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Welcome to the 2026 edition of Ranking theRockies, where we take a look back at every player to log playing time for theRockies in 2026. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the lowest rWAR and end up with the player with the highest.

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No. 26, Jimmy Herget (0.1 rWAR)

Jimmy Herget entered 2026 coming off one of the best seasons of his career. The right-hander had posted a 2.48 ERA across 83.1 innings in 2025, giving the Rockies a dependable multi-inning reliever with a funky delivery and a varied repertoire.

A year later, Herget finished with a 0-6 record, a 5.70 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP across 51 appearances. He pitched well for extended periods, but two particularly difficult stretches did considerable damage to his final numbers.

There was plenty happening away from the mound, too. Herget became a dad, a major life adjustment on its own, before spending time on the bereavement list and dealing with a shoulder injury that landed him on the injured list. Between those interruptions, finding a consistent rhythm couldn’t have been easy.

Herget was also working with a new pitching coach and philosophy. He began the year with a revamped pitch mix that featured a new cutter. His slider, his second-most-used pitch in 2025, was nowhere to be found for much of the season before returning late in the year.

2026 Season Stats

G(GS)	W-L	IP	ERA	WHIP	K	BB	SV	rWAR
51 (3)	0-6	53.2	5.70	1.53	47	26	3	0.1

Statistics via Baseball Reference.

How it played out

Herget appeared in the Rockies’ season opener against Miami, replacing Kyle Freeland in the fifth inning and providing 1.1 scoreless innings. He continued pitching well throughout April, allowing just two earned runs across his first 11 appearances and 12 innings, good for a 1.50 ERA.

That stretch culminated April 21 against San Diego, when Herget served as an opener for Chase Dollander. He struck out Ramón Laureano, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill on just 14 pitches, throwing 10 strikes.

Dollander followed with six innings of one-run baseball and nine strikeouts, but the Rockies lost 1-0.

Two days later, Herget went on the paternity list.

He returned April 29 against Cincinnati and allowed two runs in the ninth inning of a 13-2 victory, including a home run by Will Benson.

Four days later against Atlanta, Herget surrendered three runs in the ninth, all scoring with two outs. On May 8 against Philadelphia, he inherited two runners with nobody out and Colorado leading 7-3. Bryson Stott doubled home both runners, and Justin Crawford followed with a two-run homer that tied the game.

Three appearances, three innings and seven earned runs.

Herget went on the bereavement list May 9 and returned three days later against Pittsburgh. He surrendered a leadoff double to Nick Gonzales and issued a walk but managed to escape the eighth inning without allowing a run, throwing 22 pitches and recording one strikeout.

Two days later, Herget landed on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement, keeping him out until June 17.

Including his May 12 appearance, Herget allowed just one earned run over 10 innings across 11 appearances through July 12, despite the extended interruption.

Then came his worst stretch of the season.

Between July 17 and August 1, Herget allowed at least one earned run in six consecutive appearances. He surrendered 13 earned runs in just 4.1 innings, walking seven hitters while striking out only four.

The struggles began July 17 against Cincinnati, when Herget inherited a runner with one out and promptly surrendered consecutive home runs to Spencer Steer and Eugenio Suárez.

On July 26 against Milwaukee, Herget entered with one out and a runner aboard before walking Gary Sánchez. Luis Lara followed with an RBI double, and Cooper Pratt and Joey Ortiz added consecutive doubles on sweepers that weren’t particularly well struck. By the time he escaped the inning, three earned runs had been charged to Herget, and the inherited runner had also scored.

Unlike his first difficult stretch, when he had struck out five hitters and walked just one, Herget was now struggling to keep runners off base while allowing damaging contact.

He began to settle down again in August. On August 4 and 7, Herget delivered consecutive scoreless, hitless innings, striking out two hitters in each appearance.

There were still rough outings, including three earned runs against Washington on August 27 and a difficult appearance against St. Louis on September 6. But the extended run of poor outings didn’t return.

Herget finished with 7.2 innings and two earned runs across his final four appearances, including three outings of at least two innings. On September 16 against San Diego, he worked two scoreless innings on just 22 pitches, retiring six consecutive hitters after allowing a leadoff single.

His final appearance came September 24 against Arizona. Herget entered in the fourth inning with two runners aboard and allowed an inherited runner to score before escaping the inning. He went on to pitch 2.2 innings, striking out four but allowing two earned runs, including a solo homer by James McCann.

An uneven season

Month	IP	ERA	K/9	BB/9	FIP
March-April	13.0	2.77	9.69	1.38	2.64
May	3.0	15.00	9.00	6.00	7.43
June	4.0	0.00	13.50	4.50	1.60
July	8.1	12.96	6.48	10.80	10.30
August	14.0	4.50	5.79	3.86	5.17
September	11.1	4.76	7.15	3.18	6.01

Statistics via FanGraphs.

Herget’s 2026 season wasn’t consistently poor. Two particularly difficult stretches accounted for much of the damage.

Across those two stretches, totaling nine appearances and just 7.1 innings, Herget allowed 20 earned runs, producing a 24.55 ERA.

In his other 46.1 innings, he allowed just 14 earned runs, a 2.72 ERA.

Removing a reliever’s worst appearances will naturally improve his numbers, and Herget’s home run and control problems were genuine shortcomings, not simply unfortunate results we can remove from the equation.

But the difference between a 24.55 ERA and a 2.72 ERA helps explain how a pitcher who was frequently effective finished with a 5.70 ERA.

So, what changed between the pitcher who was so dependable in 2025 and the one who struggled so badly at times in 2026?

A different arsenal

Herget’s sweeper was his most-used pitch in 2025, and it remained a major part of his repertoire in 2026. But its effectiveness, particularly against left-handed hitters, declined considerably.

In 2025, lefties produced a .339 wOBA against the sweeper, with 11 strikeouts and one home run allowed across 177 pitches. In 2026, that wOBA ballooned to .526, with four home runs and zero strikeouts across 105 pitches. Its whiff rate dropped from 24.7% to just 8.3%.

Herget actually reduced his sweeper usage against lefties from 29% to 22%, while maintaining roughly 33% usage against right-handed hitters.

Herget threw 362 sliders in 2025, holding left-handed hitters to a .194 wOBA with the pitch. Yet Statcast didn’t classify a single pitch as a slider through July 2026.

Instead, he featured a new cutter with a different movement profile. The cutter averaged 86.2 mph with 7.6 inches of induced vertical break, compared with 85.5 mph and 3.9 inches for his 2025 slider.

The cutter worked, particularly against right-handed hitters, who produced just a .223 wOBA against it.

But with his sweeper struggling against lefties, why had the slider that worked so well against them in 2025 nearly disappeared?

On August 23, the slider finally returned.

It initially appeared only occasionally, but by September it had become a significant part of his repertoire again.

Period	Slider	Cutter	Sweeper
March-July	0.0%	29.5%	31.0%
August	3.0%	32.0%	25.1%
September	21.2%	20.1%	21.2%

Percentage of pitches thrown, via Baseball Savant.

By September, Herget was throwing more sliders than cutters, 38 to 36. The slider’s movement was also similar to what it had been in 2025.

That gave Herget another option alongside his sweeper.

On September 6 against St. Louis, Herget showed how the two pitches could work together. He opened Thomas Saggese’s at-bat with an 84.8 mph slider for a called strike, then got him to swing through another slider that broke down and away. Saggese fouled off a sweeper, also away from the plate, before Herget went back to the sweeper for a called third strike.

Herget had already begun pitching more consistently before the slider returned, but he also avoided another prolonged stretch like the one that overwhelmed him in July.

Could bringing back the slider have helped him maintain consistency by giving hitters another pitch to account for?

Where does Herget stand heading into 2027?

It’s been quite a year for Jimmy Herget, both on and off the mound. And as the dust settles on 2026, the Rockies’ changing pitching philosophy adds another layer to his story.

Former pitching coach Alon Leichman emphasized repertoire diversification, but the Rockies eventually moved away from elements of his approach. Following his dismissal, Leichman described disagreements over pitching philosophy and suggested some pitchers had reverted to their previous approaches, as detailed in reporting on the Rockies’ competing pitching philosophies.

We don’t know whether Herget’s changing pitch mix reflected that philosophy, his own adjustments or some combination of the two. Was the cutter part of a new approach that eventually fell out of favor? Did the slider return because Herget needed another option, or because the organization’s thinking had changed? It’s difficult to say, but the timing is intriguing.

That makes it difficult to know what to expect from Herget in 2027. The Rockies could trade him, designate him for assignment or bring him back.

After everything that happened in 2026, his 5.70 ERA tells us how the season ended, but not necessarily what comes next.

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Mostly forgotten today, right-hander Warren Hacker is the kind of guy who epitomized the Cubs in the 1950s. He had one really good year — got downballot MVP votes! — and then either because of injuries, poor coaching, no support or all of the above, he descended into mediocrity and eventually was traded away in a deal where the Cubs basically got nothing.

Hacker, like yesterday’s entry in this series Carl Lundgren, was an Illinois native, from the tiny town of Marissa, which is southeast of St. Louis. When Hacker was born in 1924 Marissa had about 1,900 residents and it’s about the same size today.

The Cubs acquired him in 1948 in a minor-league deal but he didn’t become a mainstay in the team’s rotation until 1952 — that “one really good year.” In 33 games (20 starts) Hacker produced a 15-9 record, 2.58 ERA, 12 complete games and led MLB in WHIP at 0.958. He finished 22nd in MVP voting that year, in pre-Cy Young days. Cubs outfielder Hank Sauer was NL MVP that year and the team finished 77-77, their only non-losing season between 1947 and 1966. Hacker threw a five-hit complete game June 12 against the Phillies and the Cubs were in third place, only four games behind the league-leading Dodgers, with a 32-19 record.

Despite Hacker’s good pitching and Sauer’s hitting, the team went 45-58 the rest of the way, because, well, those two were about all the team had.

Hacker never again had a year that good. The following year he led MLB with 35 home runs allowed, and in 1955 he served up 38 long balls, which remains the franchise record to this day despite Shōta Imanaga’s best efforts to break it in 2026. (Sorry, Shōta!) Also in 1955, Hacker had a game that might have put him in the history books. He took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Braves in Milwaukee, but George Crowe broke it up with a solo homer. The Cubs won the game 2-1.

Hacker was traded to Cincinnati after the 1956 season, along with Don Hoak and Pete Whisenant for Ray Jablonski and Elmer Singleton. Hoak hated playing for the Cubs — one of the few who ever felt that way — and demanded a trade, so the Cubs had little leverage. Jablonski never played for the Cubs and was dealt before the next season began, and Singleton, already 39 when the deal was made, was a spare part.

Hacker didn’t do much, either, after the deal, drifting from Cincinnati to Philadelphia to the White Sox before leaving the majors after 1961. He played in the minors through 1967, then was a minor-league pitching coach int the A’s organization (1967-71) and later in the 1970s in the Padres organization. He died in Lenzburg, Illinois, not far from his hometown of Marissa, on May 22, 2002, aged 77.

Warren Hacker posted 13.5 bWAR in his nine seasons with the Cubs, No. 99 on the all-time list.

This series will continue on Monday.

We’re cruising right along with the top 10 in the 2027 Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List, which will see us rank the top 44 prospects in the San Francisco Giants organization heading into the 2027 season. It’s a fascinating group of prospects this year, and we can expect a lot of the races to be very, very tight.

But not the most recent one. The latest chapter of the CPL was a blowout, with 56 of the 69 votes going to one name in the four-player race. That prospect? Shortstop Jhonny Level, who has been voted as the No. 4 prospect in the system.

That’s a drop of one spot for Level, who was ranked No. 3 a year ago, and really, that tells you everything you need to know about the state of the farm. Level had an absolutely dreamy season, while one of the players ranked ahead of him last year (Bryce Eldridge) graduated from the system. And still, Level fell in the rankings.

And that’s how you know that things are changing ‘round these parts.

Level, a switch-hitter who signed in 2024 out of Venezuela, opened the season with Low-A San Jose, with the season starting just a few days after his 19th birthday. Hit hit the ground running with the Baby Giants and … well … he didn’t just hit the ground, he hit everything. In 44 games with San Jose, Level slashed .325/.392/.576 with 10 home runs, good for a .968 OPS and a 134 wRC+. He then took his talents to the Northwest League for 69 games with High-A Eugene, where his numbers stayed strong: a .302/.363/.473 slash line with eight home runs, an .836 OPS, and a 119 wRC+.

In addition to all those hits, homers, and walks, Level stole 26 bases on the season (though he was caught nine times), and played very strong defense at shortstop, while also getting a few reps at second base when splitting duties with Gavin Kilen during their brief overlap in the Pacific Northwest.

Those numbers all look fantastic, and even more fantastic when you account for Level’s defensive position, but they look even better when you contextualize his age: he was two years younger than his average peer in San Jose, and nearly three-and-a-half years younger when with Eugene. He was one of just three teenagers to log at least 100 plate appearances in the Northwest League and yet, despite that, made the All-Star team in the league. Perhaps even more critically, he was voted as the best MLB prospect in the league.

There’s really nothing that Level can’t do at this stage in his career. His contact skills are special, as he hit over .300 at both levels, and kept his strikeout rate well below 20%. He has some very impressive power, and is a good baserunner, while playing strong up-the-middle defense. There are a few things to work on (he’s a little bit of a free swinger, among other things), but really, the primary question with Level is the best question a prospect can have: can he keep this up against better competition? The answer to that question will determine whether Level flames out, survives, or becomes a star.

Given how strong he was in Eugene, and the length of his stay there, I would expect Level to open the 2027 season in AA. It’s possible that he’ll once again form a middle infield timeshare with Kilen there, though Kilen could very possibly begin the year in AAA. Either way, Level is one of the most must-watch prospects in 2027, because if he repeats his 2026 performance in the upper Minors, well … we’ve probably got a top-50 prospect on our hands.

Now let’s add to the list! We’ve got some new names to vote on, so head to the comment section to make your pick!

The list so far

1. Josuar González — SS
2. Jackson Flora — RHP
3. Luis Hernández — SS
4. Jhonny Level — SS

Note: Clicking on the above names will link to the CPL where they were voted onto the list.

No. 5 prospect nominees

Carson Bolemon — 19.7-year old LHP — yet to debut

JacobBresnahan — 21.4-year old LHP — 2.92 ERA/4.32 FIP in High-A (98.2 IP); 5.06 ERA/3.60 FIP in AA (16 IP)

ArgenisCayama — 20.1-year old RHP — 4.87 ERA/4.27 FIP in Low-A (57.1 IP)

BoDavidson — 24.3-year old OF — .861 OPS/122 wRC+ in AA (315 PA); .923 OPS/138 wRC+ in AAA (234 PA); .714 OPS/100 wRC+ in MLB (22 PA)

DakotaJordan — 23.5-year old OF — .879 OPS/125 wRC+ in High-A (355 PA); .697 OPS/87 wRC+ in AA (88 PA)

GavinKilen — 22.7-year old SS — .811 OPS/112 wRC+ in High-A (349 PA); .811 OPS/112 wRC+ in AA (143 PA)

RamonMarquez — 21.1-year old RHP — 1.86 ERA/2.67 FIP in Low-A (29 IP); 2.48 ERA/2.45 FIP in High-A (40 IP)

Note: Each player’s first name links to their Baseball-Reference page, and their last name links to their Fangraphs page.All stats are from the 2026 season.

For the first time in three years, there will be a change in the Dodgers coaching staff for 2027, as hitting coach Aaron Bates won’t return. Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors was first to report the coaching change, which was also reported by Maddie Lee of the Los Angeles Times, Jack Harris of the California Post, and others.

“The Dodgers offered Bates a multiyear contract to stay, but the two sides couldn’t agree to terms,” Dierkes wrote.

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman in his season-ending press conference at Dodger Stadium on October 21 was asked if there would be any coaching changes this offseason.

“I expect status quo,” Friedman said. “We’re still working through some things, but expect status quo.”

Bates, 42, was on the Dodgers major league coaching staff during the last eight seasons, including the last four as hitting coach along with Robert Van Scoyoc. Bates from 2019-22 held a dual role as assistant hitting coach on the major league staff and director of hitting for the minor league system.

As a player, Bates was a third-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in 2006 out of North Carolina State, and he played in five games in the majors for Boston in 2009. The corner outfielder and first baseman played for nine seasons in the minors, ending with 11 games for Double-A Chattanooga in the Dodgers’ system in 2014.

Bates was in the Dodgers organization for 13 years, including 12 years as a coach. Before joining the major league staff he was hitting coach in the Arizona Complex League in 2015 and 2016, then Class-A Great Lakes in 2017, before shifting to assistant hitting coordinator for the Dodgers minors.

Back-to-back Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal is a free agent this winter and will likely fetch the richest contract for a pitcher in Major League Baseball history, a mark currently held by the Los Angeles Dodgers' $325 million pact with Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Skubal, who turns 30 on Nov. 20, won the 2024 and 2025 AL Cy Young Awards with the Detroit Tigers and was traded to the Dodgers this summer with the Tigers anticipating they wouldn't be able to afford their homegrown lefty come winter.

Yamamoto's 12-year deal with the Dodgers upon his arrival from Japan broke the record set by Gerrit Cole, who agreed to a nine-year, $324 million contract with the New York Yankees prior to the 2020 season. Cole's deal was signed just days after Stephen Strasburg's $245 million contract temporarily was the largest in baseball history.

The biggest contract for a left-handed pitcher belongs to the New York Yankees' Max Fried, who signed an eight-year deal with the Yankees after the 2024 season.

With Skubal set to make history, here's a look at the biggest contracts for pitchers through the years:

Biggest MLB contracts for pitchers

1. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers — $325 million (12 years, 2024-2035)
2. Gerrit Cole, Yankees – $324 million (9 years, 2020-2028)
3. Stephen Strasburg, Nationals – $245 million (7 years, 2020-2026)
4. Max Fried, Yankees – $218 million (8 years, 2025-2032)
5. David Price, Red Sox – $217 million (7 years, 2016-2022)
6. Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers – $215 million (7 years, 2014-2020 extension)
7. Corbin Burnes, Diamondbacks – $210 million (6 years, 2025-2030)
8. Dylan Cease, Blue Jays – $210 million (7 years, 2026-2032)
9. Max Scherzer, Nationals – $210 million (7 years, 2015-2021)
10. Zack Greinke, Diamondbacks – $206.5 million (6 years, 2016-2021)
11. Jacob DeGrom, Rangers – $185 million (5 years, 2023-2027)
12. Blake Snell, Dodgers – $182 million (5 years, 2025-2029)
13. Justin Verlander, Tigers – $180 million (7 years, 2013-2019 extension)
14. Felix Hernandez, Mariners – $175 million (7 years, 2013-2019 extension)
15. Stephen Strasburg, Nationals – $175 million (7 years, 2017-2023 extension ... *** opted out after 2019)
16. Aaron Nola, Phillies – $172 million (7 years, 2024-2031)
17. Garrett Crochet, Red Sox – $170 million (6 years, 2026-2031 extension)
18. Carlos Rodon, Yankees – $162 million (6 years, 2023-2028)
19. Masahiro Tanaka, Yankees – $155 million (7 years, 2014-2020)
20. Jon Lester, Cubs – $155 million (6 years, 2015-2020

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The 20 biggest MLB contracts for pitchers with Tarik Skubal set to shatter record

As Matt laid out yesterday, there sure are a lot of rumors involving the Red Sox and shortstops, despite the fact that Franklin Arias is a shortstop with nothing left to prove in AAA. So what does that say about how the Sox view Arias? Maybe it doesn’t say anything than that they’re doing their due diligence. But here’s what the current dean of the Red Sox beat says about it in his offseason preview piece: “Some in the organization view Arias as almost untouchable. In a poor positional free agent class, however, the Sox are unlikely to keep Arias off-limits in trade talks, but they’d only consider dealing him for a star with multiple years of control.” (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)

Meanwhile, another Red Sox beat reporter thinks a big trade isn’t that likely this offseason. “Breslow has gone down the trade road a lot in his three previous offseasons as chief baseball officer. With the prospect haul that was sent to the Orioles for Adley Rutschman, this could be the year free agency is the option Breslow explores the most. Randy Arozarena, to me, would be the perfect fit in the middle of the batting order.” (Ian Browne, MLB.com) 

Amidst the relatively disappointing start of the “Big Three Era” (remember when it was briefly the “Big Four”?) it’s understandable that many fans harbor some scepticism about prospects like Arias. But it’s hardly time to close the book on Roman Anthony, who, through all the injuries, still showed plenty of signs of future stardom in 2026. (Brian Murphy, MLB.com)

Hopefully a full offseason of rest is enough for Anthony to put his wrist injuries behind him. If so, maybe he’ll appear on the list of Silver Slugger finalists next year. As it stands the Sox landed two players on that list: Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu, neither of whom has won the award before. (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)

But will Anthony, Contreras, and Abreu get any help in the lineup? Here’s a look at a few free agent names who might be a good fit for the Sox, starting with Seiya Suzuki. (Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic)

The Sox did actually make a significant signing yesterday, though not of the player personnel variety. Shelley Duncan, who, like Chad Tracy, has spent years as a AAA manager, has been added to Tracy’s big league coaching staff. (Sean McAdam, Chris Cotillo, MassLive)