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Colorado Rockies: 3 things we learned from the opening series

By Jake Shapiro |
PHOENIX, AZ - MARCH 30: Gerardo Parra #8 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates after hitting a two-run home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the fourth inning of the MLB game at Chase Field on March 30, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ - MARCH 30: Gerardo Parra #8 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates after hitting a two-run home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the fourth inning of the MLB game at Chase Field on March 30, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
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PHOENIX, AZ – MARCH 29: Relief pitcher Adam Ottavino #0 of the Colorado Rockies pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the opening day MLB game at Chase Field on March 29, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ – MARCH 29: Relief pitcher Adam Ottavino #0 of the Colorado Rockies pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the opening day MLB game at Chase Field on March 29, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

The Colorado Rockies season is 1.85 percent over. We now know everything that will happen in the 2018 season with absolute certainty.

Okay, we don’t and we never will and that’s why we all love baseball. Yet there are few things we learned in the first 27 innings of play from the Rockies that are interesting.

Adam Ottavino had two really good outings and looked like his former self, if only briefly. It’s way too early to definitively proclaim the 32-year-old reliever back yet there were some great signs.

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Ottavino’s first two appearances stacked up to six strikeouts in two innings of work. That’s the most possible for those of you new to the game. He did, however, walk one, which is an issue that has ballooned in recent years, apexing last season.

The best news about the righty is that he had these appearances on back-to-back days. In total, his RE24 for the two outings was 1.14. RE24 is a solid state for relievers because, as FanGraphs puts it, “they enter into games and leave games with men on base frequently, so the standard rule book definition of runs allowed doesn’t always capture a reliever’s true performance.” Anyway, Ottavino never had back-to-back days with a positive RE24s that equated a number as high as 1.14 the entire year in 2017.

You do not need a fancy stat to tell you that Ottavino looked good, the eye test works here.

Granted last season he also had an outing in Arizona where he was unhittable. It’s way too early to say if Ottavino is back. But if he is, he might actually be the best reliever in a bullpen that features Wade Davis, Bryan Shaw, Jake McGee and Mike Dunn.

“Otto” just has to keep his walks down.

PHOENIX, AZ – MARCH 30: Gerardo Parra #8 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates after hitting a two-run home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the fourth inning of the MLB game at Chase Field on March 30, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ – MARCH 30: Gerardo Parra #8 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates after hitting a two-run home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the fourth inning of the MLB game at Chase Field on March 30, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

The big fly is big

Jucied balls, changing approaches, more focus from front offices on home runs … it doesn’t really matter how baseball got here, but baseball is in a spot where the home run is king and there isn’t even anyone else in the royal family.

The Rockies are not a team built for home runs and that may be the answer to why their offense struggled last year despite having unarguably good hitters.

Colorado Rockies
Colorado Rockies /

Colorado Rockies

That’s where it gets mottled for Bud Black. He has said many times that the Rockies have a good offense as evident by the club leading the league in runs. Most fans disagree with Black and were frustrated with production. While you can toot the Coors narrative and that’s part of the reasoning for the two-sided sword, I’ll side here. The Rockies do not hit enough home runs for the way big league baseball is played currently.

Over their series with the Diamondbacks, the round tripper accounted for 11 of Colorado’s 12 runs.

This offseason, Jeff Bridich made it his goal to strengthen the Rockies in terms of run prevention. He did that valiantly. On the other side of the diamond though, if anything, Colorado lost power, letting Mark Reynolds‘ 30 dingers walk. There isn’t a great argument that they should’ve kept Reynolds yet it’s still clear that this team is lacking in the longball.

Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon can’t account for the team’s entire production again. The team needs at least two more 30 home run hitters, Trevor Story and Carlos Gonzalez need to step up.

Ian Desmond and Gerardo Parra already did this on Friday night by chipping in with production. They not only drove runs home, but they also drove home the point that the Rockies will be reliant on a skill the club is not built to display.

DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 17: Chris Rusin #52 of the Colorado Rockies pitches during a regular season MLB game between the Colorado Rockies and the visiting San Diego Padres at Coors Field on September 17, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Russell Lansford/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 17: Chris Rusin #52 of the Colorado Rockies pitches during a regular season MLB game between the Colorado Rockies and the visiting San Diego Padres at Coors Field on September 17, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Russell Lansford/Getty Images) /

Chris Rusin is going to pitch a lot in 2018, and that’s good

Bud Black loves a few things in life: telling old stories, his family (I assume) and Chris Rusin. Rusin is smart lefty who plays 3D chess on a checkerboard when he toes the rubber. Part of this is that Rusin reminds Black of his southpaw self. The other part is Rusin that does not let his manager nor his teammates down.

In Colorado’s first game, Jon Gray left him the worst sport possible: bases loaded, nobody out. Rusin worked out of it. He miraculously worked out of that but surrendered three runs in the next inning.

On Saturday, Rusin was good again, working a solid nine-pitch inning including a double play after issuing a walk.

Next: Predictions for the 2018 Rockies season

Rusin is such an underrated part of the Rockies and is the bridge for the club to get from their young starters to their expensive backend. The game will often hinge on Rusin before the casual fan even gets to the TV or while the hardcore fan is getting a refreshment. He started his season pretty much where he left the last one off, and that’s great news.

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