When selecting a new pitching coach for the Colorado Rockies, it appears that management put a high regard on getting someone with previous MLB experience.

Ethan Katz, who was named Rockies pitching coach on Monday, Nov. 2, has a big-time job ahead of him. Katz has served as pitching coach for the Chicago White Sox before spending last season as an assistant pitching coach with the Houston Astros.

If you want a gauge of just how bad the Colorado pitching has been in recent seasons, then let's look at the team's ERAs. The last time that the Rockies had a sub-5.00 team ERA was back in 2021, when it was 4.82. Over the past five seasons, between 2022-26, the Rockies' ERAs were 5.06, 5.67, 5.47, 5.97, and 5.59.

Because Coors Field is at a high elevation, baseballs fly out of the park at a great rate. It is a hitter-friendly ballpark. But isn't there some way to potentially turn the homefield advantage for hitters to lean a bit toward the pitching?

That may be an out-of-this-world question. Katz has worked with pitchers himself, so he knows what makes them tick.

In Katz's five seasons as White Sox pitching coach between 2021-25, according to Baseball Reference, the team's ERAs were 3.93, 4.43, 5.19, 5.02, and 4.58. There's a range right there where Katz was able to bring down Chicago's ERA to a lower level from the previous two seasons in the Windy City.

Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta and general manager Josh Byrnes hope that Katz can find elements of what ails the Rockies' pitching situation.

I'd expect to see an overhaul of the starting rotation before next season, which is in peril due to the ongoing labor discussions between MLB and the MLB Players Association. No one really knows when next season will start. A lockout, potentially lengthy, is on the board right now. This might throw a wrench into Katz's plans, too.

Nevertheless, Katz can spend time looking at video of Colorado pitchers. It's possible that Tomoyuki Sugano returns to the rotation. He was the team's best pitcher record-wise last season with a 12-12 mark. I can see him being a pitcher who can go out and provide some length.

These pitchers have to throw strikes, too. About that length element? That has to go beyond just a short few innings. Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer wore out the path from the dugout to the pitcher's mound for pitching changes.

Anything that Katz can bring to the table and change the entire view of the Colorado pitching staff will be an asset.