DENVER -- Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt didn’t have to see rookie Noah Davis give up an impressive three-run, second-inning home run to the D-backs’ Geraldo Perdomo during Saturday night’s 11-4 defeat to have a clear view of where the two teams stand in relation.

“Their guys are a year ahead or so, just put it that way,” Schmidt said.

The homer that put the Rockies down, 7-0, en route to their seventh straight Coors Field loss, illustrated the difference.

Perdomo debuted in 2021, and is in his second year on Arizona’s Opening Day roster. Last year, he hit .195 in 148 hard-knock games. Now he is hitting a blistering .390 after going 3-for-5 on Saturday for the National League West-leading D-backs, who have to prove they have the staying power to hang with the division’s predicted kingpins -- the Dodgers and Padres.

Davis, meanwhile, had two Major League starts before Saturday. He had his moments in those -- one earned run and 10 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings. But after Perdomo took him deep Saturday, Davis had given up seven runs, one on a bases-loaded walk. Davis’ night ended after that inning.

Outfielders Alek Thomas and Corbin Carroll and Perdomo are in-the-flesh talents, recent graduates from the prospect list. That’s a long way from those players leading the Rockies out of their current doldrums: 8-20 and last in the NL West after last year’s basement finish and four years out of the postseason.

For the D-backs, progress is exciting but uneven.

Carroll, who left after crashing into the left-field wall in the sixth, is batting .309 with four homers and 10 stolen bases. But Thomas is at .190 (he doubled Saturday). Lefty starter Tommy Henry pitched well early against a struggling Rockies lineup -- whose veterans aren’t producing power or runs -- but gave up four runs in 5 1/3 innings. Two other D-backs in the team's plans, outfielder Jake McCarthy and pitcher Drey Jameson, have been optioned to Triple-A.

“They have some young, athletic kids that you know, going into the year, they were ready to break out,” Schmidt said. “Some of our kids are High-A, Double-A, or Double-A and just getting to Triple-A.”

A couple of Rockies in Saturday’s lineup demonstrated, like young D-backs over the last couple seasons, that being in the Majors while on the prospect list is only a beginning.

Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, No. 22 on the MLB Pipeline Top 100 list, is hitting .200. But he knocked the Rockies’ first triple in 30 games (his first in the big leagues) before being erased at the plate trying to score on a short fly ball. He also made a standout defensive play on Emmanuel Rivera's grounder to end the seventh.

Center fielder Brenton Doyle, No. 16 among Rockies Pipeline prospects, ranged impressively to his left to nab Pavin Smith’s fly ball in the third, then allowed a single by the next batter, Rivera, to skip by him for his first Major League error five games into his career. He added an RBI and a stolen base.

This season has been increasingly devoted to development steps for starting pitchers Davis and Ryan Feltner, and they’ve seen increasing production from relievers Justin Lawrence and, especially in recent games, Jake Bird. As rough as Davis’ night was, the rookie (and possible future starter) who replaced him, righty Connor Seabold, held the D-backs to two runs and struck out three in 3 1/3 innings.

The Rockies have sent down Elehuris Montero after his struggles at third base, hoping his bat and a new position (first base) are his ticket. But Montero’s education process illustrates why the team doesn’t just throw all its prospects into the Majors, figuring things can’t be worse.

“You’ve got to make sure they’re ready to handle what’s going to be thrown at them. They’re playing well down there, but have they accomplished everything you’re looking for them to accomplish?” Schmidt said.

Development’s highs and lows bring Schmidt back to 2005. Then the scouting director, Schmidt was invited on the final road trip by general manager Dan O’Dowd. Young players who would be the core of the 2007 team that went to the World Series beat the Mets, 11-3, to finish 67-95.

“You could tell they didn’t want the season to end,” Schmidt said. “I remember me and Keli McGregor [the late club president] talking about it. He goes, ‘Something good is about to happen. I don’t know when.’

“Will it come when you want it to come? Not necessarily. There will be setbacks. Things don’t always go as planned. But you stay positive about what is coming as you try to build something.”