The Colorado Rockies biggest weakness is no secret. There are a lot of problems with this team, but the glaring issue has always been, and remains, pitching.

The latest attempt by the president of baseball operations, Paul DePodesta, might finally be the thing that gets the pitching turned around.

The hiring of Ethan Katz as the new pitching coach is bringing a familiar face back to town.

Katz will be replacing Alon Leichman after he served for just one year.

Without question, Katz may be facing the biggest challenge of his career. That’s saying a lot, given that he has a decade's worth of experience coaching pitchers at various levels on his resume. He has six major league coaching seasons notched, and now he has agreed to take on the worst in Major League Baseball.

The Rockies finished the 2026 campaign with what should be a disappointing 5.59 ERA, but that sort of number has become expected from the organization. The starting rotation posted an even worse 6.28 ERA.

Do we need any further explanation as to why the pitching staff should be the number one priority in Denver? I think not.

Ethan Katz Brings Interesting Background With Him to Denver

Katz was selected by the Colorado Rockies in 2005 in the 26th round of the MLB Draft after his career at Sacramento State.

From there, Katz spent four seasons in the organization’s minor league system before his journey to professional baseball as a player ended.

His coaching career has taken him through stops with the Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox, and Houston Astros.

From 2021 through 2025 Katz was the White Sox pitching coach. Then in 2026, he went to the Houston Astros as the assistant pitching coach.

Before his major league stops, Katz spent time coaching at Harvard-Westlake High School, located in California. That time is interesting because he worked with future major league pitchers Max Fried, Lucas Giolito, and Jack Flaherty.

Rockies Need More Than Coaching Change

No one can sway the reputation of this organization. Replacing one coach isn’t going to make the trouble disappear.

It’s not as if the pitching struggles are new or a fluke. The team has finished with an ERA above 5.00 for each of the last five consecutive seasons.

You can’t get so buried in the past, though, that you're unable to see progress. The team did make some improvements in 2026. The trouble is that they just didn’t hold up through the entire 2026 season.

If more evidence of the weakness is needed, the pitching staff finished last season with a 1.52 WHIP and averaged only 7.05 strikeouts per nine innings.

Katz certainly has work to do, a lot of it, honestly. His experience isn’t going to guarantee anything, but hopefully it will give yet another perspective on how to develop pitchers.

Young Rockies Could Benefit Most From Katz

One of the biggest tasks ahead for Katz will be developing Colorado’s young pitchers into Major League pitchers.

Mason Adams and Gabriel Hughes could take on much bigger roles in 2027. Chase Dollander and McCade Brown should still remain as key pieces of the team. Katz could help these pitchers take the next step.

DePodesta will be charged with continuing to bring the talent to Katz. While Katz should be focused on making the most of the pitchers that the organization already has and identifying strengths and weaknesses.

The Rockies and the front office are making significant changes to try to move forward. Now it is Katz’s turn to see if he is the puzzle piece that can make the difference in a long-standing problem.