Colorado Rockies Ought Not To Forget About Brooks Brown In The Bullpen

May 31, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Colorado Rockies relief pitcher B. Brown (51) throws a pitch during the seventh inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Rockies defeated the Phillies, 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The Colorado Rockies chose not to activate the reliever after he finished his rehab assignment, instead opting to send him to AAA at least until rosters expand.

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After recovering from a shoulder injury, Colorado Rockies’ reliever Brooks Brown successfully made it through his rehab assignment at AAA Albuquerque.

To celebrate, with Colorado’s struggling bullpen thick in the middle of the dog days of August, the Rockies’ front office took 2015 Brown (3.86 ERA, just 19 hits allowed in 23.2 innings, 0.8 home runs per nine innings, 1.28 WHIP and 120 ERA+) and… optioned him to Albuquerque full-time?

I understand the Rockies want to look at Simon Castro and Jairo Diaz right now, in addition to giving Scott Oberg and Christian Friedrich their chances in the ‘pen, and that there’s just not enough room down there to fit Brown right now, too.

I’m on record campaigning for the Rockies to use guys auditioning for next year in the pen at this point; Castro, Diaz, Oberg, and Friedrich fit that bill, and I’m fine watching them develop (however painful it may be, sometimes). But Brown, while not as young as the others, is another pitcher the Rockies ought to rely on next year.

Brown has shown flashes of being a good late-inning reliever, and now that he’s back healthy (and throwing well in Albuquerque after rehab), I’d much prefer to see him in Denver than, say, John Axford, who won’t be with the Rockies next year.

Obviously, the Rockies are limited in roster spots right now, though, and they will be for the next week until rosters can expand. At that point, I’d expect to see Brown back in the bullpen along with a few other relievers auditioning for future roles.

This year has been kind of a lost season for Brown, unfortunately. He finished 2014 as a lights out bullpen arm, started 2015 in a similar fashion, had a few tough outings, and then lost a few months to a shoulder injury.

Such is baseball, of course, but Brown deserves to be part of the future plans with the Rockies next year. There’s value there in using him as a middle-to-late inning reliever, and we all know the Colorado Rockies need all the bullpen help they can get.

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