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Colorado Rockies Rundown: CarGo, Chatwood, Complete Games, And More

By BobDeMuro |
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Sep 3, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher C. Rusin (52) celebrates with teammates after pitching a complete game against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field. The Rockies defeated the Giants 11-3. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Your morning rundown — news, notes, analysis, and more — on the biggest stories surrounding the Colorado Rockies for this Friday, September 4, 2015.

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The Colorado Rockies are high off a big 11-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants, and now get to face them three more times throughout the weekend. And the Giants, of course are reeling hard after losing three straight in L.A. and now a fourth in Denver, as they see their playoff hopes flash before their eyes.

So all in all, a pretty damn good time to be a Rockies fan! (Just…. forget about roughly 92% of the games played this year and you’ll be fine.)

Anyways, a few things to get to this morning… Here’s what’s going down in today’s edition of the rundown:

  • Chris Rusin tosses a complete game… again.
  • Tyler Chatwood is healthy, but don’t expect him back in Denver until next year.
  • A minor leaguer in the Colorado Rockies’ system makes an incredible grab, and we’ve got the video.
  • Carlos Gonzalez is halfway decent at baseball.
  • Thoughts on Jon Gray. Well, thoughts on people who have thoughts on Jon Gray.

Lots to discuss! Let’s cover today’s news and notes around the Colorado Rockies.

Next: Chris Rusin goes the distance

Sep 3, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher C. Rusin (52) pitches in the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Chris Rusin goes the distance… again

(via MLB.com)

Chris Rusin, of course, threw another complete game on Thursday night in the Colorado Rockies’ win over San Francisco. That makes his second complete game of the year — and it comes in his first home start since he allowed 12 hits and 11 runs to the New York Mets back on August 22.

Weiss spoke very highly of Rusin (again) after the phenomenal start:

“Chris has done a great job for us, and he’s taken full advantage of the opportunity that he’s gotten this year. His athleticism showed up again tonight — fielding the position, swinging the bat, running the bases. He’s got a great feel for pitching. He messes with hitters’ timing by changing his delivery. He’s just got a real good feel for getting outs. He commanded the ball really well tonight.”

[ Related: The Colorado Rockies found a tough dude in Chris Rusin ]

And there was more at stake for Rusin, too:

So there you go! A little bit of history for the left-hander who more and more is angling for a legitimate chance at a spot in the starting rotation in 2016.

Next: Tyler Chatwood won't be back 'til 2016

Sep 24, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies pitcher T. Chatwood (32) reacts after hitting Boston Red Sox left fielder D. Nava (29) with a pitch during the first inning at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Don’t expect any Tyler Chatwood… yet

(via MLB.com)

We reported yesterday that Tyler Chatwood was throwing again and healthy. That’s still all true, of course, but don’t count on him pitching in the Major Leagues this year, at least according to Walt Weiss.

The Colorado Rockies’ manager spoke to MLB.com, and after confirming Chatwood was not a candidate to pitch for the Rockies this month, said about the starter:

“All reports said the ball was coming out really well. He was 93 to 96 [mph]. Got extended the first inning. He gave up a homer [in the second], so the results weren’t [great]. But he’s coming off a second Tommy John surgery. First time he’s been in competition in a very long time. “Most important thing is that he was throwing the ball really well. So [we’re] very encouraged by his outing.”

[ Related: Don’t forget about Tyler Chatwood (again) ]

Obviously, considering Chatwood will have missed nearly two full seasons of competition over this injury, his timetable at the end of the year with the Rockies having absolutely nothing on the line ought not to be rushed.

He’ll compete for a starting rotation job in 2016, and if he returns to anything like what he’d been for the Rockies in the past, Chatwood could be a very important piece of the staff.

Next: An amazing minor league catch!

Watch this amazing catch!

(via CutFour)

An outfielder for the Grand Junction Rockies made an incredible catch this week. Here:

That a baby, Bobby Stahel! (The YouTube description is wrong; Stahel plays for the Grand Junction Rockies and was playing against the Orem Owlz.)

[ Related: Colorado Rockies minor league updates ]

Stahel is having a nice year for the rookie level Rockies, slashing .288/.351/.424 with 7 doubles, 5 triples, 2 home runs and 10 stolen bases in 48 games. The USC product, drafted in the 20th round this summer, has been sharing outfield duties in Grand Junction and you’d figure will have a shot in Boise next year, if not compete for a position on the full-season roster of the Asheville Tourists.

Next: CarGo's decent at baseball

Aug 30, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Colorado Rockies right fielder C. Gonzalez (5) looks on over the dugout railing against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the eighth inning at PNC Park. The Rockies won 5-0. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Carlos Gonzalez is pretty good, eh?

(via Twitter, etc.)

It turns out Carlos Gonzalez is very good at baseball (who knew?!?!), so instead of writing and re-writing that, I give you some fun Twitter statistics that were posted after the right fielder mashed another home run Thursday night:

That’s a hell of a list to be on, no matter what the statistic.

[ Related: Carlos Gonzalez is still stupid good, you guys ]

Basically, he’s having a very special season for the Colorado Rockies, even despite starting so slowly for the first couple months.

And there’s perhaps the most mind-blowing of all the CarGo statistics from last night…

Josh Rutledge? JOSH RUTLEDGE?! Wasn’t it fun crazy that we used to think Josh Rutledge was a suitable middle infielder with some pop? Ah, the good old days.

Next: Some thoughts on Jon Gray

Aug 28, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher J. Gray (55) pitches to Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder G. Polanco (R) during the fourth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Some thoughts on Jon Gray

(via Purple Row, also Purple Row)

No need to link to the embarrassingly ignorant hot take a certain Denver newspaper had on Jon Gray early Thursday morning, so let’s instead focus on good and intelligent content that provides depth, via Purple Row in the links above.

Obviously, for the first one, as stated in the post, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and if you (or any certain writer at any certain “paper of record” in Denver) believes that six starts are enough on which to judge Jon Gray’s full career… yikes, man. Maybe baseball isn’t the sport you ought to cover, because it doesn’t sound like you know very much about it.

[ Related: Jon Gray belongs with the Colorado Rockies ]

The other piece — Drew Creasman’s question about shutting down Gray for the rest of the month — is the more interesting one, though. There certainly may be value in doing it for a guy who has already thrown nearly 150 innings this year, just two years out of college ball at the University of Oklahoma.

I think the Colorado Rockies will likely give him another couple starts — if only because they are now on that six-man rotation and can justify giving him the extra day of rest every time they go through another turn — and because they’d probably like him to experience a little more success before he shuts it down for the year.

Obviously, David Hale is likely the one most ready to step into the rotation should Gray be removed, with Christian Bergman also a likely candidate.

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