2015 Colorado Rockies: End of the Season Awards

Jul 11, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; A general view during the national anthem before the game between the Colorado Rockies and the Atlanta Braves at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

The Colorado Rockies were unimpressive during the 2015 campaign — what’s new? Injuries, regression, lack of pitching or depth for that matter continues to haunt this team season after season. Even though they weren’t successful, we still have some awards to hand out here at Rox Pile.

We will be breaking down the various winners for such awards as follows; Biggest Surprise, Least Valuable Player, Cy Young, Silver Slugger, Rookie of the Year and Team MVP.

Let’s get started!

Next: Biggest Surprise

Aug 21, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) hits a three run home run during the fourth inning against the New York Mets at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Biggest Surprise: Nolan Arenado’s Bat.

The biggest surprise of the 2015 season for me had to have been the power from the bat of Nolan Arenado. Yes, we all knew he was a fielding magician and silky smooth might I add, yet he turned himself into an All-Star this season, playing in his first Midsummer Classic.

I recently constructed a report card for Nolan’s 2015 season in our Rockies Year in Review series, basically just raving about his above-average power. Like I mentioned in the article, I projected the Gold Glover to have somewhere in the range of 15-20 bombs — boy was I wrong?

Arenado not only surpassed my projection, he doubled it. Nolan finished the season collecting 42 home runs, good for first in the National League and third overall in the Majors. Talk about a swift change in production from the young third baseman. Nolan played in just 111 games last season due to injury, posting 34 doubles and 18 home runs, compared to the 2015 season where he hit 43 doubles accompanied with his 42 home runs.

Overall, Nolan Arenado is my biggest surprise (kinda) for the 2015 season. He deserves MVP considerations albeit being on a terrible team.

Other Candidates: Chris Rusin, Chad Bettis, Yohan Flande.

Next: Least Valuable Player

Jul 26, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Rafael Betancourt (63) delivers a pitch during the eighth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Coors Field. The Rockies won 17-7. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Least Valuable Player: Rafael Betancourt

Least Valuable Player would have to go to veteran reliever Rafael Betancourt; father time caught up to him quickly as he simply didn’t have enough left in the tank.

Rafael has been heavily relied upon during his six-year stint in Colorado, starting in 2009 in which they made the playoffs. Betancourt was acquired from the Cleveland Indians during the middle of the ’09 season in order to provide stability in the bullpen — he did just that.

Betancourt made 32 appearances for the Rockies that season, collecting a record of 3-1 with an ERA of 1.78. Raffy logged 25.1 innings during that stretch, allowing five runs on 17 hits while walking five and striking out 29 — good for 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings.

Last season was one to forget for the veteran. During the final stretch of the 2013 season, Rafael tore his ulnar collateral ligament in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies, opting for Tommy John surgery. That surgery would force him to sit out for the entire 2014 campaign as Colorado looked for answers in the backend of their bullpen.

Betancourt made his return from Tommy John in 2015 and didn’t look like the same pitcher one bit. Velocity was obviously down, but his hit-and-miss stuff wasn’t there. Raffy made 45 appearances for the Rockies this past season, registering a 2-4 record combined with an ERA of 6.18. Betancourt was still missing bats, registering 9.2 strikeouts per nine, yet he couldn’t prevent the big innings.

The 40-year-old gave up 27 runs on 43 hits, walking 12 batters in 39.1 innings pitched. Raffy also registered the worst WAR (Wins Above Replacement) for any Rockies’ pitcher this season (-0.6).

Betancourt will forever be one of my favorite relievers but this season was one to wash. I would elect to go with Kyle Kendrick here as well but we will save that for our Rockies’ Year in Review series, which is already covered.

Other Candidates: Kyle Parker, Kyle Kendrick, Eddie Butler.

Next: Cy Young

Jul 27, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Jorge De La Rosa (29) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports

Cy Young: Jorge De La Rosa

Cy Young goes to the best pitcher on a given team. As for the Rockies, Jorge De La Rosa gets the crown yet again. You could go either way with he or Chad Bettis who burst onto the scene in 2015, but Jorge was consistent yet again for a woeful team.

De La Rosa made 26 starts for the Colorado Rockies this past season, inheriting a record of 9-7 with an ERA of 4.17. The motto for De La Rosa over his career has been pretty simple; start slow and finish strong. For the month of April, De La Rosa made two starts, giving up nine runs over seven innings; that’s a 11.57 ERA for you.

After posting ERA’s of 4.79 and 3.16 in the months of May and June respectively, De La Rosa hit a speed bump in the month of July. The veteran made five starts that month, going 1-1 with a 6.08 ERA. De La Rosa logged 26.2 innings, giving up 18 runs during that span. The weird part is that opponents hit just .245 off him, opposed to his month of April which was .382.

De La Rosa finally looked like himself in the month of August and September. The native of Monterrey, Mexico finished with ERA’s of 2.87 and 2.70 respectively, collecting an even record of 3-3. De La Rosa struck out 46 batters over 57.2 innings pitched, yielding just 18 runs. Jorge saw his ERA drop from 4.87 to 4.17 in a matter of two months.

De La Rosa takes home the trophy as Colorado’s Cy Young.

Other Candidates: Chad Bettis

Next: Silver Slugger

Aug 21, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Jon Gray (55) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the New York Mets at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Rookie of the Year: Jon Gray

Rookie of the Year goes to the best rookie on a given team. Seeing that Colorado didn’t have many prized prospects or rookies for that matter, this is a no doubter — Jon Gray. Gray was Colorado’s first round selection back in 2013, 3rd overall.

The 24th best prospect overall in baseball, according to Baseball America, made his Major League debut this past season with the Rockies on Aug. 4 against the Seattle Mariners. The young right-hander was on a pitch count limit, giving up two runs on five hits over just four innings of work. Gray collected the no-decision in his MLB debut, yet showed some promise moving forward.

The rest of the season was up-and-down for Gray, making just eight more starts. The former Oklahoma Sooner finished out the 2015 season with a record of 0-2, including an ERA of 5.53. Don’t let the ERA fool you, he pitched better than you think. Pitch limits are tough to work around, especially with a prized arm. Colorado wanted to be conservative with the young flamethrower, which is fine moving forward.

Colorado waited for the right time to get Gray involved. I was one of the many clamoring for the high-profiled prospect to make his debut when the team was still somewhat in the picture, but management made the right call (for once).

Gray started out slow for Colorado’s Triple-A affiliate, Albuquerque Isotopes, but finished strong as he pulled to an even record. Gray made 20 starts for the Topes’, collecting a 6-6 record while posting an ERA of 4.33. The right-hander logged 114.1 innings, giving up 55 runs on 129 hits, walking 41 while striking out 110.

I’m eager to see more Jon Gray in 2016 as this past season was just a little sample size.

Gray will still be considered a rookie in 2016, being that he didn’t reach the 50 innings mark. Gray finished the season with 40.2 innings.

Next: Most Valuable Player

Aug 28, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) gestures on the field before playing the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. The Pirates won 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Most Valuable Player: Nolan Arenado

The Most Valuable Player Award goes to the best player on any given team. Nolan Arenado absolutely lived up to that name, being a catalyst on offense while fielding with the best of them on the defensive side.

Ever since Arenado made the Major Leagues (2013), all he has done is make highlight reels night-in and night-out. Nolan is on the verge of winning his third-straight Gold Glove (as he should) and most recently, he came away with a Fielding Bible Award. Here is what the Fielding Bible Awards said about Colorado’s young superstar.

His teammates gave him the nickname “Sharknado” because of his aggressive approach charging groundballs and his ability to make whirling throws to gobble up hitters at first base. Nolan Arenado has been consistently superb defensively since arriving on the scene for the Rockies in 2013, saving 30, 16 and 18 runs in the three years he’s been in the majors. He garnered 116 points in the voting. Previous Fielding Bible Award winners, Adrian Beltre and Manny Machado, finishing second and third with 102 and 101 points respectively.

This guy is going to need a bigger case for all of his trophies as they will continue to pile up.

Hitting 42 home runs is a huge accomplishment, especially when you’re facing top-tier pitching on what seems to be a daily basis. With Troy Tulowitzki now out of the picture as Colorado’s face of the franchise, Nolan has now supplanted himself into that role.

Next: Rockies Year in Review: Charlie Blackmon

Overall, Arenado can do it all now which makes him a dual-threat player and a legitimate superstar in today’s game.