Rockies Get Promising Outlook Despite What Their Record Says So Far in 2026

Things are trending better than some think right now in Colorado.

Warren Schaeffer | David Banks-Imagn Images

Going into the 2026 season, there was nowhere to go but up for the Colorado Rockies. Coming off three straight 100-loss seasons, there was a leadership change in the front office as interim manager Warren Schaeffer had the interim tag removed and was tabbed the first manager under Paul DePodesta's watch as the new President of Baseball Operations.

As Colorado begins a three-game series at home this weekend against the Pittsburgh Pirates, they are 28-47 and sitting in the basement of the National League West Division. Sure, some will say the more things change, the more they stay the same. That is not always the case.

You can make the argument that the Rockies are making some strides despite having just 28 wins. A silver lining is that they are just one shy of the Boston Red Sox for wins in MLB so far this season. Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report re-evaluated all 30 MLB teams based on preseason expectations. As far as Colorado is concerned, you can't deny that progress, albeit small, is being made.

Rockies Showing Seeds of Improvement Despite Record to Date in 2026

Michael Lorenzen and Hunter Goodman (15) | Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

Sure, Miller's description of the Rockies "Settling Into Their Basement Home" in the NL West isn't much of a surprise. However, their preseason over/under for wins was 55.5 and their current pace has them on par to reach 60.5 when the season ends. If that ends up coming to fruition, then that is a successful season for Colorado. They might lose 100 games again, but they are nowhere near where they were just 12 months ago.

"Things are definitely going better than last year's 119-loss fiasco, but talk about a low bar to clear. The Rockies are still on pace for what would be their fourth consecutive season with at least 100 losses, which has not happened to any team since the New York Mets' first four years as a franchise (1962-65),'' Miller wrote.

Progress is being made, but DePodesta is certainly going to face some decisions come the trade deadline on August 3. He has some players that some contending teams might have interest in, but just how far deep into his roster he wants to go to make players available remains to be seen.

The veteran pitchers brought in last winter in free agency, Michael Lorenzen, Tomoyuki Sugano, and Jose Quintana, have not pitched as well as DePodesta had hoped to potentially flip them at the deadline. Quintana is on the 60-day injured list with an elbow injury.

The turnaround for Colorado is going to take some time. A potential lockout next offseason won't help the cause, but nobody can deny that things are not moving in the right direction. The trade deadline will be a fascinating time to see what DePodesta ends up doing.