With three-quarters of the season in the books, the numbers are not kind for the hometown nine:

• The Rockies entered Saturday night with a 45-78 record, on pace for 104 losses, which would trump last season’s 102 losses for the most in franchise history. Their minus-193 run differential is the worst in the National League and trails only the historically bad White Sox (minus-251) in the majors.

• Although the Rockies’ power has turned on in the second half, the Rockies’ 134 homers and .708 OPS rank 16th in the majors, despite playing at Coors Field.

• Colorado’s 5.57 team ERA and 1.52 WHIP are the highest in the majors, and only Toronto (171) has served up more homers than Colorado’s 162. The Rockies’ starters’ ERA is 5.55, and the bullpen’s ERA is 5.64, both the highest. To be fair, Colorado’s rotation has pitched relatively well for much of the season, but Kyle Freeland’s early struggles and Dakota Hudson’s disastrous season skewed the numbers.

Despite those stark statistics, general manager Bill Schmidt believes the team is headed in the right direction as it continues its youth movement as part of the Rockies “construction project.”

In Schmidt’s eyes, center fielder Brenton Doyle, shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and first baseman Michael Toglia form a solid foundation on the diamond. And Schmidt believes the Rockies’ rotation next season has a chance to be very good. Along with veterans such as Freeland, German Marquez and Antonio Senzatela, the rotation might include, at some point, top prospects such as lefty Carson Palmquist and right-handers Gabriel Hughes and Chase Dollander.

That’s heartening for a team that is headed for its sixth consecutive losing season.

Still, there are many more questions than answers as the Rockies enter the final six-plus weeks of the season.

Topping the list is the future of manager Bud Black, who’s in the final year of his contract. Owner Dick Monfort said during spring training that the Rockies were beginning to talk about a contract extension for the manager. But nothing came of that, and now Black’s future is up in the air.

“We’ll talk at the end of the season,” Schmidt said Friday. “There’s nothing more to report on that.”

Black, 67, loves teaching young players and participating in the Rockies’ attempts to improve, but he has remained mum about a contract for 2025.

Veteran first baseman/outfielder Kris Bryant’s future is another gigantic part of the Rockies’ riddle. He’s on the injured list for the third time this season after his problematic lower back locked up on him.

Wouldn’t it make sense for the Rockies to shut him down for the rest of the season? After all, Toglia has already supplanted Bryant as the starting first baseman, veteran Charlie Blackmon is a better DH, and young outfielders Jordan Beck and Nolan Jones (when he returns from injury), and possibly others, are going to need playing time.

Schmidt says only that he doesn’t know how long Bryant will be out this time and will not speculate about Bryant’s future.

Bryant, who missed 31 games in April/May with a back strain and then 43 games in June/July with a rib/oblique issue, is batting .218 with two homers and a .301 slugging percentage. He’s making $28 million this year and is by far the team’s highest-paid player. But he’s played in only 36% of the Rockies’ games since signing his seven-year, $182 million contract before the 2022 season and hit just 17 home runs.

The Rockies are clearly frustrated by Bryant’s lack of production and inability to stay on the field, but would the team ever eat the $108 million remaining on his contract and move on? It doesn’t seem likely, especially since owner Dick Monfort was the one who coveted Bryant as a free agent in the first place.

Colorado’s other big disappointment, at least in Schmidt’s eyes, had been the bullpen, though he’s been encouraged by the growth of hard-throwing rookie right-hander Victor Vodnik, who’s become the closer.

“Victor’s shown some growth, but he’s still learning,” Schmidt said.

Is it safe to assume that Vodnik is Colorado’s future closer? Not necessarily.

“I wouldn’t rule it out, but we have some other young guys coming up with the qualities you want in a ninth-inning guy,” Schmidt said. “Do I think he can pitch late in games? Yes.”

But Schmidt is also high on right-handed prospects Jaden Hill, Zach Agnos and Seth Halvorsen.

“All of those guys have back-of-the-game stuff,” Schmidt said. “But as Buddy would tell you, there a lot of guys who have no trouble pitching in the eighth inning, but they have trouble pitching in the ninth. We’ll have to see how they react at the major league level.”

As the Rockies head toward 2025, that will be true of many of their young players.

Want more Rockies news? Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis.

Originally Published: August 18, 2024 at 5:45 a.m.