With the Rockies playing in what most consider to be a hitters ballpark, maintaining quality pitching can be a bit challenging.
In the second episode of the Pretenders Or Contenders show, we discussed the Colorado Rockies and how they shape up for the 2021 season and in the future. While it looks like the Rockies do have some time before they actually get into contention again with the Dodgers and Padres in the division, they arguably have a great pitching staff in both the rotation and bullpen. You can find the whole show here:
The Colorado Rockies are coming off one of their worst trade moves in recent history, having to trade away their star third basemen in Nolan Arenado. They failed to surround him with talent to help secure the success of the team and be competitive, as a result, Arenado requested a trade and was met with one to the St. Louis Cardinals. Despite what the team had to suffer with in regards to Arenado and the possible future departure of Trevor Story, there are some pieces the Rockies have that could turn out to be positive.
Rotation Could Be a Bright Spot
As previously mentioned, the Rockies could have one of the top rotations on paper, however, because of the high altitude and Coors park, these pitchers numbers could fare a lot better. It starts at the top with German Marquez, who was named the Opening Day starter for the 2021 season, and it comes with good recognition as his 2020 stats are a night and day difference. In 2020, Marquez had a 5.68 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP at home in 38 innings pitched. On the road, he had a 2.06 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP, as you can see, there is definitely a Coors effect happening and it’s killing their own pitchers.
In an interesting twist, Antonio Senzatela, who is slated to pitch right after Marquez in the rotation against the Dodgers, had the opposite season in 2020. Senzatela had a 2.10 ERA with a 0.99 WHIP in 34.1 innings of work, while his road ERA was 4.62 with a 1.41 WHIP in exactly 39 innings pitched. Next in the rotation is Jon Gray, who was the Rockies first round pick with the third pick in 2013, is facing the same effect as Marquez as he had a 8.39 ERA with a 1.42 WHIP while pitching in Coors. On the road, Gray had a 3.77 ERA with a 1.47 WHIP in just 14.1 innings of work.
Austin Gomber is slated to pitch the last game of the opening series against the Dodgers and he’s one of the main pieces that came over from the St. Louis Cardinals in the Arenado trade. In his time with the Cardinals, Gomber was used both as a starter and reliever, however, coming over to the Rockies, it looks like he’ll be seen as a starter. His best season as a full time starter, came within the minor leagues back in 2015 when he had a 2.67 ERA with a 0.97 WHIP across 135 innings pitched. Only time will tell if Gomber can translate those numbers to pitching in Colorado and whether the Rockies plan to keep him as a starter.
Outside looking in
Despite their rotation looking to have already been filled out, the Rockies do have some pitching depth that could help them later on in the season and one starter trying to come back. Kyle Freeland was excepted to be in the Rockies rotation, until he was injured with a shoulder strain. He’s expected to miss at least a month based on the severity of the injury, but Freeland was one of the Rockies most promising left-handed starters. His best season was only about three seasons removed back in 2018, where he had an ERA of 2.85 and a 1.25 WHIP in 202.1 innings of work.
Other starters include reclamation projects that the Rockies hope find success in Chi Chi Gonzalez and newly acquired Dereck Rodriguez, son of the hall of fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez. Both have something to prove as the Rockies seemed to have made up their minds on how the rotation is going to play out. Gonzalez finished Spring Training with a 3.29 ERA in 4 starts while having a 1.32 WHIP. Rodriguez finished with a 8.31 ERA with a 1.85 WHIP in just 3 starts.