Denver Post sports writer Patrick Saunders with the latest installment of his Rockies Mailbag.
Pose a Rockies — or MLB — related question for the Rockies Mailbag.
What is going on with the Rockies hitters and the strikeouts? They already don’t hit for power, but don’t make contact either. I understand having young guys, but other teams do too, and don’t seem to swing and miss at the rate the Rockies do. Wasn’t Hensley Meulens brought in to address this?
— Jason, Tulare, Calif.
Jason, you’re correct, the strikeouts are through the roof, especially on the road. We saw that last weekend at Dodger Stadium, which is a graveyard for Rockies hitters. I received numerous emails and several Rockies Mailbag questions about the topic.
The Rockies struck out 49 times while being swept by the Dodgers in a four-game series. That was the third-most Ks in club history for a four-game series. They walked just twice, their second-fewest in a four-game set. The Rockies’ most strikeouts in a four-game set? Fifty-four, in 2015. The fewest walks? One, in 2020. The site? Dodger Stadium.
This season, the Rockies’ strikeout rate is 25.5%, the third highest in the majors behind the Twins (27%) and the Mariners (26.1%). On the road, the Rockies have fanned 639 times, and only the Twins (655) have more.
And to your point, Colorado had hit 118 home runs entering Tuesday’s play, the seventh-fewest in the majors. The Twins, however, had hit 164, the seventh-most, while the Mariners had hit 142, the 13th-most. In other words, the Rockies aren’t getting much bang for their big swings and misses.
Meulens was brought in to make the team better offensively, but he’s battling a long tradition of road futility. I’m not making excuses for the Rockies but the disparity between hitting at Coors Field vs. on the road is always going to be an issue. In 2021, Colorado hit .217 on the road, .225 in 2022, and this season the road average is .231.
Playing so many young players is part of the reason for the high strikeout rate. Manager Bud Black calls it “growing pains” or “baptism by fire.” Maybe youth is the main reason for the high Ks, but Colorado’s strikeout rates are alarming and it makes you wonder if some of these “kids” will ever figure it out.
Here are the strikeout rates for some of the Rockies’ young players: Elehuris Montero (40.5%), Brenton Doyle (36.7%), Michael Toglia (35.5%) and Nolan Jones (34.6%). And veteran third baseman Ryan McMahon’s K-rate is 30.7%.
For the record, the league average is 22.6%.
Would the Rockies ever trade Kyle Freeland? I think Kyle could be a great starter for a good team. Would he ever ask for a trade?
— Dorothy Star, Frisco
Dorthy, I have never asked Freeland this question, so this is just my opinion. I know he’s frustrated by the constant losing but I don’t think he would ask for a trade out of his native Colorado. He wants to win here, which is part of the reason why he signed a five-year, $64.5 million contract in April of 2022.
And, truthfully, I’m not sure another team would pick up Freeland’s contract in a trade. Let’s face it, as much as we all admire Freeland’s gutzy presence on the mound, he has a 4.94 ERA with 1.460 WHIP this season.
How hard is it emotionally and mentally for a competitor like Bud Black not to have winning as his No. 1 priority? The last game in Milwaukee was a good example. If (the Rockies) are in the playoff chase, Chris Flexen doesn’t come out for the fifth inning. He was OK through four but gave up the two runs on solid hits. Out of contention and needing to find out what he can do, you have to send him back out in the fifth and let him work his way out of it even after giving up the first home run.
— John Axtell, Chadron, Neb.
John, a couple of points.
One, I’m glad you recognize Black’s competitiveness. A lot of fans don’t see that, or sense that, because of his positive personality in front of the TV cameras.
Two, I’ve asked Black, a number of times, how he’s dealing with all of the losses. He’s frustrated, for sure, but he’s keeping an even keel. He realizes that he can only work with the talent he’s got, and he understands that his role during the second half of the season is to give this roster a test drive and see if he can help develop some young players.
Hi Patrick, I’m looking back at our recent history and it feels like after the 2018 season, our team just crumbled. How different do you think we would be today if we had re-signed DJ LeMahieu, Gerardo Parra and Carlos Gonzalez? I know CarGo’s numbers were falling, but it feels like losing some of those key guys in the clubhouse set in motion the eventual departures of Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story. Hey, if we kept the momentum going for a little longer, anything could’ve happened in that abbreviated 2020 season.
— Mark, Arvada
Mark, I agree with you — sort of.
I definitely believe that the Rockies made a huge mistake by not re-signing LeMahieu. I don’t believe trying to hang on to CarGo or Para would have been wise because both players were fading veterans.
But given the nucleus of that 2018 team, if owner Dick Monfort had given the green light for general manager Jeff Bridich to be aggressive and acquire some high-end talent, the Rockies could have won in 2019-20. Arenado signed his eight-year, $260 million contract in February 2019 but the Rockies did not add any free-agent talent to the team the next offseason.
With that, Colorado’s window to win slammed shut. So here we are, five losing seasons later, with no playoff shot on the horizon.
Patrick, it was great to see the Rockies finally do something at the deadline and I know I’m not the only one wondering why even more wasn’t done for such a mediocre team. Do you have any insight as to why we didn’t move Brent Suter and Elias Diaz, arguably two of the more valuable pieces on the team this year? Also, is it a coincidence that our trades were with the same two teams? And lastly, do teams low-ball the Rockies or do you think our moves were good market return moves? Thank you as always!
— Gideon G., Denver
Gideon, from what I have been told, there were no legitimate offers for either Diaz or Suter. The Rockies did come close to trading outfielder Jurickson Profar.
I don’t think the Rockies were “low-balled” in these trades. Also, it’s not unusual for certain teams to make deals with certain other teams. Relationships between front offices and general managers determine a lot of moves.
In regard to the trades, time will tell if the moves work out for the Angels, Braves or Rockies.
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