrative could shift quickly; although, we are all hoping for the first digit to change soon in the W-L column.