Colorado Rockies: German Marquez, Wade Davis, and Scott Oberg shine in spring training debuts

Colorado Rockies starting pitcher German Marquez, closer Wade Davis, and reliever Scott Oberg made their spring training debuts on Sunday against the Los Angeles Angels and the trio was excellent.

Some members of the Colorado Rockies pitching staff have had a bit of a rocky start to their spring training outings but on Sunday, Rockies starter German Marquez, closer Wade Davis, and reliever Scott Oberg made their debuts and were excellent.

Marquez, 25, started Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels and he pitched three innings on 33 pitches. He only allowed one hit and one walk while striking out three batters. He also hit 97 MPH on his fastball, which is a good sign early.

It was his first game action since August 22 as he ended his 2019 season on the injured list with arm inflammation. In 2019, his ERA ballooned nearly a full run (from 3.77 to 4.76) and his FIP went up from 3.40 in 2018 to 4.06 in 2019.

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Sunday’s game was also the first game that Marquez ever pitched as a major leaguer that he had family in attendance. His wife and 19-month-old son were in attendance in Scottsdale as they were both able to secure visas to see him. They are Venezuelan natives but with the political unrest there, they were able to secure the visas through Colombia, as Thomas Harding of MLB.com noted in this article last week.

Davis, 34, took over for Marquez in the fourth inning and he pitched a scoreless frame with a strikeout. He needed just 14 pitches to retire the side in order.

That’s a good sign for Davis as he looks to turn the corner from his disastrous 2019 campaign in which he pitched to a ghastly 8.65 ERA in 50 games. He pitched well in the first part of the season, as he had an ERA of 2.16 through June 10 (19 appearances). In the last 31 games, though, he pitched to a 12.81 ERA with an opponent slash line of .324/.432/.577. In comparison to 2018, his hits allowed per nine innings and walks per nine innings nearly doubled and he was even removed from the closer’s role during the season.

Oberg, 30, pitched the sixth inning for the Rockies and he dealt a scoreless inning, allowing a hit and he struck out one on 10 pitches. Oberg pitched to a 2.25 ERA in 49 games in 2019 for the Rockies and he replaced Davis as closer when Davis started to struggle. Oberg pitched well but his season was cut short as he was placed on the injured list in August with blood clots in his arm, which he had a procedure done in St. Louis to correct the issue.

On Monday, Jon Gray will make his spring training debut among other pitchers slated to face the Seattle Mariners in Peoria. Later this week, Rox Pile’s Kevin Henry will be in Scottsdale for our spring training coverage so stay tuned for our coverage from spring training.