Kyle Freeland’s most recent start for his hometown Colorado Rockies, saw him turn in an absolutely stellar performance on Sunday, leading the Rockies to an 8-1 win over the Kansas City Royals and completing the series sweep. In what was his first complete game of his 10 Year Career, Freeland had a line of 9.0 Innings, 5 Hits, 1 Earned Run, 2 BB, and 8 K. While the offense put up 8 runs on 9 fits and 5 BB, Jake McCarthy hit a 3-run homer in the 6th Inning for his 11th of the season.
With this being the final year of Freeland’s 5-Year Contract, it could be his final season with the Rockies, after 10 seasons of no consistency or success as a team. With Brenton Doyle shipped off to the Chicago White Sox, Antoni Senzatela to the Milwaukee Brewers, and Victor Vodnik to the Miami Marlins, it’s clear Rockies GM Paul DePodesta is looking forward to what the future holds for Colorado.
As a Colorado native, growing up in Denver he understood the stigma and difficulties around pitching at Coors Field. So when he came up to the Majors for the first time on April 7th, 2017, he showed us he knew what it took to have success by pitching 6.0 Innings and only giving up 1 Run. Then in a Dominant 2018 Season, he won 17 Games and had an ERA of 2.85 over 33 Starts. Now the Consistency of Success at Coors Field has always been the Issue, and since that season, he has had an ERA over 4 in the following 8 Seasons. And missed a bit of time periodically with Injuries, including earlier this Season.
In a time when Rockies fans didn’t have much to cheer for, it was always nice to see the local kid on the mound. During a span where we lost Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story, we still had our Hometown Pride. Did he accomplish as much during his career as those 2 Players, no, but the willingness to be a Colorado Rockies player during those tumultuous years showed the character and love he has for this State and Team.
The tough part in all this is the fact that regardless, Kyle Freeland as a Colorado Rockie is all but a Memory at this point. From his comments in the days leading up to Sunday’s Win, when asked about his future with the Organization beyond the Deadline and this Season, he said, “There haven’t been any conversations about it between himself, Coaches, and Front Office”, and saying “I don’t believe I will be apart of the Organization going forward, and if someone calls about me, they have to do what’s best for the future for the Organization”. And in his Postgame On-Field Interview, said, “All 10 Years, I love you Guys”.
Hunter Goodman is under Team Control until 2029, but is expecting to get a deserved pay raise from his 1-Year, $810,000 Contract for 2026. Mickey Moniak was extended after not being moved at the MLB Trade Deadline, and while this year was a bit of a step back for Ezequiel Tovar, the team believes he still has more to contribute. But who else can you pencil into the 2027 Rockies Everyday Lineup? Besides Moniak, there aren’t any proven Outfielders, and while Willi Castro has mostly played 2B this year, he can contribute at multiple Positions. But will need to see much more from the rest of the potential internal options if they can’t or don’t land any Free Agents.
Since it hasn’t been the most successful run overall, the Rockies have no choice but to look towards the future and hope we have the Prospect Depth and Talent to make an impact, sooner rather than later and with Chase Dollander looking like the Future Leader of the Staff, the timing to move on from Freeland makes more sense than ever. The Rockies aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, and as an Organization, you need something to build upon, but the Roster is still uncertain going into next season.
Will the Pitching Prospects Impact sooner rather than later? Are Holliday and Condon closer than we think to being Everyday Impact Players? Especially with Ethan Holliday recovering from season-ending surgery, how much of a setback was this for him? Will we be having the same conversations in 10 Years about Dollander also? This game of Baseball never tells, but the Writing on the Walls in Colorado all point towards the future, and it’s a Youth Movement.
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