Colorado high strikeout totals are a hot topic

Denver Post sports writer Patrick Saunders with the latest installment of his Rockies Mailbag.

Pose a Rockies — or MLB — related question for the Rockies Mailbag.

What is going on with the Rockies hitters and the strikeouts? They already don’t hit for power, but don’t make contact either. I understand having young guys, but other teams do too, and don’t seem to swing and miss at the rate the Rockies do. Wasn’t Hensley Meulens brought in to address this?

— Jason, Tulare, Calif.

Jason, you’re correct, the strikeouts are through the roof, especially on the road. We saw that last weekend at Dodger Stadium, which is a graveyard for Rockies hitters. I received numerous emails and several Rockies Mailbag questions about the topic.

The Rockies struck out 49 times while being swept by the Dodgers in a four-game series. That was the third-most Ks in club history for a four-game series. They walked just twice, their second-fewest in a four-game set. The Rockies’ most strikeouts in a four-game set? Fifty-four, in 2015. The fewest walks? One, in 2020. The site? Dodger Stadium.

This season, the Rockies’ strikeout rate is 25.5%, the third highest in the majors behind the Twins (27%) and the Mariners (26.1%). On the road, the Rockies have fanned 639 times, and only the Twins (655) have more.

And to your point, Colorado had hit 118 home runs entering Tuesday’s play, the seventh-fewest in the majors. The Twins, however, had hit 164, the seventh-most, while the Mariners had hit 142, the 13th-most. In other words, the Rockies aren’t getting much bang for their big swings and misses.

Meulens was brought in to make the team better offensively, but he’s battling a long tradition of road futility. I’m not making excuses for the Rockies but the disparity between hitting at Coors Field vs. on the road is always going to be an issue.  In 2021, Colorado hit .217 on the road, .225 in 2022, and this season the road average is .231.

Playing so many young players is part of the reason for the high strikeout rate. Manager Bud Black calls it “growing pains” or “baptism by fire.” Maybe youth is the main reason for the high Ks, but Colorado’s strikeout rates are alarming and it makes you wonder if some of these “kids” will ever figure it out.

Here are the strikeout rates for some of the Rockies’ young players: Elehuris Montero (40.5%), Brenton Doyle (36.7%), Michael Toglia (35.5%) and Nolan Jones (34.6%). And veteran third baseman Ryan McMahon’s K-rate is 30.7%.

For the record, the league average is 22.6%.

Would the Rockies ever trade Kyle Freeland? I think Kyle could be a great starter for a good team. Would he ever ask for a trade?