Rockies Have Fallen Woefully Short of Even Most Pessimistic Projections

Is this rock bottom for the Colorado Rockies?

May 19, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon (24) reacts after striking out in the sixth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The Colorado Rockies came into the 2025 MLB regular season with bottom-barrel expectations.

Coming off their sixth consecutive campaign of missing the playoffs, many expected that number to grow to seven this year after a quiet winter that didn’t involve any impactful Major League additions.

Anyone who went out on a limb to predict the Rockies would miss the postseason for a seventh consecutive year will be proven correct, with the team’s odds of advancing being virtually zero.

What even the most pessimistic of people couldn’t have predicted would be Colorado being on pace to shatter the single-season record for losses that was set by the Chicago White Sox last year, when they went 41-121 with a winning percentage of .253.

The Rockies currently own a .219 winning percentage, which puts them on pace to fall incredibly short of what was historically poor projections coming into the season.

“Did we overlook how they tied for the worst preseason projection Baseball Prospectus had ever handed out? More than 70 games into the season, Colorado is on pace to underperform that 55-win projection by 23 and to smash the record for losses set by the White Sox just last year by nine,” wrote Tim Britton of The Athletic (subscription required) in their most recent edition of their MLB power rankings.

In this week’s edition, the theme was comparing teams where they are now to where they stood coming into the campaign.

Evidently, expectations were way too high for the Rockies, who were ranked No. 29 in the preseason. They are now No. 30 and will be staying there for the foreseeable future given their struggles on the field.

It made sense to keep the White Sox at the bottom after the 2024 season they put together, but they are at least showing some signs of hope with a few building blocks emerging this season.

The same cannot be said about Colorado currently, on pace to reset a record no franchise wants to be tied to and lacking much in the way of long-term building blocks.

Things are so bad for the Rockies, there are only two players, relief pitcher Jake Bird and veteran infielder Ryan McMahon, who are predicted by analysts to draw any interest ahead of the MLB trade deadline to bring back any worthwhile assets.

Alas, everyone will pay some level of attention to them throughout the rest of the season because of the history that could be unfolding.