The Colorado Rockies hired Hensley “Bam Bam” Meulens as their hitting coach following the 2022 season. Meulens spent the 2022 season as the assistant hitting coach of the New York Yankees and was the manager of the Netherlands for the 2020 Olympic baseball qualifier. The Yankees led Major League Baseball with 254 home runs in 2022 and were second with 764 RBI. The Rockies were tied for 22nd with 149 home runs and 14th with 669 RBI. Meulens had his work cut out for fixing a Rockies offense amid a rebuild. After two seasons, the Rockies have shown some serious improvement, but still have work to do.
How the Rockies Offense Can Take the Next Step
Ending the Power Outage
If half of your team’s games are played at the hitter haven of Coors Field, you need to be in the upper half of the league in the power category. The Rockies ranked in the bottom ten in home runs from 2020-22—one of the main reasons they made a change at hitting coach. In 2018, their last postseason appearance, the Rockies ranked eighth in the league with 210 home runs. Colorado saw steady improvement in home runs and RBI in 2023, hitting 163 and 685 respectively. But they still ranked in the bottom half of the league in both heading into 2024.
Colorado regressed in the RBI department in 2024 with 655. But they saw very encouraging results in the home runs department, hitting 179, which ranked 15th in MLB and seventh in the National League. In just two years under Meulens, the Rockies’ home run total improved by 30. Star shortstop Ezequiel Tovar hit 26 home runs in 157 games to lead the team, followed by first baseman Michael Toglia, who hit 25 in 116 games. Center fielder Brenton Doyle and third baseman Ryan McMahon also achieved 20-homer seasons, with 23 and 20 respectively.
It was the first time since 2021 that the Rockies had four players with at least 2o home runs. Tovar’s 26 home runs were the most since first baseman C.J. Cron hit 29 in 2022. The Rockies’ up-and-coming stars were producing. The best part was that they were doing it on the road, the biggest hurdle for Rockies hitters to overcome in the past. Toglia (17), Tovar (13), Doyle (11), and McMahon (11) all hit at least half of their home runs on the road. Tovar had two separate two-homer performances on the road. The Rockies weren’t seeing the improvement in wins yet, as they are still rebuilding. But Meulens has the Rockies in a much better position in the power department heading into 2025.
SS Ezequiel Tovar hit two home runs last night for the second time this season, the first player in franchise history to have multiple multi-home run games before turning 23. He became the second-youngest Rockie all-time (22-312d) to record 10 total bases in a game behind Juan… pic.twitter.com/WByuFowyHa
— Rockies Club Information (@RockiesClubInfo) June 9, 2024
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Rockies Have To Cut Down Ks
The Rockies ranked 19th with runners in scoring position in 2024. If they weren’t producing home runs, they were not scoring. The Rockies ranked 21st with 463 RBI and 24th with 369 Ks with RISP. The Rockies were too often seeing potential big innings go by the wayside due to not being able to put the ball in play. Before the 2024 season, Meulens expressed his frustration to Rockies insider Thomas Harding about leading the NL in Ks.
“I was embarrassed to be part of leading the league in strikeouts,”. “We didn’t hit homers. If you don’t hit homers, it’s something different. When you don’t hit homers, and you compound it by striking out, something’s got to change.
The Rockies did hit homers in 2024, but still struck out at a high rate. In an interview with Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post late in the 2024 season, Meulens focused on the improved production at the plate and staying positive with hitters.
“Our best (hitters) all have over 15 home runs and they’re driving in more runs. They are helping turn the offense around a little bit.
“But still, I’m not sure how, or what we can do, to minimize the strikeouts. Because it seems like the more we talk about it, the more (strikeout-prone) they become. So I’m focused on the guys, encouraging them to have productive at-bats and trying to stay positive.”
More home runs and strikeouts are part of the modern game of baseball. As Meulens inferred, Colorado will gladly take a few more Ks if it means more home runs. But the Rockies offense is too one-dimensional right now. They don’t have to lead the league in the fewest Ks, but just being in the middle could go a long way for this offense to take the next step.
Outlook for Rockies Offense Going Forward
The Rockies’ improvement in home run production in a short time under Meulens has been encouraging. The Rockies offense is back to hitting homers like a team in Colorado should. With another year in the majors under their belt, Toglia, Tovar, and Doyle will be expected to produce homers at the same rate or better in 2025. The Rockies also added second baseman Thairo Estrada, who has hit very well at Coors in his career. Additionally, Colorado will expect a bounce-back year from outfielder Nolan Jones. Jones hit only three home runs in 2024, after hitting 20 in 2023.
The potential is there for a successful offensive season. Coors Field will always be a big boost to an offense. Colorado has more speed and power on the roster than they have had in years. This roster has shown that they can bring their offensive production on the road. If they can even marginally lower their strikeout rate, it could do wonders for their offense. The Rockies know what the recipe is to have a successful offense in Colorado. They added some ingredients in 2024. To have a good offense next season, they will need to add a couple more.
Photo Credit: © Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
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