Colorado Rockies 2016 Bullpen Wish List

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Aug 20, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Y. Flande (58) following a strikeout in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Long relievers

The Wish List: Yohan Flande.

Flande is starting for the Colorado Rockies right now, though his best fit is probably in long relief, where he can face batters one or two times, fill the zone with strikes, and eat innings in almost any situation. It’s that third time through the lineup where Flande struggles as a starter, but in long relief, he’d never have to see the lineup three times.

The Reality: The long relievers have to start too often for their own good.

The reality for the Rockies’ long reliever is that far too often, they are turned into emergency starters that end up making five, or ten, or fifteen starts in a season (as is the case with Flande both last year and this year). If the Colorado Rockies’ starting staff could find consistency, and the long men could stay in their roles in the bullpen, rather than making starts, then we could actually have something here.

Organizational Depth: Christian Bergman, Gonzalez Germen.

Bergman is really close to Flande in terms of quality of long relief innings, but I like Flande a little more for this because (a) his stuff is better and harder than that of Bergman, and perhaps most importantly (b) he’s a lefty.

The Rockies likely aren’t going to have too many lefties next year, assuming there are no lefty specialists signed this winter, and Jordan Lyles, Tyler Chatwood, Eddie Butler, Chad Bettis, and/or Jon Gray return to the starting rotation in some combination.

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