Colorado Rockies news and links for Tuesday, April 15, 2025
The 2025 Colorado Rockies have picked up where they left off in 2024 in that the lackluster offense continues. Yesterday, Evan Lang detailed just how bad the offense is. (Look, a 28.2% strikeout rate that is the highest in the majors is just bad.)
In short, this offense needs help.
Two weeks ago, Joelle Milholm advocated for the Colorado Rockies adopting the torpedo bat, a trendy hitting tool that has taken MLB by storm early in the 2025 season.
As she wrote then:
By moving the bat’s sweet spot from 5-7 inches from the end cap closer to the player’s hands, or about 11-14 inches from the end cap, the torpedo bat can help more batters get the barrel on the ball for solid contact, according to ESPN’s Jeff Pasan. The method relies on analytics of the player’s swing pattern to calculate the location of the maximum barrel diameter of 2.61 inches, which is the widest a bat can be. If players are willing to break tradition and superstition, they can try the new approach, which can also net a faster bat speed. Of course, it won’t help everyone, and not everyone will try it.
(For all you math nerds, here’s an article from Alan Nathan on the physics underlying the torpedo bat.)
We know a torpedo bat will work at Coors Field. Here’s Brent Rooker hitting a homer with a torpedo bat during The Athletics series:
Of course, he’s also an exceptional hitter, but he’s found a way to make this new tool work.
Although torpedo bats have not yet arrived in the Rockies clubhouse, I wondered how open the Rockies were to adopting Joelle’s recommendation, and I found that most were planning to give them a try.
For manager Bud Black, he’s open, but waiting for more evidence.
“I think the jury’s still out truly on what they are and what they can become, or will become or not become,” Black said.
“I know a couple of our guys have tried them. Some guys are not convinced, some guys are curious. I’m not sure around the league what the thought is, but, obviously, I think there’s some science behind it that it could make sense depending on the type of swing you have and the repetitions that maybe, over a long period of time with technology, you can see where you hit the ball on the bat.”
Black’s comments on the variety of opinions in the Rockies clubhouse bear out.
Kris Bryant has had the most hands-on experience, having taken an at-bat using someone else’s torpedo bat. He didn’t get a hit, but he’s optimistic about the potential.
“I’m a guy who makes more contact towards the label anyway,” Bryant said, “so that’s probably going to work out well for me.”
Still, he recognizes that since the bat he tested wasn’t his model, it felt “a bit heavier,” but he’s hopeful that a customized torpedo bat will make a difference.
“I think it’s great,” the former MVP said. “Innovation is good. I think pitchers are always finding new ways to hold the ball, and there’s high-speed cameras and finding spin efficiency and how the wind catches the seams — it makes it go a little bit further and break a little more. So it’s kinda nice that we feel we have something too, but we still have to hit the ball.”
For Ryan McMahon, it seems only sensible to see if the torpedo bat provides an advantage.
“I’ve got a couple coming,” he said, “I’m going to try them out. You’d hate to miss out on something that’s really helpful like that. They’re within the rules, so I’ve got no problem with it.”
Jordan Beck, now in Triple-A Albuquerque, sees some degree of magical thinking involved.
“I ordered some. I think it can help some people,” Beck said. Then he considered the psychology in play. “I think it won’t help some people. I think it all just depends on who you are, what you feel. And I always say, if you believe it’s gonna work, it’s true.”
Like his teammates, Brenton Doyle sees no reason not to give the new technology a try and has a few on order.
Then he added, “But at the end of the day, it’s all about the hitter, not the bat. I’m firm believer on that. But it’s kind of big hype right now. So we’re fortunate enough to be able to get our hands on some here soon and try it out, see how I like it, and go from there.”
He added,” I think it could be very beneficial for a guy that likes to work inside a lot, or has heavy sink to his pitch. Having a little bit extra barrel lower on the bat could definitely be beneficial for guys like that. But other than that, I’ve got a feeling I’ll probably end up sticking with what I’ve got. But, you know, I can’t knock it till I try it.”
Michael Toglia, a physics major at UCLA, is open but skeptical.
“I’ve never had a tool in the cage that I’ve used for an extended period of time,” he said. “So I have a feeling I’m going feel the same way about the torpedo bat. But I’ve got to give it a try at least.”
Consider Ezequiel Tovar initially unimpressed.
Tovar said through interpreter Edwin Perez during the Rockies home opener, “You know, I think it’s just a bat.”
However, after a week, his thinking changed, and he has ordered a couple, but he understands it’s more about the hitter than the bat.
“You’re the one who has to make contact with it,” he said on Saturday. “It’s just a bat. The bat can’t bat itself. It’s the person that’s using the bat, so you’ve still got to make contact and figure out how to use it.”
A different perspective comes from pitcher Kyle Freeland, who’s waiting for more data.
“Obviously, it’s still pretty new,” Freeland said. “We don’t have a ton of numbers on it.” He also pointed out to a possible placebo effect.
Besides, it’s really not something he’s terribly interested in.
“Me, personally, I don’t care. I’m trying to miss barrels, not hit barrels.”
A Rockies team with one of the worst offenses in baseball will take all the help it can get, but a new bat won’t be enough to turn around an offense the numbers suggest lags far behind much of Major League Baseball.
That will require bigger, organizational wide improvements. But perhaps torpedo bats represent a starting point.
★ ★ ★
The week on the internet
It’s happening.
Reader, the Grand Junction Humpback Chubs are officially a thing.
I first wrote about this back in 2017, and it’s taken a while, but I feel like all the hard work was worth it.
★ ★ ★
Hunter Goodman isn’t choosy | FanGraphs
In case you didn’t realize it, Hunter Goodman as 54.1% chase rate (not a typo). “Goodman won’t stay above 50% either,” writes Davy Andrew’s, “but he is on a record pace at the moment, and his 66.1% overall swing rate is even further ahead of Randall Simon’s all-time record of 63.6% in 2002.” It’s a fascinating deconstruction of Goodman’s (very strange) swing mechanics.
Kyle Frederickson spoke with the University of Tennessee’s pitching coach about what he saw in former Volunteers Chase Dollander and Seth Halvorsen that prepared them to become MLB pitchers.
2025 MLB Mock Draft 2.0: Updated First-Round Picks For Every Team | Baseball America ($)
As the 2025 MLB Draft draws nearer, Carlos Callazo updates the board for Baseball America. Currently, he has the Washington Nationals taking RHP Seth Hernandez (Corona High School); the Los Angeles Angels with LHP Jamie Arnold (Florida State); the Seattle Mariners selecting SS Ethan Holliday (Stillwater High School); and the Rockies with SS Aiva Arquette (Oregon State).
Collazo writes, “If the draft were today, Arquette would probably be the first college hitter selected. His name is mentioned frequently when teams discuss the group of players expected to go off the board early. His combination of power, position profile and spring performance are alluring to every team. Through 32 games he has hit .350/.463/.692 with 10 home runs, nine doubles, a 17.3% strikeout rate and a 12.7% walk rate.”
★ ★ ★
Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!