MLB DEBATE: Is Story or Freeland more crucial to Colorado’s playoff hopes?
Kiz: Well, well, well. We’re going to play some baseball this summer, after all. Let’s hope everybody can stay healthy during a 60-game sprint to the playoffs. This coronavirus-shortened season gives nearly every major-league team, including the Rockies, hope that two months of hot baseball can result in a playoff berth. Colorado is going to need a hero. So get my hopes up, and tell me if our hero in LoDo is more likely to be shortstop Trevor Story or starting pitcher Kyle Freeland?
Newman: Odds say it’s more likely to be Story, whose historic power for his position has him on the cusp of becoming a bonafide national star on the same level as Nolan Arenado and Bryce Harper. But the Rockies most desperately need their hero this summer to be the southpaw Freeland, whose disastrous 2019 season gave Colorado fans legitimate reason to wonder if his spectacular 2018 was a fluke. The starting rotation must see Freeland return to consistent form for the playoffs to be a realistic goal; there will be no opportunities for a midseason tune-up in Triple-A.
Kiz: Story is 27 years old and in the heart of his prime. After earning an invitation to the All-Star Game in two straight seasons, it’s not hard to envision Story taking another big step up and producing at a level that makes him a top-five player in the National League. He’s capable of leading the league in home runs and RBIs. If he can show a little more patience at the plate and hold down his strikeouts, Story could push his on-base percentage toward .400 for the first time in his career. Is all that asking too much?
Newman: In a season where there’s likely to be all sorts of broken records*, why don’t we ask Arenado to hit .400 while we’re at it? If Story gets hot, he is capable of just about any feat in 60 games, including putting the lineup on his back. Meanwhile, if Freeland gets his confidence and palpable swagger back within his first couple of outings, the Rockies could suddenly find themselves with three quality starters, with Freeland joining right-handers German Marquez and Jon Gray. Freeland’s success starts with keeping the ball in the yard after allowing 25 homers in 22 games in 2019.
Kiz: If Freeland can win four or five games and give the Rockies quality starts on a regular basis, manager Bud Black will be one happy camper. In order for Colorado to earn a playoff berth, this team will probably have to finish with no worse than a 33-27 record. Six games over .500? Although unlikely, it’s not out of the realm of possibility. For the Rox to exceed all expectations, it will require two months of extraordinary performances by at least one player on this squad. And the way I figure it, Story will make a strong run at MVP one of these years. Why not this summer?
Newman: Story finished 12th in the MVP voting last year and eighth in 2018, when he slashed .298/.352/.750 with 10 homers during September to make a late surge into the conversation. He should be a frontrunner (again) for his first Gold Glove this summer. However, as you mentioned Kiz, strikeouts have been a big issue: Story’s 663 Ks since he debuted in 2016 are third-most in all of baseball behind the Orioles’ Chris Davis and the A’s Khris Davis. He will have to discover a better two-strike approach to be more seriously considered among the top candidates for the MVP award.