A young Rockies pitcher gets roasted, a fledgling hitter strikes out three times with runners in scoring position and an inexperienced catcher throws the ball into left field.

“Growing pains,” general manager Bill Schmidt says.

“Baptism by fire,” manager Bud Black says.

They both knew it would be a difficult season, but they forecasted steady growth. For the record, I predicted a 72-90 record on the heels of back-to-back 100-loss seasons.

But so far, it’s been a Titanic-like disaster. I’m betting neither Schmidt nor Black expected the seas to be this rough.

The Rockies entered the weekend with a 4-20 record. They are keeping company with some historically bad teams. For example, the 2003 Tigers opened 3-21 and finished 43-119. The 2022 Reds opened 3-21 and finished with a record of 62-100. The ’24 White Sox began with a 3-21 record and finished 41-121, setting a modern-era record for losses in a season.

The infamous 1962 Mets of Casey Stengel, “Marvelous Marv” Throneberry and Choo-Choo Coleman finished with 120 losses, but at least they got out of the gate faster than the ’25 Rockies. The Amazin’s opened 7-17.

Why are the Rockies so bad? There are multiple reasons.

The young players have not progressed as quickly as the club had hoped. Many of them are simply not ready for prime time. Outfielder Zac Veen, called up because Jordan Beck was struggling so mightily, is now back at Triple-A Albuquerque, where he belongs. Veen was slashing .118/.189/.235 with one home run in 37 plate appearances. His strikeout rate was 37.8%. He remains an unsure outfielder.

Perhaps Beck, who hit three homers in Colorado’s doubleheader loss at Kansas City on Thursday, benefited from his early-season demotion to Triple-A. Perhaps.

Right-hander Chase Dollander, whom many have touted as Colorado’s ace of the future (myself included), is getting lit up. He’s got great stuff, but he’s quickly discovering that he can’t overpower or fool big-league hitters like he did while rocketing through the minors. After four starts, Dollander owns a 7.91 ERA, 1.707 WHIP, and has served up eight home runs. His baptism by fire has been a scorcher.

Three key injuries have contributed to the Rockies’ terrible start. Their two best players, center fielder Brenton Doyle and shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, have both been hurt. New second baseman Thairo Estrada, expected to provide a spark to the offense, has yet to play as he recovers from a fractured wrist.

Tovar, out with a bruised hip, was off to a sluggish start. He’s cut his strikeout rate to 18.6%, but he’s hitting just. .212 with a .506 OPS and no home runs. He’s already committed three errors in 16 games after making just eight errors in 157 games last season.

The Kris Bryant factor hasn’t been a factor at all. While Schmidt and Black continued to say a healthy Bryant would eventually provide quality at-bats, I never bought their optimism. Now Bryant’s hurt again, and there’s no telling when, or if, he’ll play again, though Bryant says he’s not ready to quit.

My three candidates for the Rockies’ MDP (Most Disappointing Player) are right-hander German Marquez, third baseman Ryan McMahon and first baseman Michael Toglia.

Marquez, returning from two years of elbow injuries, is throwing his fastball at 95.3 mph, right at his career average. But he’s not locating his fastball, and he’s getting bludgeoned. Opponents are hitting .345 against him, and he has a 2.02 WHIP. Little wonder his ERA is 9.30 after five starts.

McMahon, Colorado’s lone All-Star last season, appears to be pressing. In Wednesday’s loss at Kansas City, he struck out three times in a row — all looking. Perhaps he’s trying to carry the leadership load of the retired Charlie Blackmon. Whatever the reason, he’s off to a terrible start, slashing .176/.297/.282 with two homers. His strikeout rate is 38.6%, and his 39 Ks were the most in the National League entering the weekend.

After a solid end to his 2024 season, this was supposed to be T oglia’s breakout season. After all, he’s 26, played three years of college baseball at UCLA and was a first-round draft choice in 2019.

His time should be now. But I’m starting to wonder if he’ll ever figure it out. His long-levered swing is full of power — when he makes contact. But he doesn’t make contact often enough.

His strikeout rate is 42%, he’s hit one homer and driven in just six runs. He’s hitting .154 (2 for 13) with runners in scoring position. That’s not an aberration. His career average with runners in scoring position is .168 (27 for 161).

The Rockies’ miserable record doesn’t fall only on the players. Schmidt and his staff built the roster. Multiple times this season, the Rockies have been out-executed by the opposition, and that’s on Black and his staff. The Bryant fiasco rests on owner Dick Monfort’s shoulders.

There are plenty of reasons, and plenty of blame, for Colorado’s 4-20 record. The unanswered question is whether the Rockies will take any action to change things.

Want more Rockies news? Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis.