Breaking Down The Current State Of The Colorado Rockies

After showing some hope winning two out of three against the best team in baseball, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Colorado Rockies have stumbled on their six-game road trip, collecting just one win over that span. The Rockies find themselves back in the cellar of the National League West, looking for answers.

One thing is for certain with this team: they can hit. One thing is also for certain — it’s a free-swinging team, so you’re going to see a lot of frustrating at-bats. Colorado is one of the worst teams in baseball when it comes to being patient at the plate. Colorado strikes out nearly eight times per contest (21.1%), placing them 20th in the league. Not to mention, the team averages just two walks per game, good for 29th (5.8%).

One statistic that is blown out of proportion is their runners in scoring position average. The Rockies lead the Majors with an average of .301 with runners in scoring position, yet they rank in the middle of the pack at 15th with 192 runs scored. Also, only the last seven days, Colorado has batted just .227 with runners in scoring position, directly reflecting on their 1-5 record.

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Pitching has shown some signs of encouragement, including starters Chad Bettis and Jorge De La Rosa, yet Colorado is feeling the aftermath of both Tyler Matzek and Eddie Butler struggling. Nick Groke, Rockies beat writer for The Denver Post, said it best on Twitter: “#Rockies are facing the fruits of Tyler Matzek’s and Eddie Butler’s struggles…”

Matzek and Butler were supposed to be two key parts of this youthful rotation, yet one is on the verge of making a rebound start with the Boise Hawks (Matzek) and the other is working on kinks with the Triple-A affiliate Albuquerque Isotopes (Butler). So in the mean time, Colorado will see a lot of Chris Rusin and David Hale, but hopefully not for long.

Rusin gave Colorado three excellent starts after being called up from Triple-A Albuquerque. Over 11.2 innings against both the Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies, Rusin gave up just one earned run on eight hits while walking five and striking out seven. The lefty shortly fell back down to earth over his last two contests, seeing his ERA go from 1.45 to 5.14. Rusin gave up 13 earned runs over 9.1 innings pitched. Not to mention, Chris gave up 20 hits over that span while dropping two-straight. Who knows, Colorado’s top prospect Jon Gray (3rd overall pick, 2013) could possibly swoop in and nab Rusin’s spot in the rotation.

Jon Gray had a rough start to the season in Triple-A Albuquerque, but the flame-throwing right-hander is showing the Rockies exactly what kind of pitcher he is capable of being. After seeing his ERA hover around the 7-10 mark, Gray is finally seeing that number drop ever so quickly. Gray has put together a string of six-straight quality starts, collecting a record of 2-1 as his ERA sits at 4.62. In his most recent start against the El Paso Chihuahuas, Gray yielded three runs – two earned on three hits while walking one and striking out eight. You’d have to think Colorado turns to their top prospect to make his big league debut this weekend at Coors, right?

One player that isn’t getting enough credit for his production so far this summer is second baseman DJ LeMahieu. DJ has somewhat cooled off with the stick over the past seven days, collecting a .276 average (8-for-29) as his overall average went from .351 to .332 in five games. Colorado’s second baseman is currently fourth in the National League in hitting, yet not even in the top three voting wise for the All-Star Game.

One member of the Colorado Rockies could certainly be on the hot seat, and that would be head coach Walt Weiss. Weiss, in his third year as coach of the Colorado Rockies, have been given the benefit of the doubt by new general manager Jeff Bridich due to the injury-prone roster Colorado has endured the past couple of seasons. After seeing the San Diego Padres fire Bud Black after posting a 32-34 record to start the season, Weiss is being questioned more and more with his use of the lineup and in certain critical situations. Bobby DeMuro, Editor of Rox Pile, appointed to the wrong doing of Weiss by not pinch-hitting All-Star Carlos Gonzalez instead of Rafael Ynoa late in Monday night’s contest against the Houston Astros while trailing by three. Not to mention, Colorado had two runners on base. CarGo was the in the lineup Tuesday afternoon and belted not one, but two home runs in the loss.

There are a lot of areas in which Colorado needs to improve on to become better as a unit, but don’t be surprised if there is a call-up regarding a certain top prospect (Jon Gray) this weekend at 20th and Blake. That’s always exciting.

Rockies Current Record: 28-36

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Breaking Down The Current State Of The Colorado Rockies: June Edition

By Andrew Dill | Jun 16, 2015