Colorado Rockies: Is it time to worry about Bryan Shaw?

No one will want to forget Friday’s nightmare loss to the Chicago Cubs faster than Colorado Rockies reliever Bryan Shaw.

Down 6-3 in the sixth inning, Shaw replaced struggling starter Jon Gray and inherited a runner on third with no outs. He walked Tommy La Stella on five pitches before allowing two singles, a double, and advancing two runners on a wild pitch.

But Kyle Schwarber issued the deathblow by smashing a three-run homer to center field on the first pitch he saw. Shaw was promptly pulled for Scott Oberg with the Rockies down 12-3, having shattered any hope of a Rockies rally.

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Shaw struggled again on Sunday, going a third of an inning and allowing two hits before Mike Dunn bailed him out. For an accomplished reliever just signed to a three-year, $27 millon deal, Rockies fans might be wondering if all is right with the Shawty (a new nickname I just made up).

Shaw’s 2017 numbers with Cleveland suggest Shaw would have success with the Rockies and pitching at Coors Field. His ground ball rate was an impressive 55.9 percent, his best in a full season in the majors, and the strikeout rate a solid 23.4 percent. He gave up just five home runs in 79 appearances and 76.2 innings, a fantastic 0.59 home runs allowed per nine innings.

He also boasted a 3.52 ERA, but his field independent pitching (FIP) — a great statistic that measures a pitcher’s performance by stripping out the role of defense, luck, and sequencing, according to FanGraphs — was 2.96. This indicates he was an even more effective pitcher in 2017 than his ERA suggests.

But through 13 appearances in 2018, Shaw’s numbers scan more like maligned former reliever Jordan Lyles than a key member of Jeff Bridich’s new “Super Bullpen.” He’s already allowed three home runs, with an ERA of 7.59 and a FIP of 6.43. Perhaps most disappointing is the ground ball rate, which is down to 42.1 percent.

He’s getting burned with hard contact (too many line drives and home runs), at a rate of 35.1 percent. And he’s struggled with command of his high-velocity cutter; Schwarber hit his Friday home run on a pitch left tantalizingly in the middle of the zone. Shaw’s thrown the cutter nearly 90 percent of the time so far, so it’s imperative that he owns this pitch.

But in spite of the ugly numbers, it’s too early to be on Bryan Shaw Panic Watch.