Rockies TJ Rumfield Collects Second Straight Honor After Red-Hot June

When Colorado Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta acquired TJ Rumfield from the New York Yankees over the winter for right-handed pitcher Angel Chivilli, it gave manager Warren Schaeffer another young player to plug into his lineup.

Going with a bit of a youth movement was a no-brainer for the Rockies, given that there is a lengthy rebuild in front of them. New York's giving up on Rumfield was an easy decision after the Yankees brought back veteran Paul Goldschmidt in free agency and already had young rising star Ben Rice there as well.

There is nowhere to go on the roster for him, so Brian Cashman shipping him out was an easy thing to do. New York giving up on him is turning out to be Colorado's gain.

Rockies' TJ Rumfield Collects Second Straight NL Award

Colorado Rockies infielder TJ Rumfield — TJ Rumfield | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Rumfield has gotten better and better as the season has gone along. He had a breakout in May and was named the National League Rookie of the Month. Rumfield finished May hitting .310 with four home runs and 12 RBIs. He was even better in June, which earned him a second straight National League Rookie of the Month honor.

Just how good was Rumfield's June? Consider the following: He had a .989 OPS with a .316 batting average and a .400 on-base percentage. He topped his home run number from May with five in June and he finished with 15 extra-base hits. He had 10 multi-hit games and collected at least one hit in 18 of the Rockies' final 19 games of the month. Rumfield finished the month with 17 RBIs.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that Rumfield is having success in his first big league season. Last season in Triple-A for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, he slashed .285/.378/.447 with 16 home runs and 31 doubles in 138 games. He rose up to being ranked as New York's 22nd-ranked prospect by the end of the 2025 season.

It's only halfway through the season, but this is turning into a win of a trade for DePodesta. Unfortunately for Chivilli, he has been plagued by right-shoulder discomfort since the end of April. He has made only two appearances for the Yankees this season, both in April before his injury.

As for Rumfield, he is playing a big role in the Rockies slowly turning things around in 2026. He is cementing his spot at first base for the future and is what DePodesta and Schaeffer need in terms of young players going forward.

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