Compare that to the dismal stats from last year, and Colorado\u2019s offensive output is all the more impressive. In the historically inept 2025 season, the Rockies ranked 23rd in average (.237), 27th in OPS (.679), 24th in slugging (.386), 28th in wOBA (.296), and last in on-base percentage (.293).\n<\/p>\n
But the pitching \u2014 long an unsolvable X-factor for Coors Field\u2019s tenant \u2014 remains among the league\u2019s worst. Specifically, the rotation continues to be an Achilles\u2019 heel. After the 2025 rotation\u2019s 6.65 earned run average was the highest in baseball\u2019s modern era<\/a> (since 1901), this year hasn\u2019t been much better. Colorado starters are 28th in the majors in wins above replacement (2.9), 29th in K\/9 (6.63), last in fielding independent pitching (5.20), and last in ERA (5.98).\n<\/p>\n With that issue in mind \u2014 and considering Colorado\u2019s historical inability to attract top-tier free agent starters \u2014 here are five starting pitching prospects to monitor in the second half of 2026. LHP Konner Eaton<\/a><\/p>\n Southpaw starters are always at a premium, hence why Eaton\u2019s emergence has been such a pleasant surprise for Colorado. A sixth-round pick out of George Mason in 2024, Eaton originally projected as a bullpen arm, but he\u2019s been so good that he could now be a future rotational pillar. Eaton was the Rockies\u2019 minor-league pitcher of the year in \u201925<\/a> after dominating High-A Spokane with a 3.56 ERA in 23 starts. He\u2019s continued that momentum this year with a fastball that sits around 93 mph and a plus-slider that gets a lot of swing-and-miss. In 14 starts for Double-A Hartford, he has a 3.78 ERA, and his current trajectory suggests he could get a big-league shot as soon as 2027.<\/p>\n RHP Jordy Vargas<\/a><\/p>\n Vargas missed all of 2024 due to Tommy John surgery, but hope remains that the fluid, 6-foot-3 righty can still be a projectable starter that the Rockies saw when they signed him out of the Dominican Republic in 2021.\u00a0He impressed in 2022 in the Arizona Complex League and California League, but has encountered speed bumps in\u00a0the couple of seasons post-surgery.<\/a>\u00a0He has a 5.68 ERA in 17 starts for High-A Spokane this season. He was left unprotected in last year\u2019s Rule 5 draft and went unselected; with a mid-90s fastball and a strong curveball, you don\u2019t have to squint too hard to see he could eventually mature into something at the big-league level in a few seasons.\n<\/p>\n RHP Jackson Cox<\/a><\/p>\n Like Vargas, Cox also underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023 and subsequently missed the 2024 season. When he returned to the mound, he also brought a more varied pitch mix<\/a> than what he was employing at the start of his pro career, when he was way too fastball-heavy. This year, he had a 4.23 ERA in 11 games (10 starts) for High-A Spokane before getting bumped up to Double-A Hartford, where he\u2019s impressed in the hitter-friendly Eastern League with a 3.89 ERA in seven starts. He has a mid-90s fastball that can reach 98, plus a curveball, changeup and cutter. He has swing-and-miss stuff (10.6 career K\/9 in the minors) that could play well at Coors Field.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Colorado\u2019s second-round draft selection this year, the Rockies signed the UCLA star to a $2.63 million signing bonus on Sunday,<\/a> the full slot value of the No. 38 pick. Reddemann boasts a mid-90s fastball that he can run up to 99, plus a cutter and changeup that are his primary offspeed pitches. He also throws a curveball and sweeper to round out a well-developed arsenal that is well ahead of his age. Reddemann spent his first two collegiate seasons at San Diego before transferring to UCLA, where he turned in one of the most dominant starting seasons in Bruins history by going 8-0 with a 2.87 ERA. He has all the tools to fast-track through the minors.\n<\/p>\n RHP Yujanyer Herrera<\/a><\/p>\n The Brewers signed Herrera out of Venezuela in 2019, and the Rockies acquired him at the 2024 deadline as part of the trade that sent reliever Nick Mears to Milwaukee. Herrera has a 4.47 ERA in 16 games (15 starts) for High-A Spokane this season. He missed all of 2025 due to Tommy John, but came back from the surgery with increased heat on his fastball, getting it up to 98 mph. Before, he was in the 92-94 range. His best offspeed is a slider that can be an effective out pitch and also induce grounders<\/a>. He has a long way to go, but Herrera\u2019s ceiling is high, especially if he can continue to make leaps like he did in the Brewers\u2019 system prior to the trade.\n<\/p>\n
\n![\"Konner](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2262373970.jpg\")
Konner Eaton #78 of the Colorado Rockies poses for a portrait during photo day at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on February 18, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Jeremy Chen\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n![\"UCLA](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784634679_608_AP26053681015433.jpg\")
UCLA starting pitcher Logan Reddemann delivers a pitch during an NCAA baseball game against Texas Christian on Friday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo\/Kyusung Gong)
\nRHP Logan Reddemann<\/a><\/p>\n