Denver Post sports writer Patrick Saunders with the latest installment of his Rockies Mailbag.
Pose a Rockies- or MLB-related question for the Rockies Mailbag.
Where did T.J. feltner Rumfield come from? This guy seemed like he came out of nowhere.
— Mark, Arvada
Mark, let me start by saying that Rumfield has been Colorado’s best offensive player in the early going. As I write this, he’s slashing .364/.417/.636 (1.053 OPS), with two homers and seven RBIs. Plus, he’s played superb defense at first base.
But he didn’t come out of nowhere. He came from the Bronx. This is what I wrote early in spring training:
“T.J. Rumfield was a big-league first baseman trapped in Triple-A limbo. At least, that’s how he saw things. So did the Rockies.
“Which is why they acquired the Yankees’ minor leaguer in exchange for talented but mercurial right-handed reliever Angel Chivilli in a trade in late January. Now it’s Rumfield’s job to bust open the door of opportunity.”
He’s done exactly that, winning the job in spring training and coming out of the gate hot.
Interesting fact: T.J.’s father, Toby, was the Reds’ 1991 second-round pick and spent 14 years in the minor leagues as a catcher, playing for the Braves, White Sox, Marlins, and Cardinals systems. Toby made it as high as Triple-A but never made the majors.
Colorado Rockies’ TJ Rumfield, right, cheers next to third base coach Andy González, left, after hitting a two-run triple in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Monday, April 6, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Geneva Heffernan)
The steals have been fun, but besides that, the Rockies’ approach has been miserable: heavy on strikeouts, low on walks, and non-existent in the clutch. They seem like a young team trying too hard, but is it an overall lack of talent, or can this group improve? And why is Warren Schaeffer only starting Jordan Beck (a supposed cornerstone) half the time when Jake McCarthy starts every day and has been even worse?
— Isaac Bowen, Fort Collins
Isaac, not to make excuses for the Rockies (who are 4-6 as I write this), but it’s very early. Still, outside of two games, the offense has been awful.
Colorado’s 6.0 walk percentage is the lowest in the majors, while its 29.5% strikeout rate is the second highest. The Rockies’ .241 average with runners in scoring position ranks 19th.
The Rockies’ 10 steals are tied for third-most.
So, while I’m on board with Schaeffer’s plan to turn his team into the “Go Go Rox,” the Rockies can’t put pressure on the opposition if they don’t get on base more.
Is it a lack of talent? That’s part of the problem. Let’s face it, the Rockies aren’t fielding very many All-Star Game candidates. Plus, some of the players Colorado is counting on to be cornerstones are off to terrible starts. Brenton Doyle is hitting .129 with a 35.3% K rate, and Beck is hitting .091 with a 25.0% K rate.
Are they trying too hard? Are they pressing? Perhaps, but they have been in the league long enough to have gotten over that and produce.
As for McCarthy getting playing time over Beck, I don’t have the answer for that right now, other than to say that Schaeffer has been mixing and matching his lineup a lot in the early going. I think he’s searching for combinations. Let’s face it, this is an experimental season for the Rockies.
The St. Louis Browns are widely considered the worst franchise over a sustained period of 50-plus years. In their 52 years of existence, they recorded 3,414 wins and 4,465 losses for a winning percentage of .433. The Rockies currently have a winning percentage of .456. To drop from .456 to below .433 by their 52nd year, the Rockies would need to average roughly 68 wins per season (a .420 winning percentage) for the next 18 years. What do you think the odds are that the Rockies get to the .433 mark? Maybe when the Baltimore Orioles play at Coors Field someday, they can wear Browns throwback jerseys and we can wear Denver Bears strikezone jerseys.
— Ned Ryerson, Greeley
OK, “Ned Ryerson,” are you going to try to sell me some insurance? “Whoa-ho-ho! Watch out for that first step! It’s a doozy!”
Anyway, I don’t think the Rockies are ever going to experience a St. Louis Browns’ Groundhog Day.
By the way, per Baseball Reference: The St. Louis Browns are perhaps history’s worst Major League franchise. The Browns played in the American League from 1902 to 1953 and managed just 11 winning seasons over that span.
They lost more than 100 games eight times, finishing dead last in the AL 10 times. They finished as high as second in the AL standings just three times. The Browns won just one pennant, in 1944, when the majors were not at full strength due to World War II. In 1954, following eight straight losing seasons, the Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Baltimore Orioles.
Are you a fan of the ABS system? And might the Rockies fanbase turn its back on the team with another lousy year?
— Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.
Ed, first of all, thanks for your continued participation in my Rockies Mailbag. You picked two hot topics this week.
Regarding ABS (Automated Ball-Strike system), I do like it. It’s much more seamless than I anticipated. Fans seem to love it, and it keeps them engaged. Some umpires love it (those who get the calls right), but I’m sure some don’t. We are just 10 games into the season, so let’s see how this all plays out.
As for the fans, when the weather warms up, and the Cubs, Red Sox and Dodgers come to town, Coors Field is going to be pretty full. But I do sense that the Rockies fan base is worn out from all the losing. The people I talk to are definitely in “prove-it-to-me” mode, even with the front-office changes in place.
Monday night, the announced crowd at Coors was 16,301, marking the lowest home attendance in franchise history, excluding pandemic-affected seasons. It’s something to keep an eye on if the Rockies keep losing.
Is this just normal springtime when the starters can only pick 70 or so pitches per game? It seems like the Rox are overtaxing the bullpen already. When can we expect the rotation to go later into ball games? Thanks!
— Murphy, Akron
Murphy, part of the low pitch count from Rockies starters has to do with it being early in the season, but part of it has to do with ineffectiveness.
And part of it has to do with the Rockies’ game plan, which is still a work in progress. The team has a few pitchers in the bullpen — Antonio Senzatela, Chase Dollander, and Jimmy Herget — who are capable of throwing multiple innings. I think Warren Schaeffer is going to use long relievers a lot this season.
But if a pitcher is going well, Schaeffer will give them a reasonably long leash. In Colorado’s win over the Phillies, new right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano pitched six innings and threw 78 pitches (51 strikes). It was a strong, efficient start. In the Rockies’ win over the Astros on Monday night, Ryan Feltner pitched 5 1/3 innings, throwing 70 pitches (43 strikes). I’m sure the Rockies wanted him to go deeper into the game.
Patrick, as a Rockies fan from the beginning, I’ve been wanting to ask what all these acronyms are that are being used these days, such as WAR, and others that I can’t think of at this moment. Thanks for all of your reporting and suffering during the last years of mismanagement of the team.
— Phil Donahue, Chico, Calif.
Phil, it’s easy to drown in baseball’s alphabet soup. Some fans — and reporters — are heavy into stats and analytics. I’m more of a storyteller, so perhaps a dinosaur.
However, many statistics can be useful and illuminating. If you watch Rockies games on TV, analysts Ryan Spilborghs, Cory Sullivan and Jeff Huson do a nice job of using more advanced stats.
You ask specifically about WAR. Here is the definition from Major League Baseball: WAR measures a player’s value across all facets of the game by quantifying how many more wins he’s worth than a replacement-level player at his position (e.g., a Minor League replacement or a readily available fill-in free agent).
If you want a deeper dive into the stats, I suggest you visit Baseball Reference’s glossary.
Looking at the starting rotation, I struggle to find a reason for Ryan Feltner to be there. What is Warren Schaeffer and Company’s rationale for Feltner as the fifth starter rather than Chase Dollander or Tanner Gordon, both of whom seem to be better options? Happy Opening Day, Patrick!
— Jack, Centennial
Jack, you’re preaching to the wrong choir here. I’ve been a big proponent of Feltner’s, as you can tell from my Rockies Journal from last Sunday. I think he has really good stuff, though not as dynamic as Dollander’s. Feltner just needs to harness his talent and attack the strike zone.
I’m predicting that both Feltner and Dollander will be in the rotation before the All-Star break. Gordon could be in the rotation, too, in the second half of the season if the Rockies trade any of their veteran starters who are on one-year deals.
It’s a very small sample size, but I’ve been impressed by Tomoyuki Sugano so far. Do you think he’ll re-sign after this season or is this just a one-off?
— Ryan, Wheat Ridge
Ryan, I’ve also been impressed with Sugano. He’s a crafty pitcher. He signed a one-year deal for $5.1 million, and I think he’ll be one-and-done in Colorado. He’s 36, and I don’t see the rebuilding Rockies re-signing him at age 37. If he continues to impress, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Rockies move him at the trade deadline. That’s what they should do.
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