Wednesday Rockpile: The Rockies may be solving fastballs on offense

One of the biggest problems for the 2025 Colorado Rockies was hitting the fastball. It was such a problem that I wrote a piece in early May — which included a photo edit I’m rather proud of — highlighting the issue for the team after just a month into the season.

That was when the Rockies ranked near the bottom in most offensive counting stats and metrics against fastballs. Most things remained the same, but they did improve to the median in terms of batting average and total hits by the end of the season. The extremes still existed as they finished with the third-highest strikeout rate (20.5%), fourth-highest whiff rate (21.6%), third-fewest home runs (82), and the fourth-fewest balls in play.

In short, the team struggled mightily against fastballs and couldn’t generate much meaningful offense against them.

Fully aware of their problems, the Rockies’ new front office and coaching staff, including new hitting coach Brett Pill, have the task of helping the team cut down on the swings-and-misses and become a more productive lineup across the board. It stands to reason that the team is working to catch up on the fastball to mitigate some of the issues they were having, and the early spring training returns are promising.

Entering Tuesday, the Rockies’ offense has shown improvement and ranks among the more productive teams in spring training with promising gains in strikeout and walk numbers.

So, how are they doing with the fastball at this point in camp?

Thankfully, Baseball Savant has provided insight via Statcast for our search today.

For this investigation, fastballs include four-seams, two-seam/sinkers, and cutters. So, unless specifically identified, the numbers will involve how the Rockies are doing against all forms of the fastball.

A simple indicator of success will always be batting average, and the Rockies aren’t doing too shabbily a few weeks into camp. Sporting a .290 AVG, the club ranks ninth in all of baseball, right in line with the Seattle Mariners (.291) and the Boston Red Sox (.292). They are still well behind the San Francisco Giants, who sit at a dazzling .364 AVG on fastballs.

What’s interesting is that the Rockies have seen far fewer fastballs than the majority of the top 10 teams in batting average. At this point in spring training, the league average of fastballs hitters have seen is 57.4%. The Rockies have seen 55%, which ranks near the bottom of baseball despite seeing the ninth-most total pitches. An influx of breaking balls early in camp is to be expected as pitchers try to dial things in and experiment with new pitches, but the work the team has been able to do against fastballs is promising.

Making contact is priority number one to cut down on whiff rate, and the Rockies are making steady progress. At 18.4%, the Rockies have the fourth-lowest whiff rate against fastballs in baseball, with a 16.7% strikeout rate, which sits just below league average.

Fastballs in General

In the brief sample size, it’s clear the Rockies are putting into practice what they are preaching about improving control of the zone and taking advantage of the fastball. While coaching certainly plays a major part in the growth, personnel also have their role.

The Rockies made it a point this offseason to bring in players with improved plate discipline and contact abilities. Willi Castro and Jake McCarthy have proven capable in their careers at making contact, particularly against the fastball. At his best in 2023, Edouard Julien was a menace against fastballs, and rookie hopeful T.J. Rumfield made a career in the minors with elite plate discipline and contact skills.

Check out this chart of players who have seen at least 50 pitches, sorted by batting average, and how the Rockies are doing individually against fastballs.

It’s promising to see young prospects like Cole Carrigg and Charlie Condon top the list, but the players who are seeing a good bit of action are finding success against fastballs. If you expand the search to include everyone, Mickey Moniak, Brenton Doyle, Kyle Karros and Willi Castro make appearances with high batting averages in the .400 range.

Additionally, limiting the whiff rate to a sub-20% for the majority of players would go a long way to improving the Rockies’ offense throughout the system. Even more important is limiting strikeouts on fastballs, especially as camp progresses and both pitchers and hitters get up to game speed for the regular season.

There will always be concerns for players like Jordan Beck, who have the possibility of a power stroke, which would mean more strikeouts, but he is an example of a player who has to dial in on fastballs and make sure he isn’t missing opportunities against them.

Four-Seam Fastballs

What about the most fundamental pitch, the four-seam fastball?

Well, the Rockies are proving quite capable against the four-seam fastball with a .321 AVG, ranking fourth in all of baseball. Their .590 SLG also ranks third in the league, and the 17.9% whiff is the second lowest. A team 14.5% strikeout rate also ranks as the third-lowest in baseball.

As a whole, 15 players are batting over .300 against four-seam fastballs, albeit in limited sample sizes. The whiff rates are elevated, but it’s worth noting that on both four-seam fastballs and fastballs in general, the team is hitting the ball hard when they do make contact. They are at a 50% hard-hit rate against both four-seam fastballs and fastballs in general, both of which rank near the top in baseball.

The high slugging is also encouraging to see and will be most beneficial come the regular season. A pitcher is most likely to throw a fastball on the first pitch of an at-bat, and if Rockies hitters can put competitive swings on on that first pitch, it could set a tone for the offense. The first pitch of the game on February 25 that Moniak blasted for a 375-foot home run is a prime example of jumping on a first-pitch fastball.

Conclusion

Jumping on fastballs, particularly early in counts, could go a long way to helping the Rockies combat a tendency to chase pitches the longer at-bats go on. Yes, it is early in spring training with small sample sizes; however, there are promising signs that the team is turning some things around. If they can continue showing improvement, especially when pitchers start using proper scouting reports leading up to the regular season, the offense could rectify the shortcomings of 2025.

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