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3 Rockies Overreactions From Season-Opening Marlins Sweep

Originally posted on Colorado Rockies on SI
By Scott Roche | Last updated Mar 30, 2026 3:00 PM ET

Coming off a 119-loss season, there is nowhere to go but up for the Colorado Rockies in 2026. They brought in a new president of baseball operations, Paul DePodesta, and general manager Josh Byrnes. They retained Warren Schaeffer as manager and removed the interim tag.

Veteran Kyle Freeland, who has seen his share of ups and downs in the Mile High City, said there was a different feeling going into this season.

All the good vibes were put to the test in a season-opening series against the Miami Marlins on the road. The Rockies began the season where they left off last year, being swept by the Marlins. However, the three losses were all close and Colorado was in it until the ninth inning. Here are three overreactions from a sweep by Miami over the Rockies.

3 Rockies Overreactions From Marlins Three-Game Sweep To Being 2026 Season

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1. Kyle Karros and TJ Rumfield Are Not Ready for Full-Time Roles

Prospects Kyle Karros and TJ Rumfield made the Opening Day roster and both earned it after good spring trainings. Karros got a taste of the big leagues last year and performed well. Rumfield had yet to make his MLB debut until this weekend. Both played well and showed they are ready for the majors.

Rumfield hit his first major league home run in the second inning of Saturday's game off Eury Pérez for an early 1-0 Colorado lead. As for Karros, he had three hits, two on Sunday, and he also stole a couple of bases. It will be vital that prospects like Karros and Rumfield get a taste of the majors this season and go through growing pains. It will pay dividends later on.

2. Starting Rotation Is Not Improved From 2025

Let's pump the brakes with this one. DePodesta signed veterans Michael Lorenzen and Jose Quinatana to slot behind Freeland. Another free agent signing, Tomoyuki Sugano, will get the ball on Monday night against the Toronto Blue Jays in Canada.

Freeland, Lorenzen and Quintana all pitched well enough to give their teammates a chance to win the game. The starting rotation allowed seven runs through three games and if that is something that they can continue as the season goes along, that rotation will be improved. It's just three games, but despite three losses, the returns from the first weekend are promising.

3. Rockies Offense Will Struggle in 2026

Pitching is always ahead of the hitting early in a season. However, the Rockies' offense ran into three good pitchers from Miami and a good bullpen that was difficult to deal with. Sandy Alcantara and Pérez each worked seven innings for Miami in the first two games. The Rockies got to Max Meyer for three first-inning runs on Sunday, but were shut out over the final eight innings.

That's going to happen early in a season and could happen again this week in Toronto. In the end, the hitting will eventually turn around and the Rockies' offense will be good enough to put up a lot of crooked numbers this season. It's early in the season.

This article first appeared on Colorado Rockies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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