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Sep 26, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Colorado Rockies center fielder Brenton Doyle (9) hits a single against the San Francisco Giants during the fifth inning at Oracle Park. Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

Brenton Doyle Still Rockies Best Option in Center Field Despite 2025 Struggles

Originally posted on Colorado Rockies on SI
By Cameron Zunkel | Last updated Oct 10, 2025 10:00 AM ET

The Colorado Rockies could not get anything going this season. They finished with 119 losses and there were very few players on the team that actually played well, so they have some things to fix moving forward. Unfortunately, their Gold Glove center fielder also took a little bit of a step backward in 2025.

Brenton Doyle had a fantastic year in 2024. He slashed .260/.317/.446 with 23 home runs, 72 RBI, 30 stolen bases, and 82 runs scored in 149 games played. He also played exceptional defense, which was evident by his Gold Glove award. He made a name for himself in his sophomore season, which put some expectations on his name heading into 2025.

Doyle was still very solid defensively this season. However, he struggled at the plate. The Rockies were hoping to get a repeat year out of him at the top of the lineup, but it ended up being disappointing to say the least.

Doyle Was Much Better At Coors Field

Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The biggest problem with Doyle this season was his inability to hit on the road. The former fourth-round pick slashed .235/.276/.378 with 15 home runs, 57 RBI and 57 runs scored this year. Those numbers are already much worse than what he was able to produce during the 2024 season. His home/away splits are much more alarming.

At Coors Field this season, the right-handed batter slashed .306/.341/.502 with 10 home runs, 42 RBI and 38 runs scored in 255 total at-bats. Those numbers alone would suggest Doyle had a stellar season and possibly even earned an All-Star nod. Clearly, that was not the case.

On the road this year, the Division-II product slashed .162/.209/.251 with five home runs, 15 RBI and 19 runs scored in just eight less at-bats. The ball is going to fly further at Coors Field, there is no question about that. Some more hits might drop in Colorado compared to elsewhere around the league. However, his numbers on the road were drastically different and that is a problem.

Heading into 2026, the Rockies have to figure out what went wrong on the road and come up with a plan to fix it. If Doyle was just a .200 hitter away from home, his numbers would have been a lot better and more respectable. The Gold Glover was much better during the second half of the season, which is a good sign, but the Rockies need more out of him.

Despite Struggles, Doyle is Still the Answer

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

As much as Doyle struggled on the road this year, the Rockies have to refrain from giving up on him, or platooning him in 2026. He is going to get his playing time at home, but with his road numbers, it would be easy to see why the new manager might want to use him differently in away games.

The thing to keep in mind is Doyle is irreplaceable on defense. The center fielder won a Gold Glove his rookie year, and he followed that up with another in year two. He is in the running for a third-straight Gold Glove after the year he had in 2025 in Center Field.

Among center fielders with at least 500 innings played at the position, Doyle was eighth in MLB in assists, seventh in fielding percentage, fourth in fielding run value and fourth in total putouts. The 27-year-old is a web gem waiting to happen in center field and Colorado has to keep him in the lineup for that reason.

Moving forward, Doyle needs to get better when games are being played outside of Denver. But with his defensive ability and potential to be a very good hitter, the Rockies do not have much to worry about with him in the lineup.