Colorado Rockies: Grading and Analyzing the 2016 Rotation

The Colorado Rockies‘ front office anticipates competing in 2017. A big reason why is because of a young up and coming rotation. Let us take a look back and see if we can find the same level of optimism.

TYLER ANDERSON: 2016 GRADE B+ (fWAR 2.5)

As one of the great surprises, Tyler Anderson emerged as the most consistent starter for the Colorado Rockies in 2016. As a former first-round draft pick, one would like to think that success for Anderson was a full gone conclusion.  To the contrary, Anderson battled a litany of injuries that threatened to hinder his professional career. In his four professional seasons, Anderson has yet to pitch over 125 innings in any single year. One particularly talented and humble writer talked about how 2016 would be a make or break year for Anderson his Rockies future.

In 2016, Anderson started 19 games finishing with a 5-6 record. While the win-loss margin isn’t super impressive, Anderson led the rotation with 3.54 ERA while setting a Colorado Rockies single-season record for striking out 3.53 batters for every walk. Not known for overwhelming velocity, Anderson relies on finesse to get hitters out. Armed with unique polish and an intense competitiveness, Anderson is a pitching coaches’ dream.  Anderson studies hitters and executes an effective game plan very time he takes the hill. In addition to all that, once faced with traffic Anderson rarely gets rattled. Tyler led the rotation in “left on base percentage” (LOB%), stranding 75.1% of base runners.