The Colorado Rockies Could Sure Use Tyler Chatwood

Apr 13, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; Colorado Rockies pitcher Tyler Chatwood (27) prepares to deliver a pitch against the San Francisco Giants in the first inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

The right-handed starter is on the mend after Tommy John Surgery, and while he’s still just a few months away, you can’t help but get excited about what his return could mean for the club.

As I wrote a piece this morning about the Colorado Rockies using Christian Bergman as a spot starter tonight in San Francisco, a little tiny blurb came across one of the MLB.com articles I was reading on Bergman.

In its entirety:

"Righty Tyler Chatwood, attempting to come back from Tommy John surgery before season’s end, will be with the team through this road trip, then go to the team’s complex in Scottsdale, Ariz. Chatwood is on a prescribed 10-day rest period, then he will begin throwing breaking balls and work his way up to facing hitters."

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That’s it.

Obviously, we know Tyler Chatwood is on the mend from Tommy John surgery, and he’s still a ways off from getting back to the Rockies.

Nevertheless, it’s good to see his progression, at least thus far, seems to be moving normally.

Chatwood was a big loss when he went down after just four starts last season. His absence was one of the reasons the season tanked so hard, and so quickly, for Colorado after a fast start.

After two tough seasons breaking into the big leagues, Chatwood was a revelation in his third campaign, starting twenty games and winning eight, with the team going 11-9 in his appearances (in a year where the Rockies were a miserable 74-88).

Chatwood allowed just five home runs and 41 walks in 111.1 innings that season, and many believed he would be a key to the 2014 rotation before he went down after just four starts.

Chatwood won’t return in time to impact the team in any real way this summer (well, I assume, but if the Rockies are in the playoff race in September because baseball is crazy, I guess you never know?).

But for a club looking to the near future as they (hopefully) keep Tulo and CarGo – with the nucleus of Corey Dickerson, DJ LeMahieu and Nolan Arenado – and try to build quickly around them, Chatwood is a fascinating piece of the 2016 puzzle.

Best of luck to Tyler as he continues rehab this summer. The Rockies are going to need him next year and he’d be a nice piece of a rotation that could possibly look something like Jon Gray, Eddie Butler, Jorge De La Rosa, Chatwood, and Jordan Lyles/Tyler Matzek/Yohan Flande.

Okay, I was kidding about that last name.

But seriously, Chatwood’s return will only deepen the rotation, and (I know, best case scenario), the 2016 pitching staff may not be quite as miserable as those of the recent past.

And on an unrelated side note, Tyler Chatwood sounds like the name you’d give a character if you were writing an episode of Dawson’s Creek or One Tree Hill.

But now that I think about it… so does “Christian Bergman.” And “Brooks Brown.” And defintely “McKenzie Dickerson” (which is Corey’s real first name).

But not Troy Tulowitzki. That’s a baseball name all the way.

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