Colorado opens second half refreshed and refocused on avoiding 100 losses

DENVER – Next to the great reset of a new year, the All-Star break always provides a terrific timeout for players and coaches alike to recharge and prepare for the final slog of the 162-game marathon.

For the Colorado Rockies, that will mean pushing forth to avoid 100 losses for the fourth consecutive year, something the entire clubhouse has the confidence in doing.

Manager Warren Schaeffer spent the four-day recess successfully finding Sasquatch with his family in an escape room with plenty of time remaining. “(It) was awesome,” he said of the experience. “We’re going to do them all the time now.

Troy Johnston attempted to beat the heat with some teammates in the Rocky Mountains and inadvertently did some altitude training in the process.

“You’re up at 8,000 feet, and you walk outside, and it says it’s like 75, 80 degrees or something. But my goodness, it felt like 95 because you’re so high up and you’re so much closer to the sun, and I didn’t really equate those two,” Johnson said. “I would go out and I’d go out in my pants and sometimes a long sleeve and I’m sweating three steps out of the door.”

Seth Halvorsen, Jaden Hill, and Brenton Doyle all focused on rehabbing injuries to get back onto the field while managing to find time with family. 

Halvorsen (right shoulder inflammation) will make a rehab appearance with the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes on Sunday while Hill (right shoulder tendinitis) and Doyle (left oblique and left groin strain) are still progressing. 

“I feel great,” Halvorsen said. “Been pitching through pins for a while and then got that cortisone (shot) and I feel fantastic since then. I had live (BP) yesterday and my velocity was back.”

A pair of Rockies rookies made sure to get down time before the start of the second half, albeit in different locations. Cole Carrigg went to San Diego and was a “beach bum” with his college roommates while Gabriel Hughes stayed local and looked ahead to his start against the Cincinnati Reds.

“Just hung out here in Denver. After the whirlwind that was the week and a half before, just kind of wanted a couple days to hang out, catch my breath,” said Hughes. “So read a lot, watched a lot of movies.”

Hughes suffered the loss during Friday’s 7-2 defeat at the hands of the Redlegs, but allowed just two runs over 5.1 innings and striking out six in the process. In a pair of starting effort, Hughes has struck out 13 batters, a total second to only Christian Friedrich’s 17 in 2012 for most strikeouts by a rookie in their first two starts.

Second-Half Predictions

Colorado finished the first half with a 39-59 record. It was their first time with as many wins prior to an All-Star Break since 2022, the last season they lost less than 100 games. 

In 2025, when the team lost a franchise record 119 games, the Rockies didn’t secure their 39th win until August 31. The 10-3 win on Saturday gave them 40 wins, a total eventually reached on September 5 last year.

Schaeffer’s club has already amassed more series wins – nine – than all of last season. 

With the fifth-strongest strength of schedule (.515) remaining in Major League Baseball, Colorado will be hard-pressed to match that total in the second half.

“Winning every day is very important, and the focus of winning every day. But we do put an emphasis on (winning) series for sure,” Schaeffer said. “I don’t want to compare to last year, but winning series, so far I think we — I know that we can be a winning team in the second half. I know that we can. It’s just a matter of going out there and doing it.”

Hunter Goodman reprised his role as the lone All-Star selection. He was in Philadelphia for the Midsummer Classic at the time of rest and relaxation for so many with the Rockies organization. If they are to reach 63 wins this season, Goodman will need to continue to contribute offensively in the middle of the lineup over the final two-plus months.

The 26-year-old catcher homered on July 1 put him on a 50-homer pace. Though he hasn’t put one into the bleachers since then, Doyle has a hot take for the remainder of Colorado’s campaign. 

“I think Goody will hit 50,” Doyle said of his lockermate.

After setting a Rockies record with 27 first-half home runs, reaching 50 would also give him the top single-season mark, passing the 49 hit by Hall of Famers: Larry Walker (1997) and Todd Helton (2001). The fact that Goodman would possibly do so since the advent of the humidor, first installed in 2002 at Coors Field, makes it all the more impressive.

Not to be outdone, Halvorsen predicts a different kind of history for TJ Rumfield in the second half in the form of National League Rookie of the Year Award and Rawlings Gold Glove Award. Only Jason Jennings (2002) has won the former while Helton (2001-02, 2004) is the only win the latter at first base, Rumfield’s position.

“I think it’s a safe, safe bet,” the 26-year-old reliever said. “Rumfield has been someone that’s been super consistent. Obviously had a fantastic first half, and that’s just the kind of guy he is. You can bet he’ll be pretty consistent for the second half.”

Rumfield, winner of the NL Rookie of the Month in May and June, kept his momentum by recording his first four-hit game of his career during a 4-for-5 performance that included his 13th home run and four runs batted in.

“It’s good to get one off a lefty,” the 26-year-old said of the 456-ft homer against the Reds’ Caleb Ferguson. “To hit it good is one thing, but to hit it far is another. So it’s nice. It’s just good confidence builder for the rest of the season.”

A pair of Rockies, including assistant hitting coach Jordan Pacheco, mentioned Ezequiel Tovar as their player to watch the rest of the way.

“He was kind of great, gaining some traction. It’s been a little up and down for him, and he’s been through a lot this year,” Pacheco shared. “I’m really hopeful for him to have a pretty good second half and and just be the player we know he is and who he knows he needs to be, especially at the plate because his defense is fantastic. He’s a great shortstop, and he’s our shortstop.” 

The 24-year-old Tovar began the year by winning the World Baseball Classic with Venezuela and being named to the All-WBC Team. Since then, he has batted .199 with a .571 OPS, lowest in MLB among all qualified players. 

“I think he’s really going to have a great second half,” Johnston said. “I think he’s really on the right pace, right on the right track.”

Johnston also mentioned veteran Willi Castro as being another key second-half performer. “I think he’s going to be a dark horse to be a huge proponent for our wins here coming up.”

Castro didn’t waste time making Johnston look good by homering in the first contest back after the break. Castro, in the first year of a two-year, $12.8 million pact, has spent a majority of his time at second base for Colorado. 

The 29-year-old utility player has appeared at shortstop, third base, the outfield and – for the first time in his career – first base. That has allowed Schaeffer to mix and match depending on the opposing starting pitcher and allowed for better personnel on the bench as a byproduct of this flexibility.

Hughes gave Hill a shoutout as one to watch and Hill passed the praise to Doyle as one who will turn heads once he returns from the injured list. 

“I can see [Doyle] when he comes back going crazy and finishing the year off as you know as the person we all know who he is,” shared Hill.

The trade deadline on Aug. 3 could do a lot to Colorado’s chances of avoiding the century mark for the first time since 2022. Wheeling and dealing for prospects would bolster the farm system, but hamper one of the younger position player groups in the sport from righting the ship in the short term for an organization lost at sea since its last postseason appearance in 2018.

Whether or not the Rockies front office values avoiding 100 losses more than the chance at acquiring a top 100 prospect will become clear soon enough. Until then, winning a game and taking a series is all that Schaeffer and his squad can do in the second half.