As the Colorado Rockies prepare for the upcoming spring training, addressing their critical pitching issues remains a top priority. The 2025 season showcased the team’s starting rotation as one of the weakest in Major League Baseball history, underscoring the urgent need for improvement in Colorado Rockies pitching struggles.
Season Statistics Highlight Rocky Pitching Performance
The Rockies’ starting pitchers posted alarming numbers last season, finishing with a .307 batting average against, the highest in MLB. Their 1.64 WHIP also ranked at the top, indicating control and efficiency problems. Opponents hit 1.76 home runs per nine innings, another league-high mark, reflecting the staff’s inability to keep the ball in the park.
Walk rates were also troubling, with 3.22 walks allowed per nine innings, placing them 10th highest in the majors. Their 6.28 strikeouts per nine innings were the lowest, revealing a deficiency in dominant pitching.
The most striking statistic came in earned run average (ERA), with the Rockies’ starters posting a 6.65 ERA. This figure is the highest single-season ERA for starting pitchers since 1913, when the statistic became officially tracked. Additionally, the team’s first-inning ERA stood at 7.61, the worst in the league, signaling early-game struggles that often put the bullpen under strain.
Pitch Quality and Durability Concerns
The Rockies also experienced a 39.1% hard-hit percentage allowed, the highest among all teams, which shows opposing hitters consistently made strong contact. Colorado’s pitchers had a groundball rate of 39.8%, ranking ninth highest, indicating an inability to induce enough groundouts that could help prevent extra-base hits.
Allowing 152 home runs over 776⅓ innings pitched — the fewest innings thrown — the Rockies suffered mileage problems as well. This short workload, combined with the number of home runs given up, highlights the fragility and ineffectiveness of the starting pitching staff throughout the year.
Implications and Prospects for Upcoming Season
With these dismal numbers painting a bleak picture, the Rockies must seek solutions to avoid repeating the historic failures of their pitching rotation. The severity of Colorado’s pitching struggles is a major obstacle to competitive success and will influence roster decisions and training priorities during spring training.
The club’s ability to develop, acquire, or adjust pitchers to reduce the run allowance and increase innings pitched will be pivotal. As the team looks toward the 2026 campaign, fans and analysts alike will closely watch how the Rockies address these unprecedented challenges to their staff’s effectiveness and durability.
“Of all of the woes the Rockies experienced in the 2025 season, their starting pitching was the most woeful. As the club gears up for spring training, finding solutions is the top priority.” ?Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
“.307 batting average against: Highest in the majors.
1.64 WHIP: Highest.
1.76 home runs/9 innings: Highest.
3.22 walks/9 innings: 10th highest.
6.28 strikeouts/9 innings: Lowest.
6.65 ERA: The highest single-season starter ERA in major league history since ERA became an official statistic in 1913.
7.61 first-inning ERA: Highest.
39.1% hard-hit percentage: Highest.
39.8% groundball rate: Ninth-highest.
152 home runs allowed: Highest
776 1/3 innings pitched: Fewest.” ?Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
