The Rockies may already be steering toward a very different pitching setup next season, and it starts with changing the people and the plan.
One of the first moves has been to shut down a coaching experiment that clearly went nowhere. Alon Leichman is out after one season as the club’s big-league pitching coach, and the article makes clear why that departure matters.
A major-league pitching coach, it argues, needs more than analytics knowledge; he needs the judgment that comes from actually pitching. There’s also a clear wish for someone who blends both worlds, with Jason Hirsh floated as the example again.
From there, the bigger shift is tactical. Paul DePodesta has essentially signaled that Colorado will go back to a piggybacking system to open next season.
It’s not a brand-new idea for the Rockies, even if it once drew plenty of skepticism. They tried it in 2013 and got mocked for it, but the current landscape makes the approach look less outlandish.
The Seattle Mariners experimented with it this past season, and plenty of teams in this year’s playoff field have leaned on a similar structure once October arrived.
The concept is simple in theory, but tightly controlled in practice. It is not the same thing as an opener or a full-blown bullpen game.
Under piggybacking, the first six or seven innings are mapped out before first pitch. In the 2013 version, the Rockies used a four-man rotation instead of five, and each starter was capped at 75 pitches - usually about four innings, or twice through the order.
The point is to avoid the third trip through the lineup, where analytics show hitters usually start gaining the edge.
That setup changes the workload, but the idea is that it can help with development over time. Starters throw fewer pitches in each outing, but they take the ball more often. The second pitcher in line would also be restricted to 75 pitches or two trips through the order, entering on a set schedule before handing things over to the late innings.
That leaves eight of the 13 pitchers with clearly defined jobs right away, while the other five can settle into the familiar relief roles teams already rely on - long man, set-up man, lefty specialist, closer and the like. In a year when spring training could be shortened by the looming owners’ lockout, that kind of structure would make even more sense.
The article points to young Rockies arms who were already being asked to work short outings this season, including Gabriel Hughes, Mason Adams and Chase Dollander once he returns from surgery. The idea is that if they’re asked to handle four-inning starts and do it repeatedly, they can build the details of the job before eventually stretching out into longer starts. The standard for the top arms now is six or seven innings per outing, and that can come later if the piggybacking stage goes well.
It also names Tanner Gordon and Ryan Feltner as natural fits to be the second pitcher in that setup, with Zach Agnos and Sean Sullivan mentioned as possible options as well. The Rockies will also need to bring in new arms to fill out the staff.
The larger point is hard to miss: Colorado’s pitching development has been rough for years, and fixing that won’t happen overnight. Still, the article argues that a veteran pitching-and-analytics hire and a return to piggybacking would be a sensible start as the Rockies look ahead to 2027.
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