From the outside looking in, the Colorado Rockies' 2026 season, in which they posted a 58-104 record and finished last out of the 30 Major League Baseball teams, would provoke strong opinions about how poorly the franchise is doing. 

While there is some truth to the Rockies' woes that cannot be denied, their struggles deserve more context. Colorado took a step in the right direction, and it actually has the makings of a good core.

Players such as Hunter Goodman, Jake McCarthy, Cole Carrigg and TJ Rumfield make up a group that has the potential to be crucial in returning the Rockies to being a winner. But to get to that point, there is a lot this organization is going to need to fix.

The Rockies have a lot of issues, and one of the biggest ones is the pitching staff.

Simply put, the 2026 season was egregious for Colorado's arms.

In multiple categories, the Rockies finished in last place. In categories that no team would want to occupy first place in, the Rockies' pitching staff found itself there.

For instance, the Rockies finished last in ERA (5.59), WHIP (1.52), opponent batting average (.288) and strikeouts (1,113). When it came to earned runs, the Rockies' staff was at the top of the list with 883 allowed, and they also gave up the most hits (1,635).

The one thing Colorado's pitchers were able to avoid was walks at a high rate. In that category, the Rockies finished 17th with 531 walks, which was better than multiple playoff teams.

Still, when the front office is evaluating how to make this team better in the off-season, it cannot take solace in the fact that the pitchers were not walking batters as much as other teams when every other category illustrated such grim numbers.

Of Colorado starters, only Tomoyuki Sugano was able to finish with a .500 record and an ERA less than 5.40. It seemed as if Sugano would possibly finish with a winning record, but he ended the year 12-12 while posting a 5.37 ERA.

The seasons of Kyle Freeland, Ryan Feltner and Michael Lorenzen were abject failures. Rookie right-hander Gabriel Hughes also had a nightmare of a season as he went 0-8 with a 6.33 ERA.

For teams to be successful, they need to have good, consistent production on the pitcher's mound. What the Rockies have is the antithesis of that, and it does not matter how many strides the offense makes if the ones delivering the ball to the opponent cannot do so effectively.