Kyle Freeland taking the opening-day mound for a record third time seemed destined for the Colorado native, but it’s not one he’ll soon take for granted.

He knows what it’s like to fail in major league baseball. Manager Bud Black thinks he is pitching better than ever. And the southpaw once posted the best single-season earned run average in franchise history (2.85 in 2018).

Freeland is acting like a non-roster invite, and pushing for a greater arsenal despite an ironclad spot in Colorado’s rotation. He hopes an All-Star work ethic will produce his first appearance. If the rest of the Rockies turn back the clock with him, they may find new success.

It starts Thursday at Chase Field in Arizona.

“Everything in this game is earned, not given,” Freeland said. “You need to always make sure that you’re keeping that mentality. It feels like I’ve earned this position to be an opening-day starter, and (I’m) grateful that Buddy believed in me to be that guy.”

Freeland’s third opening day start in his first eight seasons comes with a milestone. He’ll tie Germán Márquez for the most in the organization’s history, and bring with him hope for better pitching in the future.

Part of the club’s inability to maintain an opening day starter is the difficulty of maintaining performance at Coors Field, and subsequently away from it on road trips.

Freeland learned how much the game can take away. It happened to him seemingly moments after his highest heights in baseball.

The 2.85 ERA the lefty carried in 2018 earned him a fourth-place finish in NL Cy Young voting; Jacob deGrom’s league-best 1.70 ERA and Max Scherzer’s 220 2/3 innings made winning it nearly impossible for a Rockies’ pitcher.

Freeland’s success led to Colorado’s success, and their second consecutive playoff trip together. It was also their most recent chance, and the five losing years since then showed how fickle the balance between one-year wonder and consistent performer can be.

A career-worst 6.73 ERA in 2019 relegated Freeland to a Triple-A Albuquerque demotion at one point. The 2019 season was his second time starting on opening day, but the high quickly faded.

Spring training has Freeland hopeful he and the team around him can finally break the trend and regain the 2018 form that led to a winning record and postseason.

“This clubhouse definitely reminds me of ‘17 and ‘18, where we had that great mix of guys and these young kids who are getting their feet wet or are established now,” Freeland said. “They remind me a lot of myself… And the guys (who) were on that team. I love our squad.”

Freeland’s holdover status from those teams will come in handy.

He is still only 30 years old but signed through 2026, and if he racks up more than 170 innings that year, an option vesting will add another. The next generation of Colorado baseball is being called up gradually, and Freeland, along with Charlie Blackmon and Kris Bryant, will be the pillars they lean on.

And he’ll do the same on their shoulders.

In 2023, Freeland was often let down. He received some of the league’s worst run support among starting pitchers. Gold Glove defense behind him at nearly every position helped, but his efforts were wasted when the offense stayed quiet.

Freeland lost a 6 1/3 inning start in July against San Francisco in which he allowed one earned run. He lost a seven-inning start against fellow bottom-of-the-league mate Kansas City in which he allowed two earned runs.

Instead of crumbling, he doubled down.

Freeland and his wife, Ashley, are avid cooks and changed up his diet. He added more red meat and built “good weight.” Maintaining his stature during the year has been a career-long problem, and a new diet has hopefully fixed it.

The dietary adjustments went alongside developing a changeup on the mound, too. The relatively new pitch could change the outlook of his arsenal if his renewed fastball — back up to 94 miles per hour in spring training after being an offseason focus — keeps pace.

When the day is over, they’re practicing new, pre-start sleeping measures too.

And the measures weren’t held under lock and key. During the offseason he worked with multiple Colorado players, including newcomer Cal Quantrill, to raise the standard in the clubhouse.

“It’s been a really good offseason, not only for me, but everyone who was down here working out,” Freeland said of the team’s offseason workouts in Arizona “My body feels really good, (my) arm feels fantastic. I’m excited to get things rolling.”

Quantrill quickly took notice of Freeland and the Rockies’ work ethic.

They aren’t a team content with losing, and doing so 103 times last year was a shock to the group’s collective system. Add in some new faces who have personal points to prove, and Colorado may find a scrappiness that can overcome youthful mistakes.

Freeland pledged to never lose his own chip.

The opening-day mound has belonged to Freeland three times. A postseason mound would mean even more.

Freeland is the face of a Rockies team that isn’t content.

Projected lineup: 

RF Charlie Blackmon

1B Kris Bryant

LF Nolan Jones

2B Brendan Rodgers

3B Ryan McMahon

C Elias Díaz

SS Ezequiel Tovar

DH Elehuris Montero

CF Brenton Doyle

Starting rotation: 

LHP Kyle Freeland

RHP Cal Quantrill

LHP Austin Gomber

RHP Ryan Feltner

RHP Dakota Hudson

Bullpen: 

LHP Jalen Beeks

RHP Peter Lambert

RHP Anthony Molina

RHP Jake Bird

RHP Nick Mears

RHP Victor Vodnik

RHP Tyler Kinley

RHP Justin Lawrence