Colorado Rockies Old Friends: Catching Up With The 2014 Team

Sep 3, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies pitcher J. Nicasio (12) delivers a pitch during the ninth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field. The Rockies won 9-2. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

The 2014 Colorado Rockies were not very good. But how are they doing (well, the ones that aren’t here any more) in 2015? We take a look as the season comes to a close!

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The 2015 Colorado Rockies aren’t going to end up being anything special, but there’s one thing for certain, at least based on their record going into Thursday’s game: they mathematically can’t be any worse than the 2014 version of the club (it’s the little things!).

The 2014 Colorado Rockies put up the second-worst record in franchise history at 66-96, eclipsed only by the 2012 team that lost 98 games. Yikes.

Between May 21 and June 10, that 2014 club had a 3-16 stretch, which they followed with a five-game winning streak (yay!), and then another 6-20 stretch which led them into the All Star Break.

So… as you could’ve guessed if you didn’t already know by following last summer’s club, a lot of guys who played ball in Denver in 2014 weren’t brought back this year. But how are they doing? Are they succeeding elsewhere? Did the Rockies dump future stars?

I figured, since it’s the final week of the 2015 season, why not take a look around the league at some of the notable Rockies from the 2014 club and see how everyone’s doing around baseball:

Josh Rutledge
After the Rockies traded Rutledge to Anaheim last winter, he was moved again — for Shane Victorino — to the Boston Red Sox a couple months ago. With Boston, he’s finally gotten a chance to play in the big leagues, and he did well enough that he’ll probably get a look next year, too: .290/.342/.348 with 11 runs scored and 10 more RBIs in 37 games for the Sox at the end of the year.

Michael Cuddyer
Cuddyer couldn’t repeat his 2013-2014 magic in New York this summer, and missed some time with injury playing for the Mets — but, he is going to the playoffs, so there’s that. In 115 games this year (401 plate appearances), Cuddyer has slashed .263/.314/.398 with 10 homers and 18 doubles.

Jordan Pacheco
Pacheco spent the year with the Diamondbacks, playing on the dreaded train back and forth from AAA Reno, from where he was called up several times to replace injured or ineffective players. In the big leagues this year, in 29 total games, he slashed .242/.333/.333 in 66 at-bats with two home runs. He’ll go through arbitration with Arizona this winter.

Ryan Wheeler
After spending parts of 2013 and 2014 with the Colorado Rockies, 2015 was a very difficult year for Wheeler. He didn’t reach the big leagues, and was released from two organizations (Angels, Twins) at the AAA level, and found himself out of a job by July 1. In total, he slashed .258/.269/.359 in 128 at-bats.

Jackson Williams
Williams made his Major League debut with the Colorado Rockies in 2014, but then went right back to the Giants in ’15 when the Rockies designated him for assignment before the season. He had been banished to AA Richmond in the Giants’ organization, but multiple injuries to catchers necessitated they call him up to San Francisco this year, and the former first-round pick did fairly well there in limited playing time.

Jason Pridie
Pridie, seemingly one of those quintessential career AAAA players, spent about 10 days in Oakland with the A’s this summer, going 0-for-9 in 10 plate appearances. He did slash .310/.380/.515 with 20 home runs and 24 doubles for AAA Nashville in 127 games in the Athletics’ system around his big league cup of coffee.

Franklin Morales
Morales signed a one-year, $1.85 million deal with Kansas City last winter, and it seems to have paid off for both parties. In 66 games (61.2 innings), Morales is 4-2 with a 3.23 ERA (3.53 FIP), 41 strikeouts, just 14 walks, and a 1.158 WHIP. Not bad for a guy who finished 2014 as that year’s version of… Kyle Kendrick…

Jhoulys Chacin
We’ve documented Chacin on this site quite a bit before (here, and here, and here, and here). He’s going to get a long-term chance at a rotation spot with the Diamondbacks in 2016, and he deserves it.

Nick Masset
Masset split 2015 between the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves thanks to a midseason trade, in total going 2-2 with a 4.68 ERA in 28 games (8 in Miami, 20 in Atlanta). Soon to be 34 years old, it remains to be seen how much more Masset has in his big league career.

Juan Nicasio
Nicasio, traded to Los Angeles after the 2014 season, has found a home in the Dodgers’ bullpen this year. In 52 games (58 innings), he’s 1-3 with a 3.57 ERA (2.83 FIP) and 65 strikeouts (10.1 per nine innings). Relief Nicasio is a marked improvement from starter Nicasio.

Brett Anderson
Anderson joined Nicasio in LA, and Anderson has — miraculously — spent the entire year healthy in the Dodgers’ starting rotation. It remains to be seen if they will use Anderson in the playoffs in the rotation, but at least for the regular season, his stat line was solid if not spectacular: 10-9, 3.69 ERA, 31 starts (career high), 180.1 innings (career high), and a 1.33 WHIP.

Rob Scahill
Like Nicasio, Scahill moved on to a playoff contender for 2015 — in his case, the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 28 games with the Pirates, Scahill has been very good, going 2-4 with a 2.84 ERA, though he has benefitted from some good luck, too, after walking 16 and getting a 1.598 WHIP in 30.2 innings.

Jair Jurrjens
The Colorado Rockies retained Jurrjens for 2015 after he threw all of 9.1 innings last year, but it didn’t much matter. After making a few starts in AAA Albuquerque this summer, he was placed on the inactive list, and eventually released.

Wilton Lopez
Things went downhill fast for Wilton Lopez, didn’t they? After a handful of awful games in Denver in 2014, he was banished to AAA (then Colorado Springs) for the rest of the year, and was cut without fanfare after the season. The Toronto Blue Jays signed him to a minor league deal before Spring Training in 2015, but he couldn’t stick with them, and he’s been looking for a job in baseball all year.

Colorado Rockies Old Friends: Catching Up With The 2014 Team

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