With only nine wins on the season for the Colorado Rockies, it doesn’t take very long to go back and look at the key stats for each victory. In trying to find a common denominator, there weren’t a lot of similarities that were apparent in each win, except the success at the top of the lineup.
The leadoff hitter in each of the Rockies wins this season has gotten at least one hit. In eight of the nine wins, the leadoff hitter has driven in or scored at least one run.
With Jordan Beck moving the leadoff spot as Brenton Doyle drops later in the order, at least in the last 13 games since May 16, it’s worth digging in a little deeper to see just how vital that top spot in the batting order is and whether or not Beck playing there gives the Rockies the best chance to win.
Photo by George Gaza/MLB Photos via Getty Images
Only three Rockies have hit in the No. 1 spot when the Rockies have won this season.
Brenton Doyle leads the way with 32 starts at leadoff, winning six of them. Beck is next at 14 starts at No. 1 with two wins, while Mickey Moniak has one win in his two starts as Colorado’s leadoff man. Between the three, they have combined to go 18-for-42, which equals a .429 batting average, with 17 RBI and 12 runs scored in the nine Rockies wins. The 12 runs scored account for 21.4% of Colorado’s 56 runs scored in wins, and the 17 RBI are 31.4% of the Rockies 54 RBI in their victories.
The trio of leadoff hitters has also combined for only five strikeouts in those 60 at-bats, but have also drawn only one walk.
In four games where the Rockies won, Doyle has had multi-hit performances, including going 3-for-5 with four RBI and three runs scored against the A’s and 2-for-5 with five RBI and two runs against the Brewers. Both of Beck’s leadoff appearances in wins were multi-hit showings, including when Beck went 3-for-5 with four runs scored and three RBI against the Diamondbacks and when he put up two hits in five at-bats against the Yankees.
Four games into his MLB managerial career and coinciding with Ezequiel Tovar’s return to the lineup after almost a month on the IL, Warren Schaeffer decided to change up the lineup card starting on May 16. In mutual agreement with Doyle, Schaeffer put Beck up top in his preferred spot, moving him from second to first. Then he moved Tovar back to his usual spot at No. 2 and bumped Doyle to No. 5.
It was one of the first moves showing Schaeffer’s pedagogy of player relationships and communication, which Purple Row’s Renee Dechert wrote about earlier this week.
“This goes to doing what’s right for each individual player. And Doyle, it was time to move him out of the leadoff spot,” Schaeffer said on May 22. “It was a decision that we made jointly — me and him — and to get into some breathing room in the five hole. I think it’s working out. I think he’s better.”
This swap marked a significant change.
In 2024, Charlie Blackmon appeared at the leadoff hitter in 105 games, while Tovar slotted in at No. 1 43 times, and Doyle did it 13 times. Following Blackmon’s retirement, former manager Bud Black named Doyle as Blackmon’s successor to jumpstart the offense this season. As it turns out, leadoff might not be the best spot for Doyle. Now in his third season as a starter in Colorado, Doyle has actually hit his best in another place in his career: fifth, right where Shaeffer moved him for the last 11 games.
Brenton Doyle Batting No. 1 vs. No. 5
Batting Order
G
GS
PA
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
SB
CS
BB
SO
AVG
OBP
SLG
OPS
Batting Order
G
GS
PA
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
SB
CS
BB
SO
AVG
OBP
SLG
OPS
Career Batting 1st
51
48
213
196
17
37
4
0
6
25
5
0
11
57
.189
.235
.301
.536
Career Batting 5th
32
28
120
107
13
35
9
2
7
20
5
2
12
29
.327
.400
.645
1.045
2025 Batting 1st
33
32
142
133
13
29
4
0
4
16
4
0
9
35
.218
.268
.338
.606
2025 5th
11
11
44
37
3
8
3
1
1
4
2
0
7
10
.216
.341
.432
.773
Even though Doyle’s numbers haven’t changed much in the 11 games since his switch from No. 1 to No. 5, if history is any indication, he should turn things around. MLB.com’s Thomas Harding wrote an article citing Doyle’s confidence in his process and Schaeffer’s belief that Doyle is returning to his 2024 hitting form.
Beck, on the other hand, has played much more like the highly-touted prospect he his since returning from his April demotion to Triple-A Albuquerque. Before being sent down, Beck only hit in the seventh, eighth, or ninth holes. In the 37 games since being called back up on April 19, Beck has started 31 of those games batting first or second.
Jordan Beck’s Before/After and Batting Order Stats
Batting Dates/Order
G
GS
PA
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
SB
CS
BB
SO
AVG
OBP
SLG
OPS
Batting Dates/Order
G
GS
PA
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
SB
CS
BB
SO
AVG
OBP
SLG
OPS
Before April 19
9
6
23
20
2
3
0
0
0
1
3
0
3
8
.150
.261
.150
.411
April 19-May 28
37
37
157
144
26
40
8
4
8
15
4
4
10
46
.278
.331
.556
.887
Career Batting 1st
15
14
66
60
10
17
4
1
4
5
3
2
5
22
.283
.348
.583
.932
Career Batting 2nd
17
17
71
67
11
17
4
2
1
4
1
2
2
18
.254
.282
.418
.700
2025 Batting 1st
14
14
64
58
10
17
4
1
4
5
3
2
5
20
.293
.359
.603
.963
Of course, how much of Beck’s success is from the work he put in down in Albuquerque and how much is the batting order is impossible to tell. The majority is probably from his work with the Isotopes, but the stats don’t lie in showing that leading off is treating him well.
The lineup changes represent two positives for the Rockies. First, the numbers suggest Schaeffer and his staff are looking deeper into the data than perhaps the Black regime did, increasing their chances at competing in an analytics-driven league. Second, with Tovar back at No. 2 and slashing .362/.400/.574 in his last 12 games since returning from the IL on May 16 and with Beck at leadoff and Doyle at No. 5, where they statistically hit better, perhaps the Rockies lineup is trending toward being more productive.
If Colorado’s nine wins are any indication, that could mean more wins in the future. At least, hopefully it does.
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On the Farm
Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes 10, Sugarland Space Cowboys 3
Aaron Shunk went 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored, including one on a two-run homer, while Sterlin Thompson and Ryan Ritter each added homers of their own in an offensive showcase on Thursday night. Braxton Fullford hit a two-run double on a two-hit night and Bradley Blalock earned his first Isotope win after only giving up three runs on four hits, three of which were solo homers, with four walks and four strikeouts in 7 2⁄3 innings.
Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats 3, New Hampshire Fisher Cats 2
Victor Juarez threw 2 1⁄3 scoreless innings for his third win of the season, Welinton Herrera added two more scoreless frames for the save and Jose Cordova hit a two-run single in the fifth inning and it turned out to be enough to power the Yard Goats to a win. Zach Kokoska added an RBI walk that tied the game in the fourth at 1-1. Juan Guerrero led Hartford with three hits, two runs scored and a walk.
High-A: Everett AquaSox 7, Spokane Indians 7
Everett hit a double and single and drew a walk to set up the walk-off sac fly that sunk Spokane and capped off an amazing AquaSox comeback. Cole Messina and Andy Perez each hit RBI doubles and, taking advantage of two errors and two passed balls earlier in the game, the Indians jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the sixth inning. The lead didn’t last long, however, as the Aquasox countered with five runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game. Bullpens held the teams scoreless in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings before Spokane got lucky in the top of the 10th and scored a run due to a fielding error. The Indians wasted an opportunity for more by leaving runners at first and second.
Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies 4, Visalia Rawhide 3
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Derek Bernard hit an RBI double to score Kelvin Hidalgo to tie the game, setting the stage to score the game-winning run when Kevin Fitzer hit a walk-off single. Hildago and Fitzer led the offense with two hits apiece. Tommy Hopfe hit an RBI double in the sixth inning to put the Grizzlies on the board and cut Visalia’s lead to 3-1. Robert Calaz added a sac fly and Brady Hill earned the win after pitching a scoreless ninth as the fourth Fresno reliever to record a scoreless appearance in the game.
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Another worst-of article, this time highlighting reasons for the 9-47 start from so many sub-zero WAR numbers and a stagnant offense to high ERAs and changing lineups. Chad Jennings did arrange this one in an interesting way: ordering his nine stats from 1-9 with loads more stats to back them up.
Mets look to jump-start offense with lowly Rockies coming to town | Deadspin
The Mets have 25 more wins than the Rockies this season, but this article makes it look like they are the ones struggling the most. Maybe it really is all about expectations. The Mets leave guys on base a lot and were unable to sweep the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday, but they are still in second place in the NL East. If the season ended today, they would have the top Wild Card spot.
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