Colorado Rockies: Why Jon Gray isn’t a superace, let alone an ace

Pair of Aces

Gray isn’t a superace, but people have argued whether or not Gray is an ace.

I can think of two players who are aces for their teams who are good comparisons for Gray: Chris Archer for the Tampa Bay Rays and Carlos Martinez for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Archer has gone 51-63 with a 3.63 ERA in his six-year career.

Martinez has gone 46-32 with a 3.42 ERA in his five-year career.

Also both of these pitchers ERA+ is above 100. I wouldn’t call either of these pitchers superaces, but they are definitely aces. Statistically, Gray doesn’t stack up to either of them.

Don’t get me wrong. I think Gray is the ace for the Rockies rotation (German Marquez could make a case also). However, compared to the rest of the league (and some of the pitchers mentioned earlier), Gray shouldn’t be considered an ace.

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Now, Gray is only 26 and has great talent. He still has a lot of time and potential to grow into an ace. But right now, compared to the rest of the league, Gray is just a slightly above average pitcher. He is far from a superace and still has something to prove before being considered an ace.