Colorado Rockies: Let’s Meet The Albuquerque Isotopes

Feb 25, 2015; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Colorado Rockies pitcher Jon Gray (55) fields a ground ball as teammates look on during a work out at Salt River Fields. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Pitchers

On the roster (13): Chad Bettis, Rex Brothers, Simon Castro, Jairo Diaz, Jon Gray, Jair Jurrjens, Tommy Kahnle, Aaron Laffey, John Lannan, Scott Oberg, Ken Roberts, Jorge Rondon, Chris Rusin.

On the 40-man roster (6): Brothers, Bettis, Diaz, Kahnle, Rondon, Rusin.

Ones to watch: Bettis, Brothres, Diaz, Kahnle, Gray, Rusin.

The first call-up: Chad Bettis.

The dark horse(s): Oberg, Roberts.

Live Feed

Tomahawk Take

Jon Gray is a well-documented prospect, so hopefully you’re already well aware of what he can (hopefully) do this year.

Brothers, Bettis, and Kahnle are Major League quality pitchers (well… sometimes), so it’s almost guaranteed that if all three are healthy and relatively effective, you’ll see each in spurts this year in Denver.

I expect Bettis to get the first call to the big leagues, depending on how the rotation shakes out in Denver, whether Eddie Butler can be healthy and effective, and whether Jorge De La Rosa can return on April 14 like he envisions.

Aside from Bettis, watch Brothers closely for how he rebounds to this demotion. The goal is for him to become the same pitcher he was before 2014, and find his way in low-pressure games in the minor leagues. It remains to be seen if he can do that, but Albuquerque is going to have to be the place where he gets it together.

Kahnle, and to a lesser extent, Diaz, are power bullpen arms that were the odd men out in the Spring Training’s roster shakedown. Expect Kahnle to be first reliever up this summer after his solid work in his rookie season, and Diaz’s age and blazing fastball make him a candidate to show up at Coors Field this summer, too.

The dark horses are interesting. Oberg was with the club until the very end of Spring Training, and was being considered for a spot in the bullpen up through the end of March. Some AAA time will be good for him, as he’s never pitched above AA, but his track record closing games in the minor leagues makes him an interesting project for the Rockies.

Roberts pitched in the Arizona Fall League last November, and was also with the big league club for much of spring. The left-handed reliever could squeak a spot in the bigs at some point this year; after all, you can never have too many lefties, right? If Boone Logan is injured again, Brothers never makes his way back up to Denver, and/or Christian Friedrich proves completely ineffective in a longer look in the ‘pen, the door would open for Roberts – and possibly Chris Rusin – to throw some big leagues innings later this summer.

As for starters, besides Gray’s imminent return to Denver and Bettis’ development, John Lannan is probably the next in line should the Rockies see a rash of pitching injuries. He has experience with the Nationals, Mets, and Phillies, starting 148 big league games thus far in his career.

Next: Getting To Know Albuquerque's Catchers