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The Rockies have always prided themselves on being a draft-and-develop team. Without the dollars to match the Dodgers or Yankees, they have to; however, they haven’t excelled in either area in recent years.
Enter Colorado’s new general manager Josh Brynes, and his plan for development. Byrnes spent the last 11 years in Los Angeles, overseeing player development and scouting for the back-to-back reigning World Series Champion Dodgers — an organization that drew high praise from superstar Bryce Harper in a recent interview with The Athletic.
“It bothers me when everybody talks about the Dodgers spending money. No, they draft, they develop, they do it the right way,” Harper said in a Feb. 15 article. “They understand what it takes to be the best team in baseball.”
Now Brynes will be bringing his philosophies on what worked in Los Angeles to Colorado, where the Rockies are coming off six straight losing seasons, including three straight 100-plus loss campaigns. Byrnes recently spoke with Purple Row to talk about his mindset on building a new development plan for prospects and veterans alike.
Maxing Out Players
Brynes explained that he likes to think about where a player has been, where he’s at now, and where he’s going. The end goal is always to collaborate with multiple coaches and analysts to make a plan for “maxing out players.”
“Getting the very best out of them is critical, and all that goes into that,” Byrnes said at spring training in Arizona. “There’s a lot of in the offseason, we’re looking at all the data and video and thinking about it and talking about it, and then when we get here, we share it with the player, but I think that sort of mindset and all that goes into it is critical.”
Byrnes, along with other members of the front office and coaching staff, is in the middle of this process right now — one month out from the season opener in Miami. Byrnes emphasized that it’s not a definitive list with easy answers. Instead, it’s a framework, “written in pencil,” that will be changed as needed. Most importantly, it’s a collaborative effort.
“[For] a garden variety player plan, we’ll probably bring in — and that’s just a small part — let’s say six or eight people who have direct contact with the player,” Byrnes said. “And that could be a hitting coach. It could be someone on the quantitative side, someone from performance science. [We’ll] put our heads together and try to come up with a few relevant points that are actionable for the player.”
These could be for a player who is in their first Major League level and climbing through the farm system for the only promotion that Brynes believes matters — the one to the Big Leagues — or for a seasoned veteran who struggled recently after having successful seasons in the past, like new Rockies Jake McCarthy, Edouard Julien, or Willi Castro. Each plan is unique, but all are detail-oriented and data-driven.
“There’s a lot of layers to it. But I think the main thing is even the players feel like we’re just relentless, thinking about every which way we can get the very best out of them,” Byrnes said. “Then we are in communication with them. It’s not hidden. It’s shared with them. That’s really important.”
The same thing goes for pitchers. Byrnes mentioned talking with Kyle Freeland and other veteran starting pitchers about how to stay ahead of hitters and being able to play at a high level year in and year out.
“I do think it’s arguably the most important thing we can do is just like that constant drumbeat of ‘how do we get the very best out of these guys?’ At that point in their career, [the pitchers are] curious. [They ask] ‘What do you see? What can I do?’ It’s a constant process of adjustments or adaptation, but also relying on your strengths,” Byrnes said. “That’s the fun part. Ideally, and I’ve seen it, it really energizes the players. This grind, the actual daily work, is fun because they’re just chasing their best version.”
As a member of an NL West opponent’s baseball operations team, Byrnes was already familiar with a lot of the players in the Rockies system, as well as the new players the team added in the offseason. Byrnes believes there is “quite a bit of talent” on the roster, but also knows that some of the players were brought up before they were ready and were set up to fail because of it. It’s not a rare occurrence or something unique to the Rockies, but now it’s time to correct it.
“The game’s hard. Failure is part of baseball, so we’re not gonna stigmatize it,” Byrnes said. “We’ll learn from it and push forward.”
Adaptability
Another important feature in Byrnes’s outlook on development is positional flexibility for position players. Having outfielders who can play multiple spots, having utility players who can move around the infield and having players who are willing to change up position, depending on team need and ability, are key characteristics to earn a spot on the Rockies roster. Byrnes specifically pointed out the positional versatility of prospect Cole Carrigg, also known as the “super utility player” who can play every position and is a switch-hitter, and Willi Castro, who can play all three outfield positions, as well as second base, shortstop and third base, as huge assets for Colorado.
Byrnes oversaw successful positional changes and adaptability from Dodgers like Kiké Hernandez, Chris Taylor, Tommy Edman, Mookie Betts and Max Muncy. He believes their desire to help the team was very valuable.
“I think [playing multiple positions] is incredibly important. I mean, obviously, it was a big part of how we built rosters with the Dodgers,” Byrnes said. “I’ve talked to a lot of our players about it, so I think they know how important it is for them. I mean, it’s almost like it’s good for you, it’s good for us. It makes the whole thing work.”
Whether it’s evaluating players to trade for, to sign as free agents, or to draft, positional versatility will be a staple of the Colorado Rockies under Byrnes. So is curiosity, a desire to win and a drive to solve problems that have long plagued the Rockies.
“I think we are creating this environment that is a constant every day. We love baseball. We love the sort of puzzles we’re solving. We love the competition. We love all that,” Brynes said. “If that’s an environment you want to be in, this will be great for you. If you’re kind of like, you know, ‘I’m not that curious or not that engaged with other people,‘ then you probably need to go play somewhere else.”
As a long-suffering Rockies fan, that’s the kind of attitude I am thrilled to support from the front office and players.
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