Colorado Rockies 2016 Bullpen Wish List

Jun 8, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies relief pitcher B. Brown (51) and catcher N. Hundley (4) shake hands after the game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Coors Field. The Rockies won 11-3. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Middle inning relievers

The Wish List: Brooks Brown, Scott Oberg.

Brown has been buried at the end of the year after struggling with an injury, but when the dust settles at the end of September, he’s likely going to end up with some of the best relief numbers of anybody on the Colorado Rockies this year. The club would be wise to remember that for next season.

Oberg has come a long way in 2015, though he’s obviously not a finished product. With the stuff that he has and some of the nice work he’s shown, he might be a nice fit in the middle innings as he continues to learn how to throw in a big league bullpen. If Oberg can figure it out, he’s got big league quality velocity and stuff, and the Rockies shouldn’t let that go to waste just because of a bad 2015.

The Reality: Perhaps another new guy.

The middle relief corps could easily use the services of another new guy (or some of the organizational depth guys listed in the next paragraph) should Brown or Oberg falter, or get injured. Just please don’t make it someone older than 35…

[ Related: The Colorado Rockies shouldn’t forget about Brooks Brown ]

Organizational Depth: Simon Castro, Rex Brothers, Nelson Gonzalez, Justin Miller, Eddie Butler (?!).

These are all fairly obvious; it’s time to figure out if Brothers has anything left in the tank or if his career trajectory is plummeting. And it’s also time for the Colorado Rockies to figure out what they might have in Nelson Gonzalez, who’s had a few really nice seasons in the upper levels of the minor leagues recently.

I list Butler here in a purely speculative way; Chad Bettis struggled as a starter before the Rockies moved him to the bullpen to see if they could harness his stuff. Bettis ended up failing there, too, and moved back into the rotation, where he’s been good in 2015.

Could the same happen to Butler? It’s not likely, but the Colorado Rockies are no doubt trying to figure out right now if they’ve got a future Major League starter or a prospect bust — and it’s time to figure out what to do with him.

Next: Figuring out the path for a lefty specialist