The Positives
Jordan Beck went 2-4 in his MLB. For a highly touted prospect who is ranked fourth overall in the Rockies system (according to MBL Pipeline), it’s nice to see him get off on right foot and get that vaunted first hit out of the way. Beck did this in his first MLB at bat, collecting two more during the series. He did strike out six times in his three games, something to keep an eye on moving forward.
Dakota Hudson had a good bounce back start, firing 5.2 innings of two run ball. Hudson is a prime trade candidate for the Rockies this summer, so it would be nice to see him get back on track and up his value. Elias Diaz picked up three hits, continuing his solid offensive performance this year. Ty Blach had an awesome outing in the series finale, stopping the bleeding in relief of Lambert with four scoreless innings to keep the Rockies in the game. Blach is a prime candidate to take a spot in the rotation if Lambert gets moved back to the bullpen. Brendan Rodgers turned in a nice two hit performance on Thursday. Rodgers has been much better as of late, which is an important turn of events after his slow start.
The Negatives
The Rockies have trailed in all 31 games to start the season, a modern era record as so kindly pointed out by Marlin's broadcaster Paul Severino. I don’t have much to say about that other than it makes sense why we’re 7-24. The bullpen was terrible. Enough said. Nick Mears continues to struggle with command, walking two in route to giving up two more runs, raising his season ERA to 5.68.
I’m begging the Rockies organization to put Peter Lambert back in the bullpen and leave him there. It’s so simple, Peter Lambert out of the bullpen this year = very good. Peter Lambert as a starter = very bad. He only made it through 3.1 innings on Thursday, giving up four runs on five hits and three walks. Just let him grow into becoming a solid bullpen arm and let someone else fill a starting role. Ezequiel Tovar, Brenton Doyle, and Charlie Blackmon all had just one hit on the series, which is frustrating from three guys that should be energizing the offense.