Where did T.J. feltner Rumfield come from? This guy seemed like he came out of nowhere.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Mark, Arvada<\/p>\n
Mark, let me start by saying that Rumfield has been Colorado\u2019s best offensive player in the early going. As I write this, he\u2019s slashing .364\/.417\/.636 (1.053 OPS), with two homers and seven RBIs. Plus, he\u2019s played superb defense at first base.\n<\/p>\n
But he didn\u2019t come out of nowhere. He came from the Bronx.\u00a0This is what I wrote early in spring training:<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cT.J. Rumfield was a big-league first baseman trapped in Triple-A limbo. At least, that\u2019s how he saw things. So did the Rockies.<\/p>\n \u201cWhich is why they acquired the Yankees\u2019 minor leaguer in exchange for talented but mercurial right-handed reliever Angel Chivilli in a trade in late January. Now it\u2019s Rumfield\u2019s job to bust open the door of opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019s done exactly that, winning the job in spring training and coming out of the gate hot.<\/p>\n Interesting fact: T.J.\u2019s father, Toby, was the Reds\u2019 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. The steals have been fun, but besides that, the Rockies\u2019 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?<\/p>\n \u2014 Isaac Bowen, Fort Collins<\/p>\n Isaac, not to make excuses for the Rockies (who are 4-6 as I write this), but it\u2019s very early. Still, outside of two games, the offense has been awful.<\/p>\n Colorado\u2019s 6.0 walk percentage is the lowest in the majors, while its 29.5% strikeout rate is the second highest. The Rockies\u2019 .241 average with runners in scoring position ranks 19th.\n<\/p>\n The Rockies\u2019 10 steals are tied for third-most.\n<\/p>\n So, while I\u2019m on board with Schaeffer\u2019s plan to turn his team into the \u201cGo Go Rox,\u201d<\/a> the Rockies can\u2019t put pressure on the opposition if they don\u2019t get on base more.<\/p>\n Is it a lack of talent? That\u2019s part of the problem. Let\u2019s face it, the Rockies aren\u2019t 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.\n<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n As for McCarthy getting playing time over Beck, I don\u2019t 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\u2019s searching for combinations. Let\u2019s face it, this is an experimental season for the Rockies.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u2014 Ned Ryerson, Greeley<\/p>\n OK, \u201cNed Ryerson,\u201d are you going to try to sell me some insurance? \u201cWhoa-ho-ho! Watch out for that first step! It\u2019s a doozy!\u201d<\/p>\n Anyway, I don\u2019t think the Rockies are ever going to experience a St. Louis Browns\u2019 Groundhog Day.<\/p>\n By the way, per Baseball Reference:<\/a> The St. Louis Browns are perhaps history\u2019s worst Major League franchise. The Browns played in the American League from 1902 to 1953 and managed just 11 winning seasons over that span.<\/p>\n 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\u00a01944, when the majors were not at full strength due to\u00a0World War II. In\u00a01954, following eight straight losing seasons, the Browns moved to\u00a0Baltimore\u00a0and became the\u00a0Baltimore Orioles.\n<\/p>\n Are you a fan of the ABS system? And might the Rockies fanbase turn its back on the team with another lousy year?<\/p>\n \u2014 Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.<\/p>\n Ed, first of all, thanks for your continued participation in my Rockies Mailbag. You picked two hot topics this week.<\/p>\n Regarding ABS (Automated Ball-Strike system), I do like it. It\u2019s 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\u2019m sure some don\u2019t. We are just 10 games into the season, so let\u2019s see how this all plays out.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cprove-it-to-me\u201d mode, even with the front-office changes in place.<\/p>\n Monday night, the announced crowd at Coors was 16,301, marking the lowest home attendance in franchise history, excluding pandemic-affected seasons. It\u2019s something to keep an eye on if the Rockies keep losing.\n<\/p>\n 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!<\/p>\n \u2014 Murphy, Akron<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n And part of it has to do with the Rockies\u2019 game plan, which is still a work in progress. The team has a few pitchers in the bullpen \u2014 Antonio Senzatela, Chase Dollander, and Jimmy Herget \u2014 who are capable of throwing multiple innings. I think Warren Schaeffer is going to use long relievers a lot this season.<\/p>\n But if a pitcher is going well, Schaeffer will give them a reasonably long leash. In Colorado\u2019s win over the Phillies,<\/a> new right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano pitched six innings and threw 78 pitches (51 strikes). It was a strong, efficient start. In the Rockies\u2019 win over the Astros on Monday night, Ryan Feltner pitched 5 1\/3 innings, throwing 70 pitches (43 strikes). I\u2019m sure the Rockies wanted him to go deeper into the game.\n<\/p>\n Patrick, as a Rockies fan from the beginning, I\u2019ve been wanting to ask what all these acronyms are that are being used these days, such as WAR, and others that I can\u2019t think of at this moment. Thanks for all of your reporting and suffering during the last years of mismanagement of the team.<\/p>\n \u2014 Phil Donahue, Chico, Calif.<\/p>\n Phil, it\u2019s easy to drown in baseball\u2019s alphabet soup. Some fans \u2014 and reporters \u2014 are heavy into stats and analytics. I\u2019m more of a storyteller, so perhaps a dinosaur.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n You ask specifically about WAR. Here is the definition from Major League Baseball: WAR measures a player\u2019s value across all facets of the game by quantifying how many more wins he\u2019s worth than a replacement-level player at his position (e.g., a Minor League replacement or a readily available fill-in free agent).<\/p>\n If you want a deeper dive into the stats, I suggest you visit Baseball Reference\u2019s glossary<\/a>.<\/p>\n Looking at the starting rotation, I struggle to find a reason for Ryan Feltner to be there. What is Warren Schaeffer and Company\u2019s 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!<\/p>\n \u2014 Jack, Centennial<\/p>\n Jack, you\u2019re preaching to the wrong choir here. I\u2019ve been a big proponent of Feltner\u2019s, as you can tell from my Rockies Journal from last Sunday.<\/a> I think he has really good stuff, though not as dynamic as Dollander\u2019s. Feltner just needs to harness his talent and attack the strike zone.<\/p>\n I\u2019m 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.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a very small sample size, but I\u2019ve been impressed by Tomoyuki Sugano so far. Do you think he\u2019ll re-sign after this season or is this just a one-off?<\/p>\n \u2014 Ryan, Wheat Ridge<\/p>\n Ryan, I\u2019ve also been impressed with Sugano. He\u2019s a crafty pitcher. He signed a one-year deal for $5.1 million, and I think he\u2019ll be one-and-done in Colorado. He\u2019s 36, and I don\u2019t see the rebuilding Rockies re-signing him at age 37. If he continues to impress, it wouldn\u2019t surprise me if the Rockies move him at the trade deadline. That\u2019s what they should do.\n<\/p>\n
\n![\"Colorado](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/TDP-Z-RUMFIELD.jpg\")
Colorado Rockies’ TJ Rumfield, right, cheers next to third base coach Andy Gonz\u00e1lez, 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)\n<\/p>\n