Rockies in 2025. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the lowest rWAR and end up with the player with the highest.
No. 16, Brenton Doyle (0.1 rWAR)
After back-to-back Gold Glove awards, a Fielding Bible award, and a strong sophomore campaign at the plate that marked him as one of the most improved hitters in the league, the Colorado
Rockies had seemingly found their franchise center fielder heading into the 2025 season. The team was reported to be considering a long-term extension for him as well.
Brenton Doyle turned a solid spring training where he hit .250/.300/.411 with three doubles and two home runs into a red-hot start to the season. Through his first twelve games he looked every bit the improved player he was last year. He slashed .321/.357/.547 with three doubles, three home runs, 12 RBIs, and a stolen base.
Then perhaps one of the biggest surprises of the season came about: Doyle began to struggle massively.
The trouble began after April 10th. Following an excellent game in which he went 4-for-5 with a double, a home run, and five RBIs, Doyle missed multiple games with a nagging quadriceps injury. He was held out of the lineup and took just one at-bat over the next week.
Just as he was about to return to action, was placed on MLB’s bereavement list. Personal tragedy had struck for Doyle and his wife as they lost their expected baby due to a miscarriage.
Doyle had already dealt with a lot early in his season. However, his difficult year would continue on the field. After being activated from the bereavement list, Doyle looked like a shell of his former self. In the 69 games before the All-Star Break he hit just .178/.234/.277 in 253 at-bats. While he did showcase some of his power with nine doubles, two triples, and four home runs, they came with long gaps in-between.
Although still capable of jaw-dropping plays, the two-time Gold Glove winner’s defense in the field suffered as well. At the All-Star Break his defensive runs saved (DRS) was -10, a full 20 runs fewer than his excellent 2024 mark. His 1 out above average and fielding run value of 3 were also both greatly diminished from last season.
Doyle—the Rockies’ most valuable player in 2024 at 4.0 wins above replacement—ended the first half in a very different situation. At -1.8 rWAR he was ranked Major League Baseball’s least valuable qualified player per Baseball Reference and his -0.8 fWAR per FanGraphs had him as the second-least valuable player.
Among the Rockies fanbase, there were genuine concerns about Doyle’s future with the organization.
Then, after the All-Star Break, a switch seemed to flip. Doyle started piling up hits. His defense improved. He looked comfortable on the field and much more like the Brenton Doyle we’ve come to expect.
Doyle hit .282/.307/.462 through the last 56 games of the season with 11 doubles, eight home runs, nine stolen bases, and 27 RBIs.
“It was kind of something that was mentally tough to go through, just knowing that you’re hitting the ball hard, you’re doing everything you can to put the ball in play, put it in play hard and find barrels — but right at guys,” Doyle told the Denver Post in September. “You’ve gotta be happy with those kinds of results, especially at this level. … A lot of it was going right at people. I didn’t want to panic and literally change my whole swing or do anything like that.”
He may not have wanted to change his whole swing, but part of what Doyle credited for his turnaround was something he was familiar with: mechanical tweaks in real time.
During his rookie season in 2023, Doyle was regularly tweaking and experimenting with his swing mechanics. He did the same to finish out his 2025 season. He made adjustments to his stance, the positioning of his hands, and the angle at which he holds his bat.
“It kind of just eliminated the move I naturally make in my swing,” Doyle said. “And maybe that’s helped me get to some pitches (against right-handers) I was a tad bit late on in the past. … It was kind of something I did throughout my whole minor league career, and then last year I made a swing change. And then this year, I kind of went back to what was more comfortable for me, and it’s been good.”
Doyle’s improved hitting in the second half also led to him contributing the marquee moment in the Rockies’ most memorable game of the season.
In an August 1st game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Rockies found themselves down by nine runs before they had even taken a single swing. In an improbable—nigh impossible—comeback effort, the Rockies found themselves down by one run in a 16-15 ballgame. With a runner on first and one out, Brenton Doyle—who was already 3-for-4 that evening—delivered the finishing blow.
In addition to his turnaround at the plate, Doyle’s glove became golden once more. He was worth 10 defensive runs saved in the second half alone and finished with a season total of 0 DRS. While that doesn’t necessarily sound impressive, it puts him at eighth-best among all major league center fielders. He also finished the season with 6 outs above average and a fielding run value of 11, good for eighth-best and tied for fourth-best respectively.
Doyle’s incredible turnaround saw him finish the season with a positive number for wins above replacement, which is impressive considering that he was sitting at -2.0 rWAR as late as July 5th.
Brenton Doyle’s future with the Rockies is still somewhat hazy. With a new front office in place for the 2026 season it seems unlikely that a long-term contract extension is in the cards after his first half struggles. However, Doyle is due a projected $3.2 million in arbitration for his upcoming age 28 season. This could prove a steal if he can build upon the momentum he gained in the second half. If he can, he may yet prove himself the franchise center fielder the Rockies have long sought after.
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