Colorado Rockies Rumors: Is There Concern About Tyler Anderson?

Are the Colorado Rockies worried about regression with starter Tyler Anderson? There are certainly some signs of concern after the rotation was tweaked for the three-game series starting on Friday night with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Originally, Anderson was slated to start Friday night’s series opener. However, German Marquez will now swap nights with Anderson. Marquez was originally scheduled to pitch on Saturday but will now be throwing Friday while Anderson is now scheduled to pitch on Saturday.

Marquez (0-1, 7.20 ERA) will now face off against Arizona ace Zack Greinke (2-2, 3.19 ERA) on Friday while Anderson (1-3, 7.71 ERA) will square off against Patrick Corbin (2-3, 2.29 ERA) on Saturday. Sunday’s starters have yet to be determined, according to MLB.com.

According to Thomas Harding of MLB.com, Anderson being pushed back a day was to not only break up back-to-back southpaws throwing for the Rockies (Kyle Freeland pitched on Thursday against San Diego) but also to allow Anderson time to work on “delivery flaws.”

"“We wanted to give ‘Andy’ a couple days’ more rest,” Rockies manager Bud Black told reporters in San Diego. “He, Tyler (Chatwood) and Antonio Senzatela are the guys that have been going at it pretty strong. It gave him a little bit of a break before this next start to work on a couple of things. So it was primarily to split the lefties, and also give Tyler a few extra days.”"

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There’s little question that Anderson has been unable to duplicate his 2016 success so far this season. In 114.1 innings last season, the 27-year-old allowed 12 home runs. This season in 30.1 innings, Anderson has already surrendered nine homers. That’s tied for the second-highest total in Major League Baseball. Even worse, Anderson is tied with teammate Tyler Chatwood.

Three of those homers came in Anderson’s last outing on April 29 in Arizona when he allowed six runs on seven hits in five innings.

"“He’s making too many mistakes. The more mistakes you make, the higher the chance of giving up hits,” Black told reporters after Anderson’s last outing. “He’s behind in counts. The (Brandon) Drury at-bat, behind 2-0. The (Jeff) Mathis at-bat, 3-1. The ball to (Jake) Lamb was supposed to be a slider down and away and it was up, middle-in.”"

Opponents this season are hitting .303 against Anderson. As Harding noted in his article, Anderson’s location has been off dramatically this season, leaving pitches over the plate.

It’s worth noting that Anderson now just has 25 Major League starts under his belt, so there is still plenty of room for growth and experience to be gained. But, with Jon Gray still on the disabled list and Chatwood struggling as well, the Rockies need for Anderson to find his footing quickly.

Next: The Latest News from Colorado's Farm System

Anderson hasn’t seen any time in the minors since he was called up on June 11 last season. However, it’s certainly a possibility that he could be sent down to work on his mechanics if an answer isn’t found sooner than later.

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