Colorado opened the unofficial second half of the season with an important homestand starting on Friday night as the Cincinnati Reds came to town.

Three games at Coors Field against the Reds followed by three against the Washington Nationals not only give the 39-59 Rockies a chance to start the second half off on the right foot, but also take more steps toward avoiding a fourth consecutive 100-loss season.

In the grand scheme of things, the difference between 99 and 100 losses in a campaign may be a bigger talking point outside of 20^th and Blake than inside the Rockies front office and clubhouse. The theme of “here for the climb” that is on a prominent banner as fans walk up from parking lots A and B and the continuous steps along that climb that show overall progress are the most important thing, according to manager Warren Schaeffer.

“Every night is a test. Every night is a challenge. It doesn’t matter who it’s against,” Schaeffer said. “It’s been a gradual climb the entire year. These guys know where they’re at and they want to get better. This is a team that wants to get better together and they commit to a plan every night. You’re seeing the result.”

Colorado was 22-74 at last year’s All-Star break and had 34 wins at the break in 2024 and 2023, so it’s clear progress is being made. However, Schaeffer also isn’t taking a victory lap for the Rockies’ first-half improvement, even though the numbers are there.

“We’re not happy with 39 wins in the first half,” Schaeffer said. “We know that we’re better than that and we can be better than that. And we will.”

So what does progress look like for the remaining 64 games of the season? Here are some ideas.

Get better in the close games

The Rockies ended the first half 14-14 in one-run games and 6-16 in games decided by two runs. It’s a step forward from last season when the Rockies went 18-23 in one-run games and 11-21 in two-run contests.

While it may be better, Schaeffer is pointing to that as a key talking point for the second half.

“We’re awfully close to turning those one-run losses into one-run wins in general as a team in the first half, and it takes certain things,” Schaeffer said. “Life doesn’t just happen like that. It takes certain things, small details that need to be focused on heavier moving forward. Late in the game, under stress, plays getting made to turn those one-run losses into one-run wins. Because this isn’t about getting close.”

Get some answers in the outfield

Colorado’s roster could look very different after the Aug. 3 trade deadline, and some of the additions and subtractions could come from the outfield where the Rockies seemingly have plenty of options but only three spots to fill.

Are Opening Day starters Brenton Doyle and Jordan Beck part of the future? We may be able to answer that question more after the trade deadline. If the Rockies do indeed make deals for Mickey Moniak and/or Jake McCarthy, that opens spots in the outfield where the currently injured Doyle or Beck (currently playing in Triple-A) could potentially slide back into the mix.

However, that could be at the cost of taking at-bats from prospects like Charlie Condon, Sterlin Thompson and Zac Veen, all of whom have been excelling in Triple-A.

If Thompson, Veen and/or Condon are really part of Colorado’s future, a glimpse of that could come in the final seven weeks of the season.

Figure out who will be in the 2027 rotation

As of right now, Colorado’s rotation has plenty of question marks for next season that could potentially be answered this year. For some of Colorado’s experienced starters, however, it gets a bit muddled.

Michael Lorenzen has a team option for 2027, and Kyle Freeland has a vesting option for next season (if he throws 82 more innings), but neither is guaranteed to be back in a Rockies uniform. Jose Quintana and Tomoyuki Sugano signed one-year deals that expire after this season and their futures in Colorado are uncertain as well.

What about Colorado’s younger potential starters? Chase Dollander will not be available at the start of the season after elbow surgery. That leaves Tanner Gordon and Gabriel Hughes on the current roster as the other less experienced options to fill a role in 2027.

Late-season innings for Gordon, Hughes and potentially Sean Sullivan (currently at Triple-A, but with five starts and an 8.87 ERA under his belt) could give a glimpse if any of them have the sticking power for the 2027 roster and beyond. Additionally, Triple-A pitchers Eiberson Castellano and Jake Brooks are names to keep an eye on as well.