Colorado Rockies: 3 Players Who Are Under-Performing This Spring

Miguel Castro

Castro has the highest ERA of any Rockies pitcher this spring, allowing seven runs in four innings of work for a 15.75 ERA. It continues a worrisome trend for the 22-year-old reliever.

Brought over in the trade that sent Troy Tulowitzki to the Toronto Blue Jays, Castro has yet to firmly find his footing with the Rockies. In 13 career games with the Blue Jays, the hard-throwing right-hander had a 4.38 ERA. In 24 career games with the Rockies, Castro has a 7.20 ERA.

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Something has gone wrong in his last two spring outings. After throwing 2.1 scoreless innings over his first three spring appearances, Castro has now surrendered seven runs over his last 1.2 innings spanning two games. That includes giving up a pair of homers in one inning against the Cubs on Saturday.

“He’s had a tough go his last two outings,” Colorado manager Bud Black said after the Cubs game. “He seems uncomfortable. He can’t get any of his secondary pitches over. Seems like when things do go against him, it kind of snowballs for him and it’s tough for him to get back on track. We’ll keep working on it. He’s a good kid. He’s got a big arm but there is some work to be done.”

Castro has potential but still has work to do to earn Colorado’s trust at the Major League level.

Nolan Arenado

We know, we know. How could Nolan possibly end up on the list? He’s Nolan! Well, numbers tell a story and Arenado has struggled at the plate so far this spring.

Arenado is just 4-for-19 in seven games with the Rockies this spring. He’s also struck out four times and walked just once. Sure, it’s a small sample size, but you can’t argue that Arenado has had a tough time finding his rhythm at the plate in Arizona.

That’s also translated over to the World Baseball Classic, where Arenado was hitless in his first eight at-bats for the United States. However, his hustle and defense has been flawless. The image of Arenado sliding head first into first base was scary for Colorado fans to see, but it also showed how far Arenado will go to help his team.

Is his slow spring start something to wonder about? Arenado hit .542 in spring training last season but just .254 in 2015 spring training. Of course, we all know how those seasons finished up for the four-time Gold Glove winner.

Make no mistake about it, Arenado will find his groove at the plate. However, Colorado fans are certainly hoping it’s sooner than later with the regular season creeping ever closer.

Jordan Lyles

At the age of 26, the Colorado Rockies seem to still be trying to figure out what to do with Jordan Lyles.

Last season, he was both a starter and reliever. He was much better out of the bullpen, going 3-3 with a 4.42 ERA and even earning his first career save. When he started a game, the ERA ballooned to 8.55. Ouch.

This season, Lyles has been inked in as a reliever. In spring, it’s been a Jekyll and Hyde effort. In two outings, he’s logged two scoreless innings. In his other two outings, he’s surrendered six runs in two innings. That’s includes a five-run butchering at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers when he gave up two homers in one frame.

Should we be worried, seeing his 13.50 ERA this spring? Bud Black says no.

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“The conversion to reliever will not only benefit us but him and his career moving forward,” Black recently told Rox Pile. “I think he’s on board being a major league relief pitcher. Last year was a great step forward for him, according to Jordan and our pitching guys about where he is career-wise and what we need him to do. I think we’ve seen an uptick in his stuff out of the pen. He’s working on a couple of things delivery-wise that should help him control the running game. I think it will make his stuff a little crisper. He’s doing fine.”