The Rockies are leaning on a new voice to tackle the problem that has defined them for years: pitching.
Colorado has hired Ethan Katz as its next pitching coach, bringing in a familiar name to replace Alon Leichman after just one season. For president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta, it’s the latest move in an effort to fix the area that has long dragged the club down.
Katz steps into a job with no shortage of pressure. He brings a decade of pitching instruction on his résumé, including six major league coaching seasons, but now he’s being asked to help steady what has been the worst pitching staff in Major League Baseball.
The numbers from 2026 tell the story. The Rockies finished with a 5.59 ERA, and the starting rotation was even rougher at 6.28. The staff also ended the year with a 1.52 WHIP and just 7.05 strikeouts per nine innings.
This hasn’t been a one-year mess, either. Colorado has finished with an ERA above 5.00 in each of the last five seasons. There were signs of improvement in 2026, but they didn’t last all year.
Katz’s path to this point has taken him through several stops. Colorado drafted him in the 26th round in 2005 after his career at Sacramento State, and he spent four seasons in the organization’s minor league system before his playing career ended.
His coaching résumé includes work with the Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox, and Houston Astros. He served as the White Sox pitching coach from 2021 through 2025, then moved to Houston in 2026 as assistant pitching coach.
Before reaching the majors, Katz also coached at Harvard-Westlake High School in California, where he worked with future big league pitchers Max Fried, Lucas Giolito, and Jack Flaherty.
Now the challenge is clear. Colorado needs its young arms to take a step forward, and Katz will be central to that process. Mason Adams and Gabriel Hughes could take on much bigger roles in 2027, while Chase Dollander and McCade Brown are expected to remain important pieces.
DePodesta will keep working to add talent, but Katz’s job is to get the most out of the pitchers already in the organization and figure out where the strengths and weaknesses really are. The Rockies have made changes. Now they’re asking Katz to help make one of their biggest problems finally look fixable.