Colorado Rockies: Handing out the rookie report cards

The Colorado Rockies have had a lot of rookies play for them in 2019 so, as the season is officially completed, we have our report cards out for them.

The 2019 season for the Colorado Rockies has been one that has seen a lot more rookies play than most people would have suspected heading into the season since the club has struggled for most of the campaign. In fact, nine Rockies players have made their debut in 2019 (Josh Fuentes, Yonathan Daza, Brendan Rodgers, Jesus Tinoco, Peter Lambert, Phillip Diehl, Dom Nuñez, Rico Garcia and Sam Hilliard). That marked the most debuts since the 2016 Rockies had 12 players make their Major League debut.

With that, some of the rookies have really rose to the occasion while some have not. With that in mind, let’s take an in-depth look at them, as well as a few new faces for the Rockies this season who had limited time in the Majors before joining Colorado.

Peter Lambert

There is a kind of battered nobility to Peter Lambert’s year. Called into service at the major league level despite middling numbers at AAA, Lambert managed to give the Rockies something they desperately needed: innings.

They weren’t always great innings, as his 7.25 ERA, 1.735 WHIP, and 18 homers allowed will attest, but still he managed 89.1 innings over 19 total starts. This is good for a -0.4 pitching WAR, but his surprising effectiveness with the bat (.321 BA!) pushed him to 0.1 WAR overall – just barely above replacement level.

In other circumstances, Lambert probably would have been given more time to develop in the minors, but things being what they were in Denver this year, MLB’s #3 team prospect was rushed to the big stage. He’ll probably start there next year, and hopefully all this abuse has been a positive learning experience that leads to greater success down the line.

GRADE: C