2 former Rockies the team will regret letting go of in 2024

Former top pick, Tommy Doyle, gets 2nd chance with former World Series champs

The Rockies invested a lot into Tommy Doyle, drafting the college reliever with their 2nd round pick in the 2017 draft. It made sense at the time as the Rockies were fighting for playoff positions and trying to make a push to a World Series with franchise icons, Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon, Jon Gray, Trevor Story and DJ LeMahieu. Doyle dominated in his final year at Virginia, throwing 33.2 innings with a 1.87 ERA. He put up some great walk and strikeout rates (10.2 K/9 with 2.7 BB/9).

Doyle didn't make it to the major leagues to help the Rockies playoff push in time, despite some really solid numbers. He debuted in 2020 but struggled mightily with a 23.14 ERA and a 15.4 BB/9. He had shoulder surgery in 2022 losing the hole year before trying to come back in 2023. He came back and was relatively impressive at Triple-A Albuquerque, throwing 37 innings wiht a 3.41 ERA and an impressive strikeout rate of 10 per nine. He threw 23.2 innings in the major leagues, but the struggles remained, with a 6.85 ERA and just a 6.8 per nine strikeout rate.

Doyle ended up signing with the Braves and got a non-roster invite to spring training. This is a low risk move for a reliever that has shown some impressive strikeout ability (something that the Rockies really lack). There are a lot of question marks surrounding the Rockies pitching staff as a whole and, though Doyle could have wanted a fresh start, taking a flier on a former 2nd round pick with impressive numbers seems like no brainer move. Doyle won't become a high-leverage reliever, but in the dog days of summer when the Rockies need some pitching help, they could be kicking themselves for letting Doyle walk for nothing.

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