At What Point Do Colorado Rockies Fans Admit Yohan Flande Is… Good?

Aug 5, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher C. Rusin (52) pitches in the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Yohan Flande vs. Chris Rusin

Chris Rusin is an interesting comparison to Flande, too; neither are overpowering with their fastballs, neither has a put-away breaking ball, and both have to get by on doing the little things that are critical… like, ya know, locating pitches, getting ahead of hitters, and limiting walks.

Rusin has been in the rotation far longer than Flande this year, so it makes sense that while folks are starting to look at Rusin’s chances of being in the rotation next year, no one’s gone that far on Flande.

[ Related: I Want The Rockies To Lose 100 Games This Year, And You Should, Too ]

That’s fine, and I don’t have a problem with that; I’d rather see a healthy and decent Rockies rotation next season with Flande as the long reliever. But we’d be lying to ourselves if (that’s a big if!) Flande doesn’t have a few more good starts to end the season and comes into camp in 2016 having turned a few heads.

Either way, both Flande and Rusin prove the beauty of baseball, while coincidentally showing what can be so maddening about watching guys like Eddie Butler develop slower than we’d hope: just because you have the greatest tools, it doesn’t mean you’ll automatically be the best player. (And vice versa, just because you haven’t been gifted with the best stuff doesn’t mean you can’t make a career.)

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