Colorado Rockies: Predicting the Opening Day 30-man roster

Note: * designates a left-handed pitcher

Starting pitchers (4): Kyle Freeland*, Jon Gray, German Marquez, Antonio Senzatela

Thought process behind the selections: Why just four starting pitchers? That’s all the Rockies will likely need to start the season thanks to off days between series in Texas and in Oakland and before the home opener against San Diego. It may be the first week of August before the Rockies actually need to figure out who will be the fifth starter. Until then, Jeff Hoffman and Chi Chi Gonzalez (the two likeliest candidates for the fifth spot) can work as long relievers if needed.

After the starters combined to post a 5.87 ERA last season, success for Colorado begins with the pitcher who begins the game on the mound.

Relief pitchers (11): Yency Almonte, Daniel Bard, Wade Davis, Jairo Diaz, Philip Diehl*, Carlos Estevez, Chi Chi Gonzalez, Jeff Hoffman, Tyler Kinley, Scott Oberg, James Pazos*

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Thought process behind the selections: It’s a new-look bullpen for the Rockies, and it’s also a bullpen with a lot of questions and pitchers (Almonte, Davis, Gonzalez, Hoffman) who are under the microscope when it comes to performance.

Davis will start the season as the closer, but Diaz, Estevez, and Oberg all have experience in the role and could step in if needed. With a schedule tightly packed with games (60 in 66 days), it’s likely that several relievers will have chances at holds and saves during the course of the 2020 campaign.

Diehl and Pazos will represent the southpaws in the relief corps. Can one of them emerge as the new LOOGY for the Rockies (even though the three-batter minimum is a rule in 2020, so a new acronym may have to be coined)?

We will see quickly just how well Colorado’s bullpen performs, knowing Colorado’s starters will be limited in their pitch counts to open the season after a condensed revamp of spring training II/summer camp at Coors Field.