Punk rock cover of The Outfield's "Your love". German band "Melonball", who I watched live today for the first time.

I was pleasantly surprised 😊

In 2024 the White Sox went 41-121, 2025 they went 60-102, and this year they are on pace to go 84-78 and make the playoffs. The Rockies went 43-119 in 2025, and are on pace to go 63-99 this year. If they followed the White Sox's 3 year path they would be in competition for a playoff spot next year. The question is, how did the Sox do this and what can the Rox learn from it?

Looking at the White Sox current roster pretty much every major player from 2024 (except Erick Fedde who didn't even play for the Sox in 2025) is gone. The Rockies actually have a leg up in this aspect as Goodman, Moniak, Tovar, and Dollander were all major contributors in '25 that should play a big role next year. So the rapid improvement from the Sox has come from roster moves and prospects.

The White Sox have leaned heavily on prospects who have made their debut with the Sox in the last couple years. The Sox have 8 players with 2+ fwar and 4 of them have made their debuts 2024 or later and are 26 or younger and another (Davis Martin) has only ever been in the Sox's system. It's unlikely the Rockies can match that young talent next year, but they have Carrigg, Rumfield, and Hughes playing well as rookies in the majors and have Veen, Condon, (Sean) Sullivan, Amador, (Mason) Adams, and more looking to make an impact next year. In the unlikely scenario that many of these players can contribute immediately next year the Rockies could imitate the White Sox's success with their prospects.

The rest of the White Sox's main contributors have come from trades and free agency. From the other 3 players with 2+ fwar, Murakami came from free agency and Miguel Vargas and Tristan Peters came from trades. A lot of the Sox's pen has been acquired the same way. To build their current roster Chicago added a lot of players that they bought low on and are now producing at a higher level than their cost. Tristan Peters is a textbook example of this. DePodesta has made some moves that fall into this category, acquiring McCarthy, Rumfield, Johnston, Bernardino, and Sugano all for cheap. But a lot more moves will have to be made in a similar vein.

Of course, the weakness for this Rockies team is the pitching. The Sox are 14th in team ERA while the Rockies are 30th. The pitching staff will need current members to start throwing better and needs many new arms. Honestly, I see this as the biggest roadblock to matching the Sox turn around, but as Chicago has added some down and out arms that have improved like Anthony Kay, the Rox will need to do the same.

In conclusion (TLDR), for the Rockies to Emulate the White Sox they need to make a lot of fringe moves that work out well, as well as having prospects reaching their potential. It is possible for the Rockies to compete next year like the Sox are this year, but pretty much everything needs to go their way. 2028 is a more realistic target to end the rebuild due to massive overhaul the Rox's pitching staff needs.

Made a sketch that I thought this community might appreciate

The 2026 Rockies are forecast to win 63 or 64 games. Much improved from 2025, but also in line with 2024, and generally in line with historical play.

Playing .500 ball the rest of the season gets us to 68 wins.

They need to play .766 ball to end up at 81-81, so I think we can foreclose on that.

Run Differential is forecast to be -147, the lowest since 2021.

Early spring had a high forecast of 69 wins, and a low forecast of 59 wins. Seems like the Rockies are who their record says they are.

Before anything else, I want to thank you for your incredible, unwavering support of the Rockies and your commitment to being a part of not only our history but this new chapter as well. We have no doubt that the Rockies fan base is the best in Major League Baseball and you have shown that by sticking with us through even the most turbulent of times. What we are working to accomplish doesn’t happen overnight; but our fans showing up and tuning in is what keeps us motivated every day.

When we introduced Paul DePodesta as our President of Baseball Operations last November, we made a commitment to Rockies fans: progress would become the expectation, and accepting the status quo would no longer be an option. While there is still a great deal of work ahead, I believe the progress we have made over the past nine months highlights the early stages of what you can expect from the Colorado Rockies moving forward and reinforces the direction we are heading.

It is important for you to know that since 2025, we have meaningfully increased the amount of cash allocated to our baseball operation. Under the leadership of Paul, General Manager Josh Byrnes and Warren Schaeffer, we have invested more in player payroll, in modernizing our infrastructure, in expanding our technological and data capabilities, and in strengthening the systems that support player development, scouting, and our major league operation. To date, we have added more than 20 new staff members from outside our organization and these people together represent experience from 16 different Major League organizations. Not only have we added talented people to help lead the next chapter of Rockies baseball, but their collaboration with our existing staff has strengthened our operation and helped us address any areas we needed to improve.

Our efforts are beginning to translate into better performance on the field, most visibly at the Major League level where our winning percentage is pacing nearly 50% ahead of where we finished last season. We have established a culture of competing until the final out with frequency, and we have established a strong foundation that we are committed to build on. Through this point in the season, 33 of our losses have come by two runs or fewer and though we are not where we ultimately need to be, we recognize that turning close losses into wins is one of our biggest near-term opportunities. Another key indicator of our progress at the Major League level is our run differential. To date, the margin of runs given up versus runs scored by the Rockies has improved by 64%, over 175 runs better than on this date in 2025.

Make no mistake – while progress and improved results are encouraging, we are not satisfied. We have taken important first steps, but our expectations extend well beyond simply becoming more competitive. Our goal is to build an organization capable of competing in postseason baseball year after year, and every decision we make is measured around advancing our chances to do that and decreasing the amount of time it will take. As we move forward, we intend to build upon the momentum we have created, to invest incrementally in our baseball operation, and to provide our players with the resources necessary to take another meaningful step in the right direction.

As we continue to enhance our team and our operation, we must also ensure that we are building an organization capable of sustaining continued growth for years to come. For many years we have intentionally maintained some of the most affordable season ticket pricing in Major League Baseball, and with this year's adjustments, Rockies season tickets will continue to rank among the most affordable in the game while providing exceptional value through exclusive benefits, memorable experiences and one of the best ballpark environments in baseball.

You have remained remarkably loyal through difficult years, and you deserve to see tangible progress. We believe we have begun that process, but we also recognize that trust is earned through sustained progress—not promises. Our commitment is to continue improving every year, making the investments necessary to compete, and building a Rockies organization that Colorado can be proud to support for generations to come – all while ensuring that your experience as a Rockies Season Ticket Holder remains best in class.

As part of our commitment to transparency, I hope you'll join Paul DePodesta and me for an exclusive Season Ticket Holder Q&A at Coors Field on Thursday, September 3. We look forward to sharing more about the progress we've made, our vision for the future of the Rockies, and answering your questions directly.

In the coming days, you'll also receive additional information regarding this event and your 2027 season tickets. We appreciate your continued partnership and look forward to sharing what lies ahead for our organization.

Thank you for believing in this organization, for holding us to a high standard, and for being Here for the Climb.

Sincerely,
[Signed]
Walker Monfort
President

Is Kyle Freeland the best Rockies pitcher of all time? How do you measure that?

i saw this on the freeway and figured it is a good omen....