Do the Rockies have the worst starting pitching rotation of all-time?

With a 12–55 record on June 12, the 2025 Colorado Rockies are on pace for fewer than 30 wins. When people start bringing up the 1899 Cleveland Spiders (20–134), you know something has gone terribly wrong. With this team entering the conversation for the worst in MLB history, it’s time to ask: is the 2025 Rockies’ starting pitching the worst ever?

Let’s look at some facts. Colorado’s starters have combined for a 7–42 record and a brutal 6.55 ERA—over a full run worse than the next-worst team, the Miami Marlins (5.41). They’ve allowed opponents to hit .319 with a 1.67 WHIP. That’s worse than even the 1996 Tigers, whose opponents batted .303 off of their starters.

The leader of the Colorado starting rotation, Kyle Freeland, is 1–8 with a 5.13 ERA and 1.52 WHIP. German Marquez, returning from injury, is 2–8 with a 7.00 ERA. Antonio Senzatela sits at 1–10 with a 6.68 ERA, and rookie Chase Dollander is 2–6 with a 6.85 ERA. And it’s not just Coors Field to blame, as the road stats are nearly as bad. Marquez (8.82), Senzatela (6.83), and Carson Palmquist (7.24) have all been shelled away from home. Freeland is the exception, with a respectable 3.64 ERA on the road.

Why is this happening? The Rockies have long resisted signing top-tier free-agent pitchers, and altitude makes Denver an undesirable destination. The franchise relies on internal development, and that plan has completely failed. In an era where most teams use sophisticated internal pitch-grading systems to evaluate and develop talent, Colorado lags embarrassingly behind. In fact, according to a report by Yahoo Sports, they are the only MLB team without an in-house pitch-grading model. That’s organizational malpractice in 2025.

The team’s overall ERA is slightly propped up by a surprisingly serviceable bullpen (4.35 ERA), but the starters continue to get lit up, night after night. What’s more frustrating is the Rockies’ refusal to adapt. Despite the disaster unfolding, they continue rolling out traditional starters rather than shifting to a pitching-by-committee approach.

Historically, a few rotations challenge for this level of ineptitude:

• 1930 Phillies: Still hold the worst team ERA ever at 6.71, with four starters posting ERAs above 6.80.
• Late 1930s Browns: Team ERAs of 6.34 (1936), 6.01 (1939), and 6.00 (1937) rank as the third, seventh, and eighth worst single season ERAs since 1900.
• 1996 Tigers: Starters went 29–80 with a 6.64 ERA. Their “ace,” Omar Olivares, had a 4.89 ERA.
• 1999 Rockies: A 6.19 ERA for the starters, though Pedro Astacio went 17–11 with a 5.04 ERA and the team still won 72 games.
• 2021 Orioles: Starters posted a 24–76 record with a 5.99 ERA—the worst that season.

These Rockies are clearly in the mix as one of the worst starting pitching rotations ever. While the 1929-30 Phillies and Browns of the late 1930s may hold the crown for pre-WWII ineptitude, comparing those eras is tricky, as pitcher usage was more blended. Since 1940, this Rockies rotation is likely challenging the 1996 Tigers as the worst in modern history.

Unless the Rockies pivot to using a rotation-by-committee, this team is on track to finish with one of the two worst starting staffs modern baseball fans have ever seen. And if they win less than 40 games, they will likely be remembered as the worst.