With 99 games remaining in 2026, the Rockies’ offense has a new focal point: Troy Johnston’s .320 batting average, the fifth-best in MLB and the highest mark a Colorado player has posted on June 5 since Nolan Arenado’s .343 in 2019. The surge arrives alongside
When Friday’s game time came around, the stat that stuck wasn’t a highlight reel — it was a number. Troy Johnston’s batting average sat at .320, leading the Colorado Rockies and putting him among the very best hitters in Major League Baseball.
The context around that average is exactly why it’s getting so much attention. With 99 games remaining this season. the Rockies are far enough into 2026 for trends to show — and what Colorado is seeing runs counter to last year’s roster reality. Two of the top hitters in 2026 weren’t on the team last season.
TJ Rumfield is first on the Rockies leaderboards in RBI (30) and tied for first with Hunter Goodman with an .819 OPS. He’s second in hits (63) and posts an average of .286, an on-base percentage of .359 and slugging percentage of .457. He’s also third in homers with eight. For May, Rumfield earned NL Rookie of the Month honors.
Johnston’s rise is different — and maybe more startling — because it started from a path that has been harder for other players to translate into MLB production. He arrived in Colorado in November after being waived by the Marlins. and before that he was more famous for his MiLB career than his MLB stint. By Friday, he’s leading Colorado in batting average (.320), hits (63), on-base percentage (.377) and doubles (17), with BABIP at .404 and xBA at .287. He’s also striking out less than your average Rockie at 20.4% and walking more than most at 7.4%.
Johnston’s .320 average matters for two specific reasons. First, it’s fifth-best in all of MLB, trailing league leader Otto Lopez of the Miami Marlins by .016 points. Second, it’s the highest a Rockie has had on June 5 since Nolan Arenado hit .343 in 2019. Arenado went on to finish that season with a .315 mark that was No. 5 in the National League.
Batting average isn’t valued the way it once was, and it doesn’t perfectly capture offensive talent. But it still means something real in a lineup built on hits. Colorado has struggled offensively over the last few seasons. and getting more hits is part of how the Rockies will have to turn the franchise around.
Colorado’s history has room for greatness in batting-title form, too. Since the Rockies expansion season in 1993, Rockies players have earned 11 NL batting crowns. Andrés Galarraga won in 1993 with a .370 season average. Larry Walker followed in 1998 with .363 and again in 1999 with .379. Todd Helton took the crown in 2000 with .372. In 2001, Walker hit .350 for the title.
Later runs included Matt Holliday’s .340 in 2007, Carlos González’s .336 in 2010, and Michael Cuddyer’s .331 in 2013. Justin Morneau won with .319 in 2014. DJ LeMahieu’s .348 carried the title in 2016. Charlie Blackmon’s .331 came in 2017.
Now the question is whether Johnston can get close to that kind of ceiling — or at least come close enough to be seriously discussed as a candidate again. Heading into Friday’s game, the Rockies are just under 40% of the way through 2026. Johnston is already playing 14 more games than he did in his 2025 rookie campaign. and the pace he’s setting puts him in territory the team hasn’t seen much from its own hitters recently.
To frame how unusual it is, the Rockies haven’t had a player named the NL Batting Champion in eight years. That’s why Johnston’s June 5 line is being treated like more than just an early-season number.
There’s still no guarantee. A .320 average can shift fast, and it’s already being compared to patterns players have shown before. Elias Díaz hit .309 and .306 in 2023 and 2024, respectively, before finishing those seasons at .267 and .265 with San Diego. Jose Iglesias started 2022 hot with a .314 start before cooling to .292 by season’s end.
On the optimistic side, Johnston’s batting average is closer to Charlie Blackmon’s at this point in the 2017 season. On June 5 that year, Blackmon — referred to as “Chuck Nazty” — was hitting .328, then finished with a .331 mark to win the NL batting crown.
The broader leaderboard tells its own story. The top NL batting average on June 5 in 2026 belongs to Otto Lopez at .336. The top AL batting average on June 5 is Yordan Álvarez at .316. The top Rockie on June 5 is Troy Johnston at .320. The NL batting title and AL batting title entries for 2026 remain TBD.
Other year comparisons show what can happen when early marks either hold or unravel. In 2025. the top NL average on June 5 was Freddie Freeman at .363. and the top AL average on June 5 was Aaron Judge at .392. with Freeman and Judge ending up with the kind of numbers that made them stand out. On the Rockies side in 2025, Hunter Goodman’s June 5 average was .281, and he finished the season with .278.
Batting average league-wide is also flatter than it was the year before. At this point in 2025, Aaron Judge was flirting with .400 and finished with a .392 mark, while Freddie Freeman posted .363. That difference helps explain why there wasn’t a Rockie in the running in 2025.
Still, Johnston has one more hurdle: the National League’s top averages right now. After Lopez sits Philadelphia’s Brandon March at .333. with San Francisco’s lineup featuring Luis Arráez and Jung Hoo Lee hitting .325 and .322. respectively. Johnston’s .320 would be tops in the AL, four points above Houston’s Yordan Álvarez.
The league math doesn’t change the daily grind for Rockies fans, though. Four months remain before end-of-season honors are decided, and anything can happen between now and September.
For the moment, the swing in momentum is visible in the standings. The Rockies are 24-39, and the team has doubled its win total from this time last season, when the Rockies were 12-51.
Come September, that gap is exactly what could make Johnston’s hot streak matter beyond a highlight. If he keeps reaching for it. there’s at least a possibility — not certainty. but a possibility — of a hitter pushing toward a batting-title conversation. Even if the title doesn’t land. fans are watching closely for the bigger sign of progress: the team’s first player to hit over .300 since 2019.
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Elsewhere in the minors on Thursday, the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees beat the Albuquerque Isotopes 15-3. Salt Lake scored five runs in the second and four in the third to pull away. All of Albuquerque’s scoring came in the fifth inning. when Nic Kent homered. Adael Amador hit a sac fly to score Cole Carrigg. and Vimael Machín singled to score Zac Veen. Carrigg and Veen led Albuquerque with two hits apiece.
In Double-A, the Hartford Yard Goats beat the Portland Sea Dogs 4-1. Konner Eaton advanced to 3-0 after pitching six strong innings. giving up only one run on three hits with seven strikeouts and three walks for Hartford. Austin Smith threw two scoreless innings for the hold and Andrew Baker added another scoreless frame for the save. Aidan Longwell hit a two-run homer in the fourth to help Hartford build a lead it never lost. Bryant Betancourt added a two-run single in the seventh for insurance. Andy Perez added two singles and scored a run and Roc Roggio doubled.
At High-A, the Spokane Indians beat the Hillsboro Hops 2-1. Jack O’Dowd’s season continued when he drew a bases-loaded walk for a walk-off win in the bottom of the ninth. The winning inning began when Kevin Fitzer led off with a single, but Kelvin Hildago popped out on a bunt. When Tommy Hofpe doubled, Fitzer was thrown out at home. With two outs. Jacob Humphrey drew an intentional walk before Ethan Hedges walked to load the bases for the winning walk. Spokane drew seven walks on the night, with three coming in the ninth. Lebarron Johnson Jr. gave up one run in five innings with four strikeouts. Fisher Jameson added three scoreless innings. and Robert Calaz singled to score Hedges in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game before the ninth.
In Low-A, the Lake Elsinore Storm beat the Fresno Grizzlies 10-4. Fresno committed five errors that led to two unearned runs. and Fresno’s offense wasn’t enough to close it out. Lake Elsinore scored on a fielder’s choice that scored Carlos Renzullo and a Kyle Fossum sac fly. Fresno cut the lead to 3-2 in the fourth. In the ninth. Roldy Brito hit an RBI double and Jeremy Ciriaco grounded out to score another run. but the rally came up short.
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Outside the scoreboard, the Rockies news feed carried major media changes and ongoing fan conversations. A post noting that Rockies beat reporter Patrick Saunders will leave Denver Post | Purple Row on June 24 came with a statement that his 20 years covering the Colorado Rockies include work at the Denver Post since 1998.
As All-Star voting begins. another item highlighted Hunter Goodman reflecting on his breakout All-Star season in 2025 and the challenges of 2026 when pitchers attack you differently. A separate story focused on a 28-year-old catcher named Kyle McCann. signed by the Rockies to a MiLB deal in the offseason. with a background that includes volunteering to catch when he was 12. playing in the A’s farm system. and playing in Mexico.
And in a national discussion item previewing the 2026 MLB trade deadline. a note said Jeff Passan’s early preview presented an optimistic tone about the Rockies under Paul DePodesta and argued Antonio Senzatela is the best player available. with a view that “nobody on their roster is untouchable” as long as the Rockies and Dick Monfort can “Actually rebuild correctly this time.”.
Colorado Rockies Troy Johnston TJ Rumfield Otto Lopez NL Rookie of the Month batting average June 5 stats MiLB Paul DePodesta Hunter Goodman