Back during spring training (which seems like a lifetime ago, frankly), Purple Row caught up with the Colorado Rockies new hitting coach Brett Pill. (Read that interview here.) In mid-February, Pill was focused on clear communication and individualized instruction for players.
Consider where the Rockies are this year compared to 2025 with the (significant) caveats that 2026 is just past the quarter pole and this lineup is very different than it was last season.
So far, the Rockies have a collective
25.1 K%, second-highest in MLB. (The Los Angeles Angels are first at 25.8%.) That number is down from 25.9% in 2025. As another comparator, this season, the Rockies have collective OBP of .314 (21st in MLB) compared to .293 in 2025 (30th in MLB), so they’ve seen significant improvement. As a third metric, in 2026, the Rockies are slugging .396 (9th in MLB) in contrast with a SLG of .386 (24th in MLB) in 2025.
In other words, the Rockies have raised the floor and seen improvement at the plate.
A number of factors have contributed to this, including bringing Pill on as hitting coach. So far, he’s is working his way through the process.
Hitting at elevation
For Pill, his time with the Rockies has been focused on learning, starting with the challenges that come from hitting at elevation, and that means constant adjusting.
“It’s definitely different,” Pill said. “We come back home, go on the road, and the ball moves a little different. Pitchers come in and pitch a little differently, use some different stuff, so it’s kind of just reading and reacting, looking at past times that they’ve pitched at Coors before. And then on the road, being ready for bigger spin and bigger shapes. So I’m trying to train that and get (players) ready for it, also not freak them out about it too much at the same time.”
For Pill, keeping that balance means helping players prepare for the next game, whether it’s at Coors or on the road.
“Every game we play here, we talk about the starter — what they probably are going to do, how (the ball) might move different — and then, obviously, on-field stuff. We try to try to train a little bit different here. The ball moves different, so we try to get them acclimated to stuff that doesn’t move as much, like a little more velocity.”
Then Pill added, “Still trying to figure it out fully, but trying to see what works and what doesn’t.”
A key element of preparation is training, and the Rockies are looking to technology for that.
Pill explained, “In our cage, we have Trajekt, with the pitcher on a video board, and the ball moves. It accounts for elevation, so the ball moves a little bit different on-field. Usually, we come back home, we’ll hit some velocity right away, just because here the ball kind of like cuts through the air a little bit more. And then on the road, we’ll do the opposite. We’ll do some big, big spin shapes the first day, just to get them used to seeing more movement. It’s kind of starter dependent — who we’re facing — and then also environment dependent, so it kind of just changes day-to-day and team-by-team.”
Personalizing instruction
Pill and his staff have emphasized the “go-zone,” something Rockies players frequently discuss. In hitting, it’s a key concept, and it’s complicated.
“It changes depending on the pitcher,” Pill said.
“Obviously, some pitchers are easier to determine where do we want to swing to hit the ball hard and where we want to stay away from. Other pitchers can do multiple things. (The players) are going to have to pick which pitch or which part of the plate we want to go with.”
Add to the tendencies of the pitcher the strengths of the hitter.
“Within that, we’re working with the individual hitter on what they hit well and what they don’t hit well,” Pill said, “so the general theme of it is, ‘We want to swing in this zone, stay away from other zones,’ instead of trying to hit the entire plate. And then on top of that, trying to work with our hitters and their swings to make them able to hit certain zones in certain pitches.”
Their Rockies have had some players with significant offensive struggles this season — Jordan Beck, Brenton Doyle, and Ezequiel Tovar — and Pill recognizes that helping players in a slump is “difficult.”
“They’re playing in front of a lot of people,” Pill said, “and they got here for a reason. Obviously, they got to the Major Leagues and had success for a reason, so a lot of listening to them on what they’re feeling. And obviously, I have my thoughts, and trying to explain to them why I think we should maybe try things and look for certain pitches.
“I think with those three in particular, it’s kind of a similar issue with some spin pitches and stuff like that,” he continued, “so working hard on that to figure out which ones to swing at, which ones they want to go for. A lot of it could be they’re just worried about the fastball, so trying to get them to like calm down about not having to get on the fastball so much. So it is a little individual-dependent on how that works. (Tovar’s) getting some hits recently, so it’s good to see that. Beck’s been hitting lefties well — obviously not playing all the time, too — so that’s part of it, too, is just not consistent at-bats. So there’s there’s a lot that goes into it, but just being there as a support system, giving them my thoughts, hearing them out, and just trusting that over time it’ll get better.”
Learning on the job
For Pill, his time with the Rockies has been a learning experience.
“I’ve learned a ton,” Pill said. “I mean, I’ve learned what kind of works and what doesn’t, as far as preparing and having visuals for the pitcher we’re facing.”
He continued, “Obviously I came from LA. They did it a certain way, and that maybe works for that group, but it doesn’t for other groups. So, trying to learn this group, figuring out what resonates with them — how simple they need it, how complex they need it.”
Plus, there’s the added stressors that come with playing professional baseball.
“These are high-leverage (games). These guys are trying to survive here, be in the big leagues for a long time, so again, you’re battling with that stress. You’re battling with ‘They got here for a reason.’ They have people they trusted and knew well before I got here. So, luckily, I got hired early enough where I got to know them a lot, and build those relationships. So, I think we all trust each other and love each other in this clubhouse, but they’ve got a lot of stuff going on, a lot of stressors, so you have to keep a very complicated thing with hitting and everything that goes into it into very actionable external thoughts and goals that they can take out there and try to hit the best pitching in the world.”
Plus, he gets feedback from players.
“They’re pretty open with me,” Pill said. “That’s the first thing we preach from day one: ‘Hey, we’re going to try things. If you don’t like it, you have to let me know. We’re here to help you hit. It’s not like I care if it’s from me. We just want you to be the best you can be.’ So that’s been great. They’ve said, ‘Hey, I don’t like this drill. I do like this drill. I do like thinking this.’ So, I’ll kind of challenge them sometimes if they want to stay in their comfort zone, but we give each other each other feedback all the time.”
(Read more about Trajekt here. The Rockies first began using this technology in April 2025.)
This week on the internet
Please take a moment to appreciate the absolute awesomeness of Roldy Brito (No. 11 PuRP):
The Rockies might not lose 100! It’s a baseball miracle | Denver Gazette ($)
As you suspect, Mark Kiszla has strong opinions.
The Giants’ Grim Outlook Goes Well Beyond This Season | si.com
Stephanie Apstein compares the San Francisco Giant’s season with that of the Rockies — and it’s the rare article in which the Rockies look good.
Senzatela, Moniak could be valuable to Rockies at trade deadline | Denver Gazette ($)
Kevin Henry gets the trade speculation started!
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
- Fewer ads
- Create community posts
- Comment on articles, community posts
- Rec comments, community posts
- New, improved notifications system!
Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!
