The Colorado Rockies were 3-15 at the time they made the decision on Thursday, April 17th to fire their hitting coach Hensley Meulens in an attempt to turn things around. Clint Hurdle, the Special Assistant to General Manager Bill Schmidt, was named the interim hitting coach for the remainder of the season.

Clint Hurdle is a familiar face within the organization, previously managing the Rockies from 2002-2009. During his tenure as manager, he led the Rockies to their 1st National League pennant in 2007. He rejoined the organization in 2019 as the Rockies Special Assistant to General Manager Bill Schmidt. Hurdle has the experience of coaching young hitters during his time as a hitting coach in the minors earlier in his career.

In a statement by General Manager Bill Schmidt, he alluded to some of the reasons Hurdle was the man for the job:

“It’s been a struggle from day one with the strikeouts and the lack of production,” Schmidt said. “We think this move is going to help. Clint is the right person at the right time, with his knowledge with the majority of the position-player group here that he’s worked with in the Minor Leagues. There are just four or five guys he hasn’t been involved with.”

I think it was miscalculated that the Rockies could struggle mightily as an offense as these young players make the transition to the MLB. It speaks to how tough it is to hit at the MLB level because pitchers are more refined in their skills. Hitters like right fielder Zac Veen, despite raking in the minor leagues, has struggled to produce in the batter’s box at the MLB level. Veen’s stat line so far has been subpar, with a batting average of .118 and 14 Ks through 11 games played. 1st baseman Michael Toglia—who I had high hopes for coming into the season—is another player that has struggled to find production offensively. Through 20 games he has 35 Ks and a batting average of .181 in 72 at-bats. Besides these two players, the Rockies offense as a whole has struggled to put up any kind of production.

Below are the Rockies current rankings on offense in the MLB:

Batting average – .218, rank: 26th

On Base % – .289, rank: 24th

Runs – 68, rank: 27th

15 HRs, rank: 28th

Slugging % rank: 25th

The Rockies have a record of 4-17 and are currently dead last in the NL West. Now, I don’t see playoffs anytime soon for this organization; however, I think the major focus for this team for the remainder of the season has to be the development of these young players, helping them progress and build their confidence. Interim hitting coach Hurdle hopefully could instill some magic and help Rockies manager Bud Black get this offense back on track.

Stats & Information provided by: MLB.com, ESPN.com

Photo Credits; The Denver Post

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