Three Candidates to Lead Rockies Inexperienced Clubhouse in 2026

The Colorado Rockies will have an incredibly young team this season, so they’ll be looking for someone to lead the clubhouse.

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The Colorado Rockies are building from the bottom up after hitting rock bottom in 2025 by losing a franchise-worst 119 games.

It’s a big reason for all the changes in the franchise’s leadership. New president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta and general manager Josh Byrnes are tasked with turning the Rockies back into winners again. They will lean hard on manager Warren Schaeffer to lead the clubhouse. In turn, he’ll lean on a few key players to be the leaders in the locker room.

But who? It’s an interesting question, one that MLB.com’s Thomas Harding posed in a piece about each team’s biggest question marks. Normally, a role like that might fall to someone like Kris Bryant. But, Colorado’s slugging first baseman is dealing with a degenerative back disease that may prevent him from playing. So, he may not be around the team enough to be that guy.

Here are three Rockies that could emerge as that leader in the clubhouse in 2026.

Mickey Moniak

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For a team filled with young players trying to establish their careers, Moniak could be an incredible resource. He was the first-round pick of the Philadelphia Phillies out of high school in 2016 and made his MLB debut in 2020. He struggled to get a foothold in the Majors until 2023 with the Los Angeles Angels, when he slashed .280/.307/.495 with 14 home runs and 45 RBI. After he slumped in 2024 and landed in Colorado, he had a career season — .270/.306/.518 with 24 home runs and 68 RBI.

The 27-year-old has two more years of arbitration ahead of him. If Colorado keeps him, he could be that veteran voice among the position players, especially someone like top prospect Charlie Condon, who could make his debut sometime this season.

Ezequiel Tovar

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He’s only 24 years old but given how long he’s committed to the Rockies — through the 2030 season with a club option in 2031 — Colorado needs him to lean into the role. He’s already won a National League Gold Glove and finished in the Top 20 in NL MVP voting. Even though he missed nearly half of last season due to an injury, his offensive slash held steady, even though his power numbers went down.

Tovar is young, but he’ll be surrounded by even younger talent, including rookies at first base (Blaine Crim) and third base (Kyle Karros) along with second-year infielder Ryan Ritter. Plus, another top prospect, Ethan Holliday, will join the team at some point during Tovar’s tenure. His potential leadership will be key.

Kyle Freeland

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The right-hander may only be with the team one more year, as he and the team have a mutual option for 2027. But he’s the most experienced pitcher on the staff, along with Antonio Senzatela.

He’s a life-long Rockie and one of the few that can say he was a part of the franchise’s last playoff team. He can bring that experience to a team yearning to get back to the postseason. He is 65-90 with a 4.54 ERA, so he’s had some success pitching in Coors Field. He was seventh in NL rookie of the year voting in 2017 and fourth in NL Cy Young voting in 2018.

The staff is incredibly young and there are some solid young pitchers who could make their debuts in 2026. Freeland would be a valuable touchstone for them, given the uniqueness of Coors Field.

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