Colorado Rockies: Their rotation depth looks to be a strength

Since the unthinkable, nausea-inducing blockbuster trade of you-know-who to the St. Louis Cardinals last month, there has been little excitement (if any at all) surrounding the Colorado Rockies heading into the 2021 season.

In fact, if one were to sit down and try to make out a list of the things to be hopeful about for this season, excluding Trevor Story, it would be extremely difficult to know even where to start.

Well, believe it or not, if there is anything this team can be somewhat excited about is that for once they actually have some pitching depth in the rotation. Not only is the first four in the rotation practically locked up (barring injury, of course), there is a fierce competition brewing for the fifth and final spot.

The Rockies have four locks in the rotation and the fifth spot already has favorite.

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German Marquez, Kyle Freeland, Jon Gray, and Antonio Senzatela are already locks for the first four spots in the rotation. These four were part of a rotation that finished the 2020 shortened-season second in the National League in quality starts.

As for the fifth starter, there are a plethora of candidates in contention with Austin Gomber being the odds-on favorite to land the job. Gomber is, of course, the most prominent player acquired in the aforementioned trade with St. Louis back in February.

Pushing Gomber is Ryan Castellani, who had some promising starts in his rookie debut in 2020 but has been shaky this spring. Also in the mix is former San Francisco Giant and non-roster invitee Dereck Rodriguez and Chi Chi Gonzalez who has started 16 games the past 2 seasons with Rockies with mixed reviews.

Also do not forget about Peter Lambert, who missed all of 2020 after having Tommy John surgery in July. He may not be ready to play until midway through the season but he will bring some much-needed depth later on.

It may not be anywhere close to the quality of rotation as the Los Angeles Dodgers but the Rockies can take comfort in knowing that their starting pitching should keep them in ballgames on a daily basis, as long as they remain healthy.