{"id":680095,"date":"2026-04-21T00:54:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T00:54:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/680095\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T00:54:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T00:54:40","slug":"rockies-news-how-alon-leichman-is-changing-pitching-strategy-in-colorado","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/680095\/","title":{"rendered":"Rockies news: How Alon Leichman is changing pitching strategy in Colorado"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Colorado Rockies<\/a> are doing something no other team in baseball is attempting, and early results are forcing the league to pay attention.<\/p>\n

In his first year with the Rockies<\/a>, pitching coach Alon Leichman has introduced a system that moves pitch selection to the dugout. Heading into the club\u2019s series finale of a four-game set vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night, the Rockies\u2019 pitching staff owns a 4.14 ERA after posting a 5.97 mark in 2025, the worst by any team this century. That early improvement signals meaningful progress in one of baseball\u2019s most difficult environments.<\/p>\n

Leichman stands on the top step before nearly every pitch, signaling coded sequences to catcher Hunter Goodman, who relays the call through PitchCom. Pitchers can still shake off calls, reinforcing that this Rockies pitching approach prioritizes collaboration over command.<\/p>\n

Manager Warren Schaeffer backed the concept after spring training, and pitchers such as Kyle Freeland and Chase Dollander have bought in. The system sharpens decision-making without removing instinct, a critical balance at altitude where mistakes rarely stay in the park.<\/p>\n

In an article published by The Athletic\u2019s Dennis Lin, he noted how Leichman said he frames each call as a suggestion rather than an order, emphasizing communication over control<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a way for me to almost talk to them,\u201d Leichman said. \u201cIt\u2019s like, \u2018I\u2019m thinking slider here.\u2019 Rather than \u2018Throw a slider.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

That distinction defines this evolving MLB pitch-calling system. Leichman delivers information in real time, allowing pitchers to commit fully to each pitch while staying connected to data.<\/p>\n

At 9\u201313, with the first full month of the 2026 MLB season nearly in the books, the Rockies remain a work in progress<\/a> but are no longer stuck. A 3.67 ERA at Coors Field reflects tangible progress, and if it holds, this shift could extend beyond Colorado\u2014reshaping how teams approach pitching in the game\u2019s most demanding environments.<\/p>\n

The Colorado Rockies are doing something no other team in baseball is attempting, and early results are forcing the league to pay attention. In his first year with the Rockies, pitching coach Alon Leichman has introduced a system that moves pitch selection to the dugout. Heading into the club\u2019s series finale of a four-game set vs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Colorado Rockies are doing something no other team in baseball is attempting, and early results are forcing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":680096,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2405],"tags":[5,167,52,4316,4,168],"class_list":{"0":"post-680095","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-colorado-rockies","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-colorado","10":"tag-colorado-rockies","11":"tag-coloradorockies","12":"tag-mlb","13":"tag-rockies"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116439971519339329","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=680095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680095\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/680096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=680095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=680095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=680095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}