Colorado Rockies 2015 Crystal Ball: Boone Logan

Apr 10, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Boone Logan (48) delivers a pitch in the ninth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field. The Rockies defeated the Cubs 5-1. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

As the season gets underway, RoxPile.com is making some fun (but completely unqualified!) predictions about how members of the Colorado Rockies will fare this summer. In this edition: Boone Logan.

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Boone Logan signed a three-year, $16.5 million deal with the Colorado Rockies before last year, and, unfortunately, never came close to producing enough for his paycheck in 2014.

Injuries hampered him all summer, but when he was on the field, he wasn’t particularly good, either, earning a 6.84 ERA, 5.13 FIP and 1.680 WHIP in 25 innings, and giving up six (!) home runs in just 116 batters faced.

Now, in the second year of his three-year deal, and hopefully finally healthy, Logan needs a big year in the bullpen for the Rockies as a left-handed specialist and/or a late inning relief option.

What The Numbers Say

FanGraphs lists various projection systems, which you can learn more about here.

As should be expected, projections anticipate Logan to do much better in 2015 than he did in 2014, with each one expecting him to throw 55 or 56 games and seeing ERAs from 3.75 to 4.15, and FIPs from 3.62 to 3.85.

All three believe he will strike out more than a batter per inning this year, each projecting he’ll strike out more than his 9.20 per nine-inning career average, too.

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Call to the Pen

Best-Case Scenario

In a best case scenario, Logan can re-live his 2013 with the Yankees, which saw him strike out 11.5 batters per nine innings and allow just 33 hits and 13 walks in 39.1 innings, good for a 1.179 WHIP.

He probably won’t close (many) games for the Rockies this summer, who have the luxury of deciding between LaTroy Hawkins, John Axford, Rafael Betancourt, and Adam Ottavino, but Logan could also pick up some saves depending on matchups in the ninth inning of games.

Worst-Case Scenario

A bad situation for Logan would probably look much like last year: injury and ineffectiveness to create a black hole in his bullpen spot.

Logan led the league in appearances in 2012, and then threw a combined 64 innings across the last two years, so a worst-case scenario would probably see him struggling to stay on the field again this season and effectively being irrelevant for the club, which would then have to rely much heavier on Christian Friedrich and Rex Brothers.

Crystal Ball

I like Logan to have a big year for the Rockies this summer. Finally healthy, I think he’ll earn the big contract and pitch the entire year out of the ‘pen as a perfect mix of lefty situational help, and late-innings set-up man effectiveness.

He won’t close games like Hawkins, Betancourt, Axford and Ottavino could/will, but he’ll rack up a ton of strikeouts and pitch so many of those important sixth, seventh, and eighth innings and preserve leads in tight games.

Give us your predictions!

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