Colorado Rockies: Grading and Analyzing the 2016 Rotation

JON GRAY: 2016 GRADE A- (fWAR 3.7)

A 10-10 record does not scream “ace pitcher.” Looking past the superficial, you can see the ace in the making in Jon Gray. Notably, Gray set the franchise single-season record for strikeouts per 9 with a 9.91 clip. Speaking about his strikeout ability, Gray struck out 10 or more batters in six of his 29 starts. More impressively, four of those games came in games that Gray pitch six innings or less. As proof that baseball is weird, on Sept. 26, Gray only last 4.0 innings. In total that is only 12 outs recorded. Why does this matter? Ten out of those 12 outs came via strikeout. Clearly, Gray is an exceptional talent.

According to ESPN, Jon Gray’s 9/17 performance against rival San Deigo registers as the fourth best pitching performance of the 2016 season. In a complete game shutout, Gray masterfully struck out a franchise-record 16 batters while only allowing four base runners. By comparison, Gray’s second best outing was a seven-inning scoreless outing against San Francisco where he allowed one hit and struck out five. As one last note of interest, Gray’s ERA was lower at Coors Field than it was on the road.

Now entering his age 25 season, Gray will be expected to shoulder the Colorado Rockies rotation in 2017. After all, the Rockies have playoff hopes for 2017, especially now that their ace has arrived.