Blake Street Ball TV: Colorado Rockies, Kyle Freeland and the ’18 Cy Young

Kyle Freeland’s 2018 was arguably the best season for a starting pitcher in Colorado Rockies history, landing him a fourth-place finish in the 2018 NL Cy Young Award voting.

At the age of 25, Kyle Freeland is coming off a season where he posted a 17-7 mark with a 2.85 ERA while making 33 starts. The 2.85 ERA set a new Colorado Rockies single-season mark while his 8.2 WAR last year led the team.

He also made a huge impact for the Rockies in the postseason, scattering four hits over 6.2 innings to help Colorado get past the Chicago Cubs in the National League Wild Card Game at Wrigley Field.

The crew from the new talk show Blake Street Ball recently took a look back at Freeland’s season and a look ahead at the developing young Rockies rotation:

Freeland took a huge step from 2017 to 2018 but Rockies manager Bud Black isn’t ready to bestow the title of “ace” upon the Denver native just yet. He believes there is still room for improvement in 2019 and beyond.

"“I’m a big believer in passing the test of time. I think in Kyle’s two years, he’s shown that consistency — I know the second half of ’17 was maybe a little variable. But from the first part of May to the end of the season, he was as consistent as any pitcher in the Big Leagues,” Black told Rox Pile and other reporters at the recent Winter Meetings in Las Vegas. “Now, the challenge for Kyle is to continue that performance, and I’m very confident that he can do it. I’m confident that he believes he can do it.”"

Stay tuned for more from Blake Street Ball in the near future.