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

The Colorado Rockies left the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas without adding any major additional pieces for the 2019 season. Falling just one game short of the franchise’s first-ever National League West title in 2018, there is plenty of momentum in Denver for what could be yet another postseason run next season.

However, for the Colorado Rockies to make the postseason and take the next step, some current members of the roster will need to improve upon the campaigns they had in 2018. Whether it was health or simply poor performance, we have identified six players who will be under immense pressure to perform better in 2019 than they did in 2018.

Let’s start in the bullpen with one of 2018’s biggest offseason signings – Bryan Shaw. The former Cleveland Indians reliever came to Colorado with a solid workhorse reputation after appearing in 70 or more games for five consecutive seasons with the Tribe. However, his first campaign in Colorado was a complete dud as he posted a career-high ERA (5.93), allowed a career-high nine home runs and tied a career-high in walks (28).

Shaw is signed through 2020 and the Rockies bullpen needs him to revert back to the pitcher who took the mound in Cleveland. Colorado general manager Jeff Bridich made no bones about that during his time with the media in Las Vegas this past week.

Last season, Shaw was booed off the mound by the Rockies faithful and lost the trust of manager Bud Black. With a bullpen that is likely losing Adam Ottavino to free agency, someone has to step into that role. As one of his key acquisitions last season (and with an offseason of planning and work), Bridich is betting that Shaw can be that person.

All eyes will be on the 31-year-old right-hander when spring training begins.

Let’s stay on the mound for our next Colorado pitcher under pressure…

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.

Jeff Hoffman
2018 stats: 0-0, 9.35 ERA, 2.538 WHIP (8.2 MLB innings)

One of the key pieces of the 2015 trade that sent Troy Tulowitzki to the Toronto Blue Jays, Hoffman gave up five runs, three walks and two hits in a 12-2 loss to the New York Mets on June 18. In his final appearance of the season on July 13 (and also his lone start), Hoffman surrendered three runs and eight hits in 3.1 innings to the Seattle Mariners.

To say it was an underwhelming season for the 25-year-old right-hander is putting it lightly. Coming off a 2017 where he went 6-5 with a 5.89 ERA with 16 starts, Hoffman took a step backwards in 2018. Now the question is … can we move in the right direction this season?

“He’s got that sort of ability, he’s got that pitch mix, he’s got the (velocity), he’s got the durability,” Bridich told Rox Pile and other media members in Las Vegas. “But it needs to happen. And he has to look no further than the people who’ve been around him the most.”

That includes pitchers like Freeland and Marquez, who have impressed at the same age as Hoffman or even younger.

Hoffman could contend for a spot in the rotation with a strong spring. He could also find himself quickly back at Triple-A if he can’t pull his skills together. Now in his fourth full season in the Rockies system, will Hoffman put the pieces together?

Ian Desmond
2018 stats: .236/.307/.422 (555 at-bats, -0.6 WAR)

If there is one player who took more abuse from Rockies fans last season than reliever Bryan Shaw, it’s Ian Desmond. Hey, he no longer even has his Twitter account active.

Desmond is signed through 2021 thanks to a five-year, $70 million deal inked three offseasons ago in a move that surprised many throughout Major League Baseball. Desmond was deemed to be Colorado’s first baseman of the near future. It didn’t exactly work out that way.

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Last season’s .236 average was part of a very weird year for Desmond. He hit 22 home runs (good for fourth on the team) despite having just a 21.5 percent fly ball rate. He led Major League Baseball with a 62 percent ground ball rate while leading the Rockies with 17 GIDP.

He started the season with a modified swing and continued to tinker with his mechanics throughout the year … but the ground balls and inability to hit out of the infield kept happening. He was even tabbed as perhaps the “most unpopular player in Denver” in recent history after being booed following a four-strikeout performance at Coors Field. Ouch.

Can Desmond put together an all-around solid season in 2019? Can he make it over the .200 batting average mark before June 15 this season, breaking last year’s trend? He will earn $15 million this season (one of just four current Rockies making over $10 million in 2019) so let’s hope so.

Nolan Arenado
2018 stats: .297/.374/.561 (590 at-bats, 5.6 WAR)

Colorado’s All-Star third baseman will face something in 2019 that he has never faced before: A season where his playing future is being bantered about by fans and media members alike.

This will be the last season the Rockies are guaranteed to have Arenado’s services at third base. Colorado general manager Jeff Bridich has said that the sides are discussing a new contract and that new deal could make Arenado one of the game’s highest-paid players.

But what if the negotiations aren’t done before spring training? Questions will swirl about regarding Arenado’s future throughout the season. However, Colorado manager Bud Black thinks Arenado will be able to shut out the noise.

“I don’t think so,” Black told Rox Pile and other media members in Las Vegas when asked about if Arenado would be distracted by contract talks. “I truly think that the best place for him all the time is on the field. That’s where he feels most comfortable. And I think that will continue to happen. I think his performance will be fine.”

But no one knows for sure since Arenado, who came up through the Rockies farm system, has never faced this situation before. If Arenado doesn’t plan to return to the Rockies, next season could be an audition for other teams who would be interested in signing him. It’s just another wrinkle in what could be a very interesting and pressure-filled season ahead.