Colorado Rockies monthly recap: The bad and good from April

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DENVER, CO – JUNE 6: A general view of Coors Field as the sun setts from the press box during a game between the Colorado Rockies and the San Diego Padres at Coors Field on June 6, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. The Padres beat the Rockies 6-5 in 12 innings. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

With the month of April leaving us and the month of May arriving, let’s take a look back at the Colorado Rockies in the first full month of the season. We’ll be going over every aspect of the game for the Rockies from April.

The month of April wasn’t a pretty one for the Rockies as they finished with a 15-15 record. There have been many concerns as of late from the lack of offense, injuries, and even the bench players not performing. Looking back on the opening month of baseball, we can see that there is room for error as of now … and there is still plenty of time for the Rockies to get back on top.

However, if they continue on the same pace they ended the month, they will be out of reach for contention in the National League West. The Arizona Diamondbacks have started the season strong while the Los Angeles Dodgers received a tough bit of news on Monday with the loss of Corey Seager for the season. Monday’s Colorado loss in Chicago also pushed the San Francisco Giants ahead of the Rockies in the division standings.

With all of that being said, let’s dive in on Colorado’s April.

Pitching

The starting pitching has been dismal at times this month. Ace Jon Gray isn’t spotting his pitches well and it’s had somewhat of an impact on the rest of the rotation. The starters have extremely high ERAs with the highest going to Jon Gray with a 5.79. Chad Bettis, however, does have the lowest with a 2.43 ERA. In total, starter losses outweigh the wins at 8-11. The starters aren’t entirely doing their jobs and that causes the relievers to be overworked as was discussed in this article.

Batting

The bats of the Colorado Rockies struggled in historic ways in April. Now, of course, you’re getting stellar production out of the two players who this team seems to always depend upon … Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado. Blackmon is tied for first in the NL for most home runs, currently at nine. Along with that, he has 16 RBI and a very nice slashline of .280/.356/.602. I wouldn’t expect anything less from a guy like him.

As for Arenado, it’s always nice to look at his numbers. He has a slashline of .313/.414/.530. He also has four home runs and 12 RBI.

The man that should be catching everyone by surprise is shortstop Trevor Story. His April has been a productive yet reassuring one. He has six home runs under his belt along with 19 RBI. This leads him to a .243/.331/. 476. His amount of strikeouts is a bit too high to be comfortable with at the moment since he has 37, but makes up for it with his clutch batting.

As for the rest of the team, they have struggled. There is no way to sugarcoat that.

Breakout Player: Trevor Story

Exceeding Expectations: Charlie Blackmon

Underachieving Player: Ian Desmond

Bench

DENVER, CO – APRIL 21: Mike Tauchman #3 of the Colorado Rockies scores on a D.J. LeMahieu RBI double in the fifth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field on April 21, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

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You could honestly call this a laughable subject. The bench hasn’t been good most of the month but you can hope that changes with some of the recent call-ups. At the start of April, the Colorado Rockies were hopeful that top prospect Ryan McMahon would show up and prove that he belongs on the big league club, but he has struggled without a lack of playing time with a disappointing batting average of .180 and only nine hits to his name. Along with him, you could also mention Mike Tuchman, who was in the same boat but the Rockies decided to send him down.

With the optioning of Mike Tauchman to Triple-A, the Colorado Rockies called up David Dahl and Noel Cuevas. They have rejuvenated the bench in just the few games they’ve been in. Dahl has a .273 batting average. Noel Cuevas has a solid game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Monday night, going 3-for-4. Did Colorado make a mistake in not calling up Raimel Tapia who had a good April down in Triple-A?

Hopefully Dahl can continue to produce as we enter May and just maybe a call up is due for Raimel Tapia.

Exceeding Expectations: David Dahl

Underachieving Player: Ryan McMahon

Entering May

DENVER, CO – APRIL 22: The Colorado Rockies play the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field on April 22, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

May for the Colorado Rockies will start off with the continuation of the series in Chicago against the Cubs. They’ll look to win the series in the next two games. As for the rest of May, here is the schedule:

at New York Mets (5/4-5/6)

vs. Los Angeles Angels (5/8 &5/9)

vs. Milwaukee Brewers (5/10-5/13)

@ San Diego Padres (5/14 & 5/15)

@ San Francisco Giants (5/17-5/20)

@ Los Angeles Dodgers (5/21-5/23)

vs. Cincinnati Reds (5/25-5/27)

vs. Giants (5/28-5/30)

Next: The ideal offensive lineup

Hopefully, during the beginning of May, we will see DJ LeMaheiu return from the DL, along with a call-up for Jeff Hoffman to be able to get in a few innings on the mound.

The Rockies are splitting the month of May right down the middle in terms of home and away series. They do appear to do better on the road so perhaps we’ll be seeing more number in the win column this month.

Be sure to check back at the end of May for another monthly recap via Rox Pile.

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