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Colorado Rockies: The six players under the most pressure in 2019

By Kevin Henry

ARLINGTON, TX - JUNE 17: Bryan Shaw #29 of the Colorado Rockies leaves the mound after pitching against the Texas Rangers during the seventh inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington on June 17, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers won 13-12. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - JUNE 17: Bryan Shaw #29 of the Colorado Rockies leaves the mound after pitching against the Texas Rangers during the seventh inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington on June 17, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers won 13-12. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) /
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Jon Gray of the Colorado Rockies
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – MAY 19: Starting pitcher Jon Gray #55 of the Colorado Rockies stand on the mound and looks on while waiting on manager Bud Black #10 to come take him out of the game against the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the fourth inning at AT&T Park on May 19, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Jon Gray
2018 stats: 12-9, 5.12 ERA, 1.346 WHIP

The 2018 season was anything but normal for Jon Gray. Hoping to put behind him the demons of the 2017 Wild Card game in Arizona, Gray got the 2018 Opening Day start and struggled mightily against the Diamondbacks. He would later be sent down to Triple-A before returning and showing flashes of his dominance. However, an end-of-regular-season outing where he surrendered seven hits and five runs against Washington at Coors Field kept the Rockies from clinching the National League West, forcing a Game 163 in Los Angeles.

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Gray was left off the postseason roster as questions swirled about his mental toughness and ability to pitch in big games. Pundits referred back to the Wild Card game as part of his decline and it was suddenly no longer a discussion of whether Gray was an ace or not but rather if Gray would be a factor in Colorado’s future.

The 27-year-old right-hander enters 2018 with a well-documented plan to get his eating habits down better and gain some weight. He also begins the season without the “ace” argument being bantered about with his name (that debate now falls to Kyle Freeland and/or German Marquez). Can he become “the Gray Wolf” again with a wicked slider and plenty of movement on his fastball? If so, Colorado’s rotation gets much stronger. If not, there are others who are ready to step into his place in what is a very deep Rockies rotation.

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