Rockies Pitching Staff Shockingly Leading MLB in Key Metric

Colorado Rockies right-handed pitcher Chase Dollander. Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images

Rockies Pitching Staff Shockingly Leading MLB in Key Metric

Originally posted on Colorado Rockies on SI
By Seth Dowdle | Last updated Apr 28, 2026 6:00 PM ET

The Colorado Rockies and pitching — two things that usually don’t go well together. It’s like water and oil: it just doesn’t mix.

That is, until the beginning of the 2026 baseball season.

For the last month or so, the Rockies’ pitching staff has continued to shock the baseball world over and over again. Whether it be fantastic performances from the bullpen — headlined by up-and-coming star Chase Dollander — or consistent efforts from the starting pitching as of late, the dudes on the mound for Colorado have definitely held up their end of the bargain.

As such, the Rockies are 13-16, a record that isn’t necessarily the most glamorous, yet is still a massive improvement from where this franchise was a calendar year ago.

This shift in team dynamics is reflected in the statistics. As of Tuesday, April 28, the Rockies lead Major League Baseball with 5.6 Wins Above Replacement (bWAR), according to Baseball-Reference. Additionally, the Rockies currently hold a team 119 ERA+, which essentially means that the squad’s arms are 19% better than the league average.

Frankly, this is a revelation that’s been a long time coming. For years, the Rockies have been a laughingstock on the mound — partly due to Coors Field’s unfavorable conditions and partly due to ineptitude when it pertained to roster construction — but that appears to be a thing of the past, at least for now.

Rockies’ Arms Leading the Charge

Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Two pitchers in particular are leading the way when it comes to racking up bWAR. Dollander, who’s emerged as one of the best pitchers in baseball through his 32 innings of work so far in 2026, has accumulated 1.4 bWAR. Anybody who’s watched the Rockies won’t be surprised by that. Dollander’s been so amazing, he’s even been compared to two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom. That’s high praise — and it’s definitely deserved.

Perhaps the most unlikely member of the “Fantastic WAR Club” is Antonio Senzatela. It’s no secret that last season was not the most pleasant experience for the veteran right-hander. Over the course of 130 innings, Senzatela had a 6.65 ERA, the worst mark he’d had in that statistic since 2019.

That unfortunate year led to him being left out of the starting rotation, which turned out to be one of the best decisions the Rockies could have made. In eight relief outings, Senzatela has been sensational. He’s allowed just one earned run, struck out 18 and walked only four. For his efforts, he’s accumulated 1.2 bWAR. How about them apples?

The other pitchers helping out in the bWAR resurgence are Tomoyuki Sugano (1.1), Jimmy Herget (0.9), Kyle Freeland (0.8) and Brennan Bernardino (0.7). Most impressive is the lack of bad eggs — only three pitchers on the staff have bWARs in the negatives: Valente Bellozo (-0.3), Victor Vodnik (-0.3) and Michael Lorenzen (-0.3).

So, can the Rockies keep this up? There’s really not a certain answer to that question. All that’s certain at the moment is that the Rockies can pitch, and that’s a revelation that nobody saw coming as early as this offseason.

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

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