The 2025 Colorado Rockies led in a number of categories that most MLB teams would prefer not to lead.
A case in point would be their Chase%, where the Rockies had an MLB-worst 31.7%. (The league average was 28.2%.) Learning to be more disciplined and discerning at the plate is a central challenge for the rebuilding Rockies.
Good news, everyone! There’s a plan.
Over the weekend, Rockies hitting coach Brett Pill explained how the Rockies intend to take on this challenge in the coming season; it involves using data, communication, and individualized instruction.
“Honestly, there’s no cookie-cutter-type approach to hitting,” Pill said. “You kind of take what the hitters do well and build on it, and then over time, closing up some of those weaknesses and things we can improve on.”
The approach varies depending on the issue and the player.
“You do that through stuff in the weight room and stuff with their swing and stuff with data,” Pill said. “So use every resource possible to help them have a solution for every type of pitcher and situation and thing they might encounter in the big leagues. It’s not always the best, sexiest answer.”
But it all starts with clear communication.
“Obviously, you’ve got to build relationships with each guy and know what makes them tick, what sports they played when they were younger. And so there’s a lot that goes into it.”
What about one of the first dragons the Rockies must slay, those unsightly chase rates? Pill sees a specialized, multi-pronged approach.
“Some guys, it could be an approach and what they’re looking for. Maybe they’re trying to hit every pitch the guy throws,” Pill said. “It could be mechanical. It could be how they’re moving at that certain point in time, which maybe we do stuff in the weight room for it.”
In addition to physical factors, players may need to address less-tangible issues.
“Obviously,” Pill said, “there’s an emotional part of chase, too. Sometimes you’re worried [the pitcher] might throw fastball middle-in, so you’re cheating. There’s an emotional-psychological aspect, too. Some guys sometimes get a little safe and actually swing and miss more. So some guys, you are are going to encourage, ‘Hey, let’s kind of let it go a little bit.’ Actually, (we’ve seen) a few different cases of that with different guys already, so it’s kind of cool to see. You try to get in there in different ways with different people, and hopefully on the whole general scale, it improves all that.”
Everything comes back to knowing players and providing personalized instruction.
“It’s not like a there’s a thing I can say on a whole team-wide scale that’s going to help the chase,” he said. “It’s you try to get in there in different ways with different people.”
Then there’s the matter of helping Rockies hitters learn to adjust to the challenges of elevation.
“I think most teams that come in see it as an advantage, so definitely need to keep that thought process at home: The ball does fly. It might move a little bit different,” Pill said. “So maybe the way we train before games, or how we visualize pitches we’re going to get will be a little different. The challenge seems to be when you leave there and then how balls are moving more.”
And he’s been working with some seasoned Rockies veterans.
“There’s a lot of good people here who went through it, like Charlie Blackmon, Matt Holliday — a lot of people who I’ve have already been been talking to and listening to the players, too, about it.”
He added, “Obviously (assistant hitting coach) Jordan Pacheco went through it. So I’m leaning on them a lot, to be honest. I think we’re going use it to our advantage at home, and then we’ll figure it out on the road.”
Pill especially enjoys the teaching component of coaching.
“It’s just constant teaching,” he said. “Even today in some of the live at-bats, it’s like, ‘Hey, what were you thinking on this pitch?’ How can we get ahead of that and give a feedback loop to it, constantly teaching and learning from them.”
Like the best teachers, Pill sees himself as a lifelong learner.
“I don’t want to sit here and say I’m going to teach them everything,” Pill said. “I’m going to learn from them — maybe things I learned from the players, I apply to other guys in the future. So that’s why I love it so much. It’s just constantly helping guys get better because I remember being like an up-down guy and trying to break in. I had a lot of good coaches, too, but sometimes, you wish you just someone was always there with you every step of the way.”
He also shares manager Warren Schaeffer’s commitment to connection and communication.
“You might have the best info ever,” Pill said, “but if they don’t really feel that connection and know that you want the best for them and know that you’re at home thinking about ways to get them better every night, it doesn’t really hit.”
Then there’s the matter of working with a young team.
“They’re all physically gifted,” Pill said. “It’s honestly kind of crazy to come in here, and I feel like I’m looking up at everyone, and they’re all really strong and fast, and so there’s a lot of really good athletes.”
Prior to joining the Rockies, Pill was a hitting coach in the Los Angeles Dodgers minor-league system.
Third baseman (and long-time denizen of the Dodgers clubhouse) Kyle Karros is happy to see Pill on the Rockies coaching staff.
“I’ve done a lot of work with [Pill], our hitting coach,” Karros said. “He’s obviously one of those guys who came over from the Dodgers, and we’ve been seeing eye-to-eye a ton. I’m hitting the ball harder than I’ve ever hit it. Things are going really well offensively for me so far. So I really like what we’re doing.”
Some of what he learned from the Dodgers, Pill’s bringing with him to Colorado.
“They obviously do some really good things on the game-planning side, preparing for pitchers, obviously really good there. So [we’ll] use some of that stuff here, in addition to what they’ve already been doing.”
Then he added, “But the main thing over there, as far as with player development, was being extremely curious and creative and, again, not just going by the standard stuff. So that’s what I hope to bring here and inspire people to do, too, is just be obsessive with trying to get people better, use every avenue possible, and just never stop grinding.”
In moving the Rockies, Pill will continue working with former Dodger and current general manager Josh Byrnes, who, as Pills puts is, “is invested in hitting and knows his stuff.”
“When I heard he wanted to bring me along over here,” Pill said, “it was definitely hard to pass up because he’s great. He remembers everything he’s ever seen on a baseball field. I pick his brain all the time.”
Schaeffer is positive about what Pill brings to the Rockies.
“He’s fantastic,” Schaeffer said. “He has a really, really solid background. He has just been fantastic so far in there in terms of his preparation and what he’s working with the guys on.”
Plus, for Schaeffer, Pill’s outside perspective plus Pacheco’s inside knowledge give the Rockies a powerful combination.
“It’s important to have a balance. (Getting) outside ideas from from Pill is going to be a huge, huge factor, in terms of everything, actually — in terms of how you teach hitting, in terms of culture, the whole thing.”
He concluded, “It’s going to be a good combo.”
This week on the internet
That is all.
Which teams improved the most this winter? | MLB.com
Mike Petriello gets it (and what’s a reasonable expectation for a rebuilding team).
Offseason grades for all 30 MLB teams | The Ringer
Anthony Dabbundo, not so much.
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