ROTATION IS BIG PART OF ROCKIES’ ISSUES
At the start of spring training, Rockies manager Bud Black was asked a blunt question: “Is the Rockies’ rotation “as good as or better than” the Dodgers’?” L.A. has won the previous six National League West titles.
“The Dodgers have a very good rotation, and these are different rotations because they are different pitchers,” Black answered. “But we feel like on any given night, any given start, we can match up with anybody.”
Forty-five games into the season, the shiny optimism of spring training is fading. Fast.
The Rockies’ chances of overtaking the Dodgers this season are looking remote. After getting swept in three games at Philadelphia over the weekend, Colorado dropped 9K games behind Los Angeles.
The biggest culprit has been starting pitching. Rockies’ starters have bottomed out: 5.64 ERA (worst in NL), .276 batting average against (worst), 1.45 WHIP (worst) and 47 home runs given up (tied for most).
To be fair, Black was not the only one bullish about Colorado’s starting five. Plenty of pundits, both local and national, were touting the rotation as the team’s strength, perhaps the best in team history. So were the pitchers.
“We are a rotation that isn’t a stranger to this level of play,” left-hander Kyle Freeland said during spring training. “We feel like we can compete and belong with the upper echelon of pitchers — one through five in the rotation, and beyond that.”
Freeland and Black’s words sounded reasonable at the time. After all, Colorado’s rotation posted a 4.17 ERA last season, which was the second-lowest in franchise history, behind only the 2009 team (4.10). Rockies starters logged 84 quality starts, the third-most in franchise history. And it was a young
group on the rise.
But it has fallen fast, most noticeably Freeland. In Colorado’s 7-5 loss at Philadelphia on Sunday, Freeland gave up three runs in less than two innings. It was the shortest start of his career, save for Aug. 4, 2017, when he faced two batters before being taken out because of an injured groin.
“Overall, I need to have better command, need to finish hitters better, need to get ahead in counts,” Freeland said.
His words hold true for most of his teammates in the rotation. Following is a capsule look at the Rockies starters:
RHP German Marquez (4-2, 3.80 ERA, 1.19 WHIP):
He’s been, by far, Colorado’s best starter. He almost threw a perfect game at San Francisco on April 14 when he halted the Rockies’ eight-game losing streak. He’s had some bumps in the road, but he’s pitched well and can be dominating.
RHP Jon Gray (3-4, 4.73 ERA, 1.37 WHIP):
The right-hander has been the definition of inconsistency. One bad inning derails him on a consistent basis. The number of home runs he’s giving up is disconcerting. In 2017, he gave up just 10 homers in 20 starts, but he’s already served up 10 in nine starts this season.
LHP Kyle Freeland (2-5, 6.02 ERA, 1.43 WHIP):
He finished fourth in the NL Cy Young Award voting last season, posting a 2.85 ERA, so big things were expected of Freeland. Black remains confident that the Freeland will figure things out.
RHP Antonio Senzatela (3-3, 4.89, 1.45 WHIP):
He’s added an increasingly effective changeup to his repertoire, and after getting battered by the Giants on May 7, his last two starts have been encouraging.
LHP Tyler Anderson (0-3, 11.76 ERA, 2.13 WHIP):
Anderson is on the injured list with left knee inflammation and surgery is a possibility. The lefthander has clearly not been right this season as his .363 batting average against illustrates. If Anderson is out for an extended length of time, which seems to be a possibility, Colorado will need a fifth starter, probably right-hander Jeff Hoffman as a call-up from Triple-A Albuquerque.