Rockies Mailbag: One baseball person’s plan to turn things around in Colorado

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.

Hi Patrick! Longtime fan of the mailbag. I have been boycotting this team since watching upper management squander DJ LeMahieu, Troy Tulowitzki and Nolan Arenado, and getting nothing back for any of them. In my view, it doesn’t matter what hot young prospects we hit on; ownership and our general manager don’t know how to build a franchise in the most basic ways. Given that, what hope is there that Dick Monfort sells the team (none?) or appoints a qualified outsider as head of baseball operations (as opposed to organizational nepotism)? How bad would things have to get? They can’t get much worse!

— Sam, Denver

Sam, I’ve had recent conversations with several people who used to be with the organization and genuinely care about the Rockies. They are discouraged and embarrassed about what’s happening.

Knowing that Dick Monfort is not going to sell the team and is also reluctant to make sweeping changes, one savvy baseball person offered suggestions. According to him, the Rockies should:

• Hire a strong, independent baseball mind from outside the organization to do a thorough evaluation of the franchise.

• Examine all departments, including front office, scouting, manager, player development, big-league coaching, analytics, and even ticket sales.

• Evaluate the organization for the remainder of the season and then implement necessary changes.

• Hire a new team president to oversee baseball operations; someone who has the power to take most baseball decisions out of Monfort’s hands. Perhaps the new president is the person hired to evaluate the organization, or maybe it’s someone else.

Hey Patrick, I’m a lifelong Rockies fan and recently, as I think we all can agree, it’s been quite disheartening.

I love our players, our ballpark, and childhood memories with my family at 20th and Blake. Now I proudly represent Colorado in New York City amongst a sea of Yankees and Mets fans. However, lately I’ve been asking myself: Who am I rooting for?

It’s feeling like I am rooting for an organization that doesn’t care about me as a fan at all. Which leads me to my ultimate question: What can we, as fans, do? I’ve heard whispers about boycotting games. I’ve refrained from buying a sleek new City Connect jersey until I feel the team is headed in a better direction in order to “vote with my dollar,” but even that all feels pointless.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Somebody has to change something: Could the fans be the ones to inspire a more competitive culture? Can we demand that ownership increase the analytics department?

Thanks for your time!

— Erik, New York City

Erik, I don’t usually respond to such lengthy opinions/questions. However, you effectively summarize the feelings of many fans who have reached out to me.

I don’t have any real answers to your questions. I am not an advocate of boycotting the team because it would hurt the workers at Coors Field, as well as the businesses around the ballpark. Also, it’s not my place to tell fans how to spend their money, but I completely understand why some fans have given up on a team on its way to a seventh consecutive losing season and started this season 4-24 through Monday night.

Should the Rockies increase the size of their analytics department? Yes. However, I’m unsure how anyone can “demand it.”

Zac Veen is now performing worse, statistically speaking, than Jordan Beck, the man who was sent down to create room for Veen. Should we expect the two of them to change places again? Question two: Do you have any good news to share about Thairo Estrada’s status?

— John Godfrey, Sebastopol, Calif.

John, your question was submitted before the Rockies recalled Beck and sent Veen back down to Triple-A Albuquerque.

It was clear that Veen was not ready to face major league pitching. The Rockies knew that but when Beck struggled so mightily to begin the season, the club figured promoting Veen was worth a shot. Let him test the waters.

But Veen was consistently getting beaten by fastballs up in the zone. In 12 games, he hit .118 with one home run and two RBIs. He struck out 14 times in 37 plate appearances (37.8%). He was also unsteady in the outfield. The demotion to Triple-A was needed.

Beck seemed to have found his swing during his short stint with the Isotopes. When he returned, he was timing up fastballs much better and put together a nice hot streak, getting a hit in six of eight games, batting .346 (9 for 26) with one triple, five home runs and nine RBIs.

At this point, Beck is a better overall player than Veen.

As for Estrada, he was recently placed on the 60-day injured list, but he’s making steady progress as he recovers from his fractured wrist. I don’t have an exact timetable for his return, but it will be in May.

Like many, I have been shocked at the inability of many Rockies players to make contact with fastballs in the strike zone that are catching a good chunk of the plate. We know they can’t acquire good hitters (Kris Bryant, Daniel Murphy, Ian Desmond …) but do you have any sense on if the failure of young Rockies hitters is more from a scouting/drafting side or does it have more to do with a failure to coach and develop players along the way? Or will we forget this question when Zac Veen, Jordan Beck and Michael Toglia are 2026 All-Stars?

— Isaac Bowen, Fort Collins

Isaac, the Rockies’ inability to hit fastballs and put the ball in play is maddening, to you, me, manager Bud Black, the front office, etc. The Rockies’ 28.3% strikeout rate is the highest in baseball.

In comparison, the Padres’ strikeout rate is 18.4% and the Dodgers’ is 22%. Plus, the Dodgers have hit 46 home runs vs. 24 by the Rockies.

It’s a massive problem without a simple solution. Perhaps Clint Hurdle, the new interim hitting coach, can make a difference, but he won’t turn things around in a few months.

In my opinion, the Rockies have done a poor job of drafting players who profile well at Coors Field. Or, if they did pick the right players, those players haven’t developed as the team hoped at the major league level.

However, make no mistake, the players themselves must also be held accountable. There is a stubbornness, or simply an inability, among many players to make the necessary adjustments. Michael Toglia and Ryan McMahon come to mind. Brenton Doyle is an exception. After a tough 2023 season (.203 average, 10 home runs, 35.0% K rate), he made significant adjustments in his swing and improved dramatically in 2024 (.260, 23, 25.4%)

Is Scott Servais a candidate to replace Bud Black?

— Garland McGarvey, Coon Valley, Wis.

I have not heard that. Nor have I heard that Black will be fired, though it wouldn’t shock me or anybody if he is. I have no idea if Servais would be a good fit for the rebuilding Rockies.

I would think that if the Rockies are going to make significant changes, both general manager Bill Schmidt and Black would be fired, a new GM would be hired, and he would play a major role in hiring the next manager. That would be the logical way to do it — if the Rockies clean house.

By the way, Servais was in his ninth season with Seattle when he was fired by the Mariners last August. He was the majors’ second-longest-tenured manager with the same team, along with the Dodgers’ Dave Roberts, and behind only the Rays’ Kevin Cash. Servais was 680-642 with the Mariners.

What is going on with Michael Toglia? The strikeouts are high, of course. However, it looks worse with the at-bats he’s giving. Is he being too stubborn to make adjustments to increase his contact rate? Lastly, if improvements do not materialize, is there any chance the Rockies could move on from him next season?

— Jason, Visalia, Calif.

Jason, great question. I’ve been hard on Toglia because he has so much potential. The Rockies believe that, too. The fact that he’s a terrific first baseman and a switch-hitter makes him a tantalizing talent who has a lot left to prove.

Toglia has hit much better lately. Over his last 10 games (entering Tuesday night), he was slashing .294/.342/.412 with one home run and six RBIs. His strikeout rate was 23.7%.

However, for the season, Togila is slashing .214/.257/.316 with two home runs, 11 RBIs and a strikeout rate of 39%.

Toglia has a long swing and “long levers,” so he is strikeout-prone. I do believe he’s stubborn, especially when it comes to shortening his swing and altering his two-strike approach.

With the hiring of Clint Hurdle, is it possible he’s being put in the position to take over as manager, perhaps as an interim bridge to a new manager or a more permanent one?

— Colin Orr, Castaic, Calif.

Colin, there was a lot of speculation about that when Hurdle was hired as the interim hitting coach, replacing Hensley “Bam Bam” Meulens. It’s possible that Hurdle could step in as manager if Bud Black is fired, but I don’t believe that’s the reason Hurdle was hired. I also don’t think Hurdle wants to be the manager of the future, nor do I think he should be. If Black does get fired, the Rockies need to hire someone from outside the organization.

What letter grade do you give the Rockies for their effort and record after one month of the season? Better yet, why that grade?

— Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.

Ed, the effort is a solid B. The players are trying hard, but the team lacks talent and experience. The results are a solid F. There is no other grade you can give a team that opened the season 4-24, joining the 2003 Tigers, 1988 Orioles and 1936 St. Louis Browns as the only teams since 1901 to lose at least 24 of their first 28 games.

After 32 years, assuming the Monforts keep control of the team, what year would you honestly predict that they will first win the division? What odds would make you want to bet that they will EVER win the division under current ownership?

— WGLarry, Denver

WG, or is it Larry? Anyway, that’s a loaded question. I have no crystal ball, so let me put it this way: The Rockies’ best shot to win a division title would come sometime in the 2030s when, or if, Major League Baseball expands to 32 teams and realigns the divisions. If the Rockies were no longer in the NL West with the Dodgers, perhaps they could win their first division title.

Is it tough to report on a team that is this bad year in and year out?

— Rece Lampe, Fort Collins

Rece, the answer is yes, for several reasons. First of all, when a team is as bad as the Rockies have been, interest (and readership) goes down. Secondly, most players, who are already guarded when talking to the media, become even more guarded. Plus, it’s challenging to find players to talk to in a losing clubhouse. Third, it’s not nearly as much fun to write about a losing team. Ultimately, covering baseball is a grind, regardless of a team’s performance.

Having said all of that, I have to remind myself that I have a pretty cool job. I was reminded of that on Monday night when I took a group of University of Colorado students to the game at Coors Field (I teach a sports journalism class at CU). Witnessing their level of excitement reminded me that I have a cool job. But it would undoubtedly be more fun covering a 100-win team versus a 100-loss team.

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