​The Colorado Rockies are a team in the midst of a rebuild. With this in mind, the staff at Purple Row thought it would be useful to revisit the “State of the Position” series that we ran in March to see where things stand. We’ve asked authors of the spring articles to re-evaluate their earlier remarks with an eye toward the August 3 trade deadline.The state of the Rockies’ starting rotation is, well, less than ideal as we reach the midpoint of the 2026 season.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTo put it in perspective, Colorado’s starters rank 30th in ERA, 30th in WHIP, 29th in K/9, 30th in H/9, and 16th in BB/9. Some of that is to be expected. Pitching at Coors Field is an inherently difficult challenge, thanks to the combination of altitude and the vast outfield dimensions.Even with those caveats, however, the rotation has fallen well short of expectations. Too often, it has struggled to keep the Rockies in games, putting the club at an early disadvantage.It wasn’t supposed to go this way.The offseason plan, the first under Paul DePodesta’s front office, was built on a specific bet: durability. Tomoyuki Sugano, José Quintana, and Michael Lorenzen were signed to one-year deals precisely because they take the ball — the trio averaged 26 ⅓ starts a season over the previous two years. Paired with Kyle Freeland, they were supposed to guarantee that the Rockies never had to start someone who couldn’t hold a major league job. Instead, availability — the one thing this group was supposed to provide — is exactly what has fallen apart.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementQuintana hasn’t pitched since late May, when a left elbow sprain sent him to the 60-day injured list. Sugano was scratched from his scheduled July 4 start and placed on the 15-day IL with back spams. Chase Dollander, one of the two real upside plays this rotation has, underwent an internal brace procedure on his right elbow on June 22 and won’t pitch again until 2027.The backup depth got hit, too. Tanner Gordon (hip impingement) and Ryan Feltner (right ulnar nerve inflammation) both spent time on the IL, while McCade Brown has been sidelined by shoulder inflammation since late March without throwing a pitch this season.Freeland’s season has been the most difficult to watch. The franchise leader in career innings pitched carries an ERA above seven through 17 starts, and he hasn’t resembled himself since returning from a shoulder issue of his own. The 170 innings he needs to vest his 2027 option is, at this pace, out of reach. The lone bright spot came in June, when he became the second pitcher to reach 1,000 strikeouts in a Rockies uniform.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementView LinkLorenzen’s first half was, for stretches, the roughest of any starter in baseball. He leads the majors in hits allowed, and his home/road splits have undercut the theory that his eight-pitch mix would translate to altitude. There is a real trend worth nothing tho