Colorado Rockies morning after: The Tyler Anderson conundrum

Let’s make no mistake about it. The Colorado Rockies have a big question mark and potential problem at the back end of their rotation.

Those facts were once again made clear on Monday night as Tyler Anderson returned from the injured list with a thud. The 29-year-old southpaw lasted just three innings as the Colorado Rockies salvaged the opener of their three-game series against the Washington Nationals at Coors Field with a come-from-behind 7-5 win.

Anderson has now made three starts for the Rockies this season and has totaled just 12 innings. During those dozen frames, Anderson has logged a 12.00 ERA. That includes a three-run home run surrendered to Brian Dozier that gave the Nationals a 5-2 lead and was the last batter that Anderson would face on a chilly evening in downtown Denver.

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We wrote this article during spring training about how Anderson was giving up the long balls already in 2019, not long after leading the National League in home runs surrendered (with 30 in 32 starts) last season. He gave up 16 homers in 15 starts the year before. This has obviously been an issue for Anderson for longer than Monday night.

Part of the issue comes from location. Dozier’s home run on Monday night came on a 2-0 pitch on a cutter that registered at 87.3 miles per hour … right over the heart of the plate.

Colorado manager Bud Black talked in his Monday pregame media scrum about how part of Anderson’s problems with home runs were that his pitches weren’t staying low in the zone. It happened again on Monday night and it once again cost the Rockies.

So what to do with Anderson? Last season, he ended the campaign strong with five September starts where just three homers were surrendered in 27.2 innings and he posted a 3.25 ERA. That followed an August where he went 0-4 with an 11.39 ERA while giving up nine homers in 21.1 innings.

There are two sides of the coin with Anderson. Unfortunately for the Rockies, the negatives have outweighed the positives so often during a time that should be considered the prime of the former first-round draft pick’s career.

Black, however, stayed positive after Monday’s win, talking about how Anderson battled through a 30-pitch first inning that was prolonged by Washington’s plate discipline.

"“They had good at-bats. They really did. They worked and fouled balls off. They laid off borderline pitches,” Black said when I asked him about Anderson’s outing. “Tyler wasn’t wild. They battled. They fought hard each and every pitch.“Tyler didn’t back down either. He was attacking them. They won a couple of individual battles with him to draw the walk and the big blow was the three-run homer.”"

Catcher Tony Wolters agreed, talking about the many positives he saw.

"“There were a lot of long at-bats (in the first inning) but Andy kept his composure,” Wolters told me late Monday night. “He’s never giving in. He’s a warrior up there, like all of our guys. He came back in the second and third inning and threw good. He was working to get us off the field as quick as possible.”"

I asked Wolters what he liked from Anderson’s pitches on Monday night.

"“The changeup is there. His changeup looks good. His fastballs down and away look really good. He’s throwing that pitch really well. He’s getting the fastballs in on righties. He’s moving the fastball around really well. The cutter is good. A lot of the righties weren’t biting on the cutter as much as we thought tonight.“He kept his composure out there and worked his tail off.”"

Monday night was a microcosm of Anderson’s potential and frustrations. A 30-pitch first inning which saw him give up two hits and walk a batter that led to two Washington runs was followed by two innings with just one walk surrendered and 30 total pitches thrown. The fourth inning? Single, walk, home run … and Anderson was done for the night.

It is an almost certainty that Anderson will make his next start when the Rockies travel to Atlanta this weekend. Colorado needs for that start to be Anderson’s first quality start of 2019 (or at least better than what the team has seen so far this season from him) in order to shore up a shaky end of the rotation.