Tyler Chatwood Sends Notice

On April 29th Tyler Chatwood threw 6 shutout innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He struck out 5 and walked none. He looked polished and he looked like he belonged in his two starts as a replacement in the rotation for the injured Jhoulys Chacin. His demotion back to AAA while the struggling Juan Nicasio remained with the Rockies drew the ire of many, and rightfully so.

Chatwood. Image: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

It would have been one thing for Chatwood to follow up those performances with the Rockies with continued solid pitching on the Sky Sox. It is entirely another for him to go down and be utterly dominant. Well that is exactly what he was Tuesday night as he pitched against the Iowa Cubs at the same time that the Rockies were engaged in a pitcher’s duel with the New York Yankees.

How does a complete game shutout sound?

Furthermore, of his 90 pitches 70 were strikes. Does that sound like a guy who should have lost his spot in the rotation?

Put a different way: if the roles were reversed and Nicasio was the one sent to the Sky Sox, would he have been capable of this performance? The guy who absolutely labors to get through 5 innings? It’s doubtful.

What do you think Rox Pilers? I say there is nothing Nicasio can do Wednesday night, given his struggles so far, that will prove he belongs in front of Chatwood. What do you think?