Young arms key for Colorado
Rockies, Nationals, Cubs seen as tops in their divisions
Texas Rangers beat writer Gerry Fraley breaks down how he sees the National League divisions unfolding this season.
NL West
Throughout their history, the Colorado Rockies have struggled to develop pitchers who could handle the challenges of pitching in Denver’s mile-high altitude.
They struck the mother lode in 2017. The Rockies got 93 starts from rookies: lefthander Kyle Freeland and right-handers Jeff Hoffman, German Marquez and Antonio Senzatela. All are 25 or younger.
The rookies helped the Rockies survive injuries to veteran starters and get into the playoffs as a wild-card entrant. The Rockies were a winning team in the rookies’ starts (53-40) and a losing team in all other games (34-35).
“Probably where we exceeded expectations was in our pitching, especially the younger group of starting pitchers we ran out there,” manager Bud Black said. “They started a lot of games for us and performed.
“We probably exceeded the national expectations, but I don’t know whether we exceeded our own. Once I saw these guys in spring training, I thought we should pitch well.”
The rookies followed a trail blazed by Jon Gray, a 26-year-old right-hander. Gray was 10-4 with a 3.67 ERA last season but was limited to 20 starts because of a foot injury. For his threeyear career, Gray is 12-4 with a 4.49 ERA at Coors Field.
For Colorado to remain competitive, the young pitchers must continue to grow. The National League West could be the most demanding division in the game.
1. COLORADO ROCKIES — The Rockies firmed up the bullpen by adding a closer in right-hander Wade Davis, a durable set-up man in Bryan Shaw and left-hander in Jake McGee. Davis had 32 saves in 33 chances with the Cubs last season but also had a career-high walks rate of 4.3 per nine innings. It’s tough to allow walks and be effective at Coors.
2. LOS ANGELES DODGERS — If left-hander Clayton Kershaw’s back holds up for a full season, the Dodgers are in better shape to win their sixth consecutive division title. The infield has topshelf talents in first baseman Cody Bellinger and shortstop Corey Seager.
3. ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS — The Diamondbacks were 45-31 in the division last year and won the season series against the Dodgers. Right-hander Zack Greinke, at age 34, is making the adjustment to pitching with less power. Arizona is a better team if it can keep center fielder A.J. Pollock on the field.
4. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS — The Giants tried to upgrade the worst defensive outfield in the majors last season by adding center fielder Austin Jackson and right fielder Andrew McCutchen. The Giants need more muscle. They were next-to-last in the NL for scoring with 3.94 runs per game.
5. SAN DIEGO PADRES — The trend of losing seasons — seven in a row and nine of the last 10 — will continue. General manager A.J. Preller, the former Rangers executive, has survived stormy times and convinced ownership to be patient while the system develops talent. Center fielder Manuel Margot and right-hander Dinelson Lamet arrived last season. Shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. is close.
NL East
1. WASHINGTON NATIONALS — Left-hander Sean Doolittle, throwing almost all fastballs, had 21 saves in 22 chances after being obtained from Oakland in July. General manager Mike Rizzo fixed a huge deficiency by also adding right-handers Ryan Madson and Brandon Kintzler to the bullpen. 2. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES — The rebuilding Phillies have come up with a legitimate front-end starter in Aaron Nola, who has excellent command, and a slugger in Rhys Hoskins, who had 18 homers in 170 at-bats as a rookie. The Phils made a dubious decision in signing free-agent first baseman Carlos Santana. His arrival forces
Hoskins to left field, where he is a bad fit. 3. NEW YORK METS — The injury-ridden pitching staff collapsed last season, and the Mets had the NL’s secondhighest ERA at 5.01. To have any chance at competing for a wild card, the Mets need right-handers Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard to be at full strength. The importance of pitching showed in the selection of former Cleveland pitching coach Mickey Callaway as manager.
4. ATLANTA BRAVES — The Braves are cornering the market on young talent. They have the consensus choice as the top overall prospect in 20-year-old left fielder Ronald Acuna. The next step is for young pitchers such as left-handers Luiz Gohara and Sean Newcomb to break through at the bigleague level.
5. MIAMI MARLINS — The new ownership group, which includes New York Yankees icon Derek Jeter as the chief executive officer, is headed toward a 100-loss season. Lacking the financial wherewithal to handle the debt it took on, the group slashed the payroll to the bone by trading front-line players such as outfielders Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich.
NL Central
1. CHICAGO CUBS — The Cubs have reached the National League Championship Series in three consecutive seasons and could be weary. The rotation will have a new look. Jake Arrieta and John Lackey, who combined for 60 starts last season, are gone. Former Ranger Yu Darvish joined the rotation. Darvish pitched 186⅔ innings last season, his most since 2013.
2. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS — The addition of left fielder Marcell Ozuna to go with center fielder Tommy Pham and right fielder Dexter Fowler gives the Cardinals one of the best outfields in the majors. Few balls will drop. All three have centerfield experience. Ozuna had 37 homers and 124 RBIs last season with Miami, which plays in a park that dramatically favors pitchers.
3. MILWAUKEE BREWERS — The Brewers surprisingly missed the playoffs by one game last season. They upgraded the outfield by obtaining center fielder Lorenzo Cain and left fielder Christian Yelich. The newcomers should bolster a lineup that ranked 10th in the National League with 4.52 runs per game last season.
4. CINCINNATI REDS — The Reds should avoid a fourth consecutive last-place finish. It’s a small, but telling, step. The Reds are rising. They have a collection of promising young arms. Luis Castillo, a 25-year-old right-hander, led NL rookies in ERA (3.12) and opponents’ batting average (.202) last season. Any lineup with first baseman Joey Votto, who had a league-high 1.032 OPS last season, is a challenging lineup.
5. PITTSBURGH PIRATES — The window has closed for the Pirates. A playoff team in 2013-15, they have had a losing record in each of the last two seasons and are in full-scale tanking mode. In January, the Pirates traded away two core players: outfielder Andrew McCutchen and right-hander Gerrit Cole. The Pirates are in a bad spot because they have not drafted well.