Brenton Doyle already has a Gold Glove in his trophy cabinet. A shiny bat sure would make for a nice, complementary addition.
Indeed, winning a Silver Slugger award would make the Rockies’ young center fielder a bonafide All-Star. At the very least, marked improvement at the plate by Doyle would add punch to the club’s heretofore punchless lineup.
But hold on. Pump the brakes. There’s much work to be done — as Doyle’s .203/.250/.343 slash line as a rookie last season illustrates.
“I think his potential is a lot higher than what we saw last year,” hitting coach Hensley Meulens said as the team opened spring training. “His last month of the season gives us a lot of hope that there’s a lot more in there. I’m not sure where he’s going to end up, but hopefully, with the adjustments he’s making, he’ll show us more of what he could be.”
Doyle hit .186 (57 for 307) through his first 100 career games through August. It wasn’t pretty. But from Sept. 1 through the end of the season, he hit .261 (24 for 92), ending his rookie campaign with a five-game hitting streak in which he went 7 for 20 with seven RBIs.
“My offseason was about my offense,” Doyle said. “I’ve been working to make my swing as efficient as possible and increase my contact rate.”
The statistics spell out his inefficiency as a rookie: a 34.9% strikeout rate that was the highest in the majors (minimum 400 plate appearances), and it was a jarring 40.9% through Sept. 4 before he appeared to start figuring things out. He whiffed just 25% of the time over his last 22 games.
“For a guy like me who prides himself on defense, winning a Gold Glove is the biggest award you can achieve,” Doyle said. “Offensively, it was a big game of adjustments for me throughout the year. I had some lows but I feel like I kind of finished on a high note.”
The 25-year-old was a marvel in center field last season, becoming the first National League rookie outfielder in history to win a Gold Glove. He became just the second Colorado rookie to win a Gold Glove, joining third baseman Nolan Arenado, who snagged the first of his 10 Gold Gloves in 2013.
Doyle is also a speed burner and excellent baserunner. His 29.9 mph average sprint speed was the seventh-fastest in the majors, according to Baseball Savant, and his 22 stolen bases were the second-most by a rookie in Rockies history, trailing only Dexter Fowler, who swiped 27 in 2009.
What’s more, Doyle, who stands 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, hit 10 home runs from the bottom of the order, showing that he has some pop in his bat.
“The one thing you can’t teach is power,” Meulens said. “He’s got raw power and he’s a big kid. He’s strong and he’s fast and hopefully, you will see more power if he makes more contact.”
To increase his contract rate and reduce his high chase rate, Doyle worked this offseason with Kevin Lachance, a hitting instructor with Complete Game, a baseball academy in northern Virginia. Lachance recently joined the Dodgers organization as a hitting coach.
“This offseason was big on working on my early barrel connection, which is part of the swing right before the barrel (of the bat) gets into the zone,” Doyle explained. “I was working to keep it tight and efficient. And I’ve been training my eyes on a bunch of different pitch variances off of the machine. Now I’m getting some live at-bats at spring training.”
Rockies center fielder Brenton Doyle celebrates after scoring the winning run on a wild pitch against the Minnesota Twins in the 11th inning at Coors Field on October 01, 2023.(Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Meulens, who kept in close touch with Doyle and Lachance during the offseason, was encouraged by Doyle’s improvement at the tail end of 2023.
“We saw some flashes in September where we saw Brenton taking more pitches, chasing less, driving pitches that he likes,” Meulens said.
The next step: Establish a consistent and repeatable swing and improve Doyle’s pitch recognition.
“There is a mechanism for every good hitter where they have a little pause in their approach, where they wait for the pitch to get the zone,” Meulens explained. “Otherwise, you look like you are fooled every time, swinging before the ball gets there.
“That’s the separation part that’s built into everybody’s swing, and Brenton just needs to focus on that. A lot of times last year, Brenton was out in front of breaking balls or was chasing breaking balls because he started his swing too soon. It was hard for him to lay off or wait.
“All of the work he’s doing is going to buy him time at the plate. You want to slow everything down instead of speeding things up.”
During an 0-6 road trip through San Diego and Chicago in mid-September, as the Rockies stumbled toward their 103-loss season, Doyle was a rare bright spot. He hit 6 for 20 (.300) with two doubles and a triple.
“These are growth moments for him,” manager Bud Black said at the time. “We’ve talked about it both ways; when guys get hits, when guys don’t maybe come through. These experiences will help him in the future in situations like that.”
Doyle, drafted in the fourth round out of Shepherd University in 2019, showed he could hit in the minor leagues. He slashed .287/.347/.496 with 55 homers in three minor-league seasons, including 23 homers in 123 games at Double-A Hartford in 2022.
Now he must prove himself at the highest level.
“With big-league pitching, you get exposed pretty quick,” Doyle said. “You have guys who study their scouting reports and they really know how to attack you. There are a lot fewer mistake pitches to hit in the big leagues.
“So I have to do my homework and be prepared for what’s coming at me. I’ll keep working my (tail) off, no doubt about that.”
Rockies’ projected 2024 opening day lineup
A lot can happen between now and March 28 when the Rockies open the 2024 regular season against the defending National League champion Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Injuries, breakout performances, big disappointments, and even trades can alter a club’s near future.
But here is a projection of the Rockies’ opening-day lineup:
DH Charlie Blackmon: Sidelined with a broken hand from June 11-Aug.14, Blackmon hit .279 with eight home runs last year. The 37-year-old signed a one-year, $13 million contract at the end of last season. This could be his last hurrah.
1B Kris Bryant: After two injury-plagued seasons, Bryant is hoping to stay on the field this season and produce. In 80 games last season, he slashed .233/.313/.367 with 10 home runs. The Rockies need a whole lot more from KB.
LF Nolan Jones: A possible star in the making, Jones slashed .297/.389/.542 and hit 20 homers in 106 games after getting called up from Triple-A Albuquerque. Can he handle the pressure of hitting third?
3B Ryan McMahon: He’s Gold Glove worthy at the hot corner and he’s got pop in his bat — his average home run distance of 420 feet tied with Ronald Acuña Jr. for second in the majors last season. But his 31.6% strikeout rate and .240 average are a problem for a cleanup hitter.
2B Brendon Rodgers: He won a Gold Glove in 2022 but he’s yet to reach his potential as a hitter. Rodgers had a red-hot September, slashing .348/.392/.580 with four doubles, four home runs and nine RBIs in his final 17 games.
SS Ezequiel Tovar: The Rockies see a Gold Glove and more potent offense in Tovar’s future. He’s a critical part of Colorado’s future core. His .988 fielding percentage at shortstop was the highest for a rookie shortstop in major league history, breaking the record set by former Rockie Troy Tulowitzki (.987 in 2007). Tovar hit .253, launched 15 homers and drove in 73 runs last season.
C Elias Diaz: Colorado’s lone All-Star last season, Diaz brings a veteran’s toughness behind the plate. Last season, he set career highs in games (141), hits (130), doubles (25), RBIs (72), walks (34) and total bases (199).
RF Sean Bouchard: He returned from a ruptured biceps tendon suffered in spring training to slash .316/.372./.684 with four homers in 21 games at the tail end of the season. He’ll have competition in camp but right now he looks like the starter in right.
CF Brenton Doyle: Doyle won a Gold Glove as a rookie center fielder while showing off a powerful arm and flashing speed in the outfield and on the bases. He swiped 22 bags. But he also hit just .203 and struck out 34.9% of the time, the highest rate in the majors. The Rockies need more at the plate from Doyle.
LHP Kyle Freeland: The Denver native made 29 starts in his seventh major league season and posted a 5.03 ERA, including a 5.13 ERA on the road, the highest of his career. He had a 6-14 record, the result of a dreadful lack of run support. Freeland hopes an uptick in fastball velocity and a new changeup grip will get him back on track.
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