Colorado Rockies: It’s time to stop calling Jon Gray “mentally weak”

His ERA+, which is a park-adjusted version of ERA that tells you how much better or worse the league was than a certain pitcher, was 92. This means that the league ERA was eight percent lower than Gray’s. Below average, yes, but not absolutely terrible.

Let’s compare this to his 2017 season, when he earned that Wild Card start. He finished that year with a 3.67 ERA in 20 starts (he suffered a stress fracture in his left foot in an April start in San Francisco that put him on the shelf for an extended period of time).

He gave up 47 total runs (45 earned) on 113 hits, he struck out 112 hitters and walked 30. His FIP was 3.18, much closer to his 3.67 ERA, and he posted an ERA+ of 138. We can all agree that his 2017 was much better.

A quick look comparing some of Gray’s other 2017 peripheral stats with those from 2018 reveals some surprising similarities. His K% was a tick better in 2018 than it was in 2017 (24.6 vs 24.3), as was his K/9 (9.56 vs 9.14). His BB% was just 0.5 percent higher in 2018 (7.0 percent) than in 2017 (6.5). His batting average against was identical between the two seasons (.263). His WHIP? 1.35 in 2018 vs 1.30 in 2017. His BABIP (batting average on balls in play) was actually lower last season than it was in 2017 (.322 vs .336).