Gushing over Jon Gray

Gray’s fastball

Worthy of consideration on its own, the life on Gray’s fastball is apparent right away. It gets on hitters in a hurry and he generally seems to locate it well when he’s going right. He’s been going right quite often in recent weeks, and much of that good work has presumably been because he can overwhelm Double-A hitters with his fastball.

Downward tilt on the fastball

I found this especially promising as I watched Gray’s starts. Many of his fastballs have nice downward tilt on them. Combined with his plus velocity, that is going to create a lot of weak ground balls. You know what the Rockies love? Starting pitchers who can get ground balls. If Gray has the ability to pair his swing-and-miss stuff with the ability to consistently get grounders and therefore work more efficiently, he will be uniquely positioned to be the rare true ace in Colorado.