Colorado Rockies vs. Philadelphia Phillies: 3 key players to watch

German Marquez

Here’s something to consider. As good as German Marquez has been in recent outings, is he one of the weaker links in Colorado’s starting rotation?

Colorado Rockies

That question may be a bit of a shocker but it is possible. With Jeff Hoffman showing the skills he has over the last two games and Kyle Freeland and Antonio Senzatela displaying flashes of brilliance in their first two months at the MLB level, Marquez is the one who has struggled at times.

The numbers on the surface may not show it, however. Marquez is 2-1 in May with a 2.84 ERA. That includes two straight wins where he has allowed one run over 13 innings. That’s impressive. However, there have been starts this season where Marquez has struggled mightily, including a five-runs-over-six-innings outing to start the month of May against Arizona.

In his last outing, he needed 101 pitches to get through his five innings in a May 18 win in Minnesota. He made some good pitches at the end of his effort to keep the Twins from making a big dent in Colorado’s 5-1 lead.

Does Hoffman’s outing on Monday put more pressure on Marquez to perform on Tuesday? Perhaps. The Rockies now seemingly have a plethora of quality starters on their hands, and with Jon Gray around the middle of June, there will be movement in the rotation and every start will be graded to see who stays and who goes.