Amid tough start, Rox 'look forward to moving forward'

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DENVER -- General manager Bill Schmidt didn’t like the course in which the Rockies were heading, but he believes the players that began this season in rough waters will find their way eventually.

Forever front-man Clint Hurdle replaced Hensley Meulens as hitting coach on Thursday amid a Majors-worst 3-15 start and some of the most ineffective offensive numbers in the game.

Schmidt entered the year with eyes open to the possibility of struggle from a daily lineup that can include as many as five players who haven’t spent a full year in the Majors. But a team with the second-most strikeouts (195) in the Majors entering Thursday, tied for the second-fewest home runs (12) and holding the sixth-lowest OPS (.622) was not what he envisioned. So, the move to replace Meulens occurred after days of internal discussions.

The path is still the same, and Schmidt likes the way the players work under manager Bud Black, so the hitting coach was the only major change in response to Colorado's start.

The team will likely keep getting younger and keep playing inexperienced players alongside some expected leaders (third baseman Ryan McMahon, shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and center fielder Brenton Doyle), all the while hoping veteran Kris Bryant finds the back health that he hasn’t had four seasons into his seven-year, $182 million contract.

But it has to get better. The Rockies’ start, following the first two 100-plus-loss seasons in club history, is wearing the patience of the fans. Schmidt isn’t enjoying it, either.

“I believe in what we’re doing,” Schmidt said. “We’re not happy with our start by any means. The front office, the players, this was not our expectations. But we’re going to grind through it. It’s a long season. I still think good things are going to happen.

“I look forward to moving forward.”

So, let’s look at where the Rockies are right now:

The new, struggling generation
When the Rockies went to the postseason in 2017, the lineup included All-Star types like Charlie Blackmon, Nolan Arenado, DJ LeMahieu, Trevor Story and Carlos González. Veteran pickup Mark Reynolds hit 30 home runs that season, and Ian Desmond, former GM Jeff Bridich’s oft-criticized signing, had 22 home runs and 88 RBIs in 2018.

That lineup crumbled amid trades, free-agent departures and retirements. A draft-and-develop team needs homegrown stars to step in, but not enough such players emerged. Top picks David Dahl (a 2019 All-Star appearance) and Brendan Rodgers (a Gold Glove Award winner in 2022) had moments, but they were non-tendered, while Nolan Jones (a poor 2024 following a breakout ‘23 season) was traded when it was determined he would not be a foundational piece.

Recent drafts have seen multiple position players’ paths delayed by injury (same with pitching). And beyond Tovar -- who was an immediate hit -- and Doyle -- who struggled offensively as a rookie in 2023 but blossomed last year (he won Gold Gloves each year) -- the players that have been introduced are taking baby steps rather than taking off.

But in looking at the past, Arenado and Story were the only immediate stars. Blackmon didn’t appear in anywhere near half a season's games his first three years because of injuries, LeMahieu appeared in just 81 games his first full year with the Rockies and then-manager Jim Tracy had to ignore calls to stick González in Triple-A when he was struggling.

This year, the service time of second baseman Adael Amador (the club’s No. 7 prospect, per MLB Pipeline), outfielder Zac Veen (Colorado’s No. 8 prospect), catcher Hunter Goodman and outfielder Jordan Beck (optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque after a poor start) is measured in days, rather than years, and much of the one-plus year of service time for outfielder Sean Bouchard was spent on the injured list in 2023. First baseman Michael Toglia was around for the previous three years, but he entered this season with barely over a year of Major League service time.

Veen (a first-round Draft pick in 2020), Amador and outfielder Benny Montgomery (a first-round Draft pick in '21) have all dealt with injuries.

“They have to come into their own,” Schmidt said. “You have multiple kids, and you raise them the same, but they don’t develop at the same rate. These young players, we want them to develop. But I don’t want to be disappointed because they’re not going to come when I want. They’re going to come when they’re ready to come.”

Why wait?
The Rockies’ strongest teams have been largely homegrown. They don’t package prospects and young players for experienced players. The philosophy means the aforementioned young players will have to turn the corner like the stars of the past.

Schmidt didn’t go into specifics, however …

The Rockies prefer signing young players and building around them. That’s why Tovar, 23, is in the second year of a seven-year, $63.5 million deal. It’s a club-friendly deal that many teams would covet, but don’t expect Colorado to deal him for a bunch of younger players.

Can the Rockies increase the talent level via trades? Other teams have expressed interest in McMahon in the past, and right-hander Germán Márquez (in the last year of his two-year contract) could be a trade piece at some point. But it’s difficult to see a major deal that changes the emphasis on development.

State of starting pitching
The Rockies absolutely squandered the sub-2.00 rotation ERA from the season’s early days. Lately, experienced rotation members Kyle Freeland, Antonio Senzatela, Ryan Feltner and Márquez have had downs, but are expected to have ups.

But the starting rotation has taken a look at the future with the arrival of righty Chase Dollander (the Rockies’ top prospect and No. 23 overall), who has looked the part in his first two starts.

“He has all the characteristics you’re looking for,” Schmidt said. “Now it’s developing that at the Major League level through experience.”

Almost freakishly, a brigade of high picks and coveted signings went through a Tommy John surgery epidemic, but righty Gabriel Hughes (Colorado’s No.16 prospect, who has a 2.25 ERA in two starts with Double-A Hartford) and others are back on the mound, reserving their learning curves.

With no major trades on the horizon and with free-agent pitchers avoiding the Rockies and Denver’s altitude as a matter of policy, the pitching (like the hitting) has to come from within.

In all, there is a major change in the voice for the hitters. But the Rockies’ thought that this would be a year of growth remains.

But they have to put an end to the backsliding.