Rockies Journal: Sam Hilliard, at age 30, gets a do-over

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Sam Hilliard is a journeyman, 30-year-old baseball player with a .219 career batting average who found his way home and now gets a fresh start.

That doesn’t happen too often in the big leagues.

But that’s where Hilliard finds himself as the Rockies’ position players officially report to spring training on Tuesday.

The Rockies are waiting, wishing and hoping for their corps of young outfielders to blossom, perhaps this season. Maybe Jordan Beck, Yanquiel Fernandez, Zac Veen or Benny Montgomery is the next Charlie Blackmon. Maybe.

But for the here and now, Hilliard figures to break camp as the team’s fourth outfielder and primary backup to two-time Gold Glove winner Brenton Doyle in center. The door is even open for Hilliard to compete for a starting corner outfield job.

“I’m ready to do whatever role they ask of me,” Hilliard said from Scottsdale, Ariz., following a workout at the Rockies’ complex at Salt River Fields. “I’ve been a bench guy and I’ve been the utility outfielder guy. Now, I fully believe I can go out there and have a starting job if that’s what they ask of me.”

The smooth, athletic, 6-foot-4, 235-pound Hilliard has always looked the part. And he’s always been popular with his teammates, managers and coaches. He’s a class act.

But it’s never clicked for Hilliard, primarily because of his 34.1% career strikeout rate. Hence, his long, winding road back to Colorado.

Drafted in the 15th round in 2015, he debuted with the Rockies in August 2019 and spent four seasons with the team. He was traded to Atlanta for Dylan Spain during the 2022 offseason. Hilliard played in the Braves system for a year but was slowed by a heel injury and eventually placed on waivers. The Orioles claimed him but placed him on waivers in February 2024 before the Rockies scooped him up.

Then Colorado designated him for assignment last March. After he went unclaimed, the Rockies brought him back to the majors on June 21.

That’s a lot of career transactions, but Hilliard says he never contemplated quitting.

“I never thought that — not one time,” he said. “I always thought my destiny was in my hands, wherever I was. I still feel that with my skills, I’m very capable of playing at the highest level and helping my team win. And I want that to be with the Rockies.”

Ideally, Colorado sees Hilliard as their best backup in center field, giving manager Bud Black a chance to occasionally get Doyle off his feet. And Hilliard, a left-handed hitter, has power potential. He proved that when he debuted in 2019, mashing seven homers in his first 27 games (77 at-bats).

But then major league pitchers found holes in Hilliard’s swing and started punching him out. Hilliard realized he had to make some changes if he hoped to counter-punch.

Job 1 was changing his mentality.

“I’ve been around for a while now, so I have some perspective,” he said. “I’ve found ways to be more relaxed and more comfortable at the plate. Hitting is all about being loose at the plate. I think I found ways to do that last year.

“So, for me, the biggest change was my mindset and not putting so much pressure on my every at-bat.”

He also made a key mechanical adjustment last year at Triple-A Albuquerque.

“I was losing the barrel of my (bat) behind me whenever I was starting my swing,” he said. “My bat would flatten out before it got into the zone. I think that was one of the root problems that I’ve always had when it comes to swing-and-miss type issues.”

“So I started tweaking my approach where I started tipping the barrel toward the pitcher and the knob toward the catcher. It helped me create a more efficient path to the ball. It helped clean up a lot of stuff. It’s nice when you can have one cue that you can focus on.”

After getting called up by the Rockies, Hilliard showed promising glimpses of what he might become. In 58 games (158 plate appearances), he slashed .239/.305/.507 and hit 10 home runs, five doubles and one triple. He also stole five bases.

He still struck out at a 35.4% clip. He will have to clean up those empty at-bats if he wants to get regular playing time.

“My confidence is very high — it always is,” he said. “Right now, I have a pretty good foundation in my swing that I can trust. It worked a little bit for me.”

He has no qualms about running around the vast expanses of Coors’ outfield.

“Hey, I know I’m not 21 anymore, but I don’t feel old,” he said. “I feel just as explosive and fast as I always have. I believe I can go out there and play at a high level, in center field, in any ballpark.”

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