Staying in the National West today, it’s time to talk about the Colorado Rockies, a team that had a 11-3 record last season and looked like they were gonna be serious competitors in the NL West in 2020 until things fell apart and they finished 26-34. Their bullpen couldn’t hold leads, the big bats were struggling and things were just not happy in Denver. Going into 2021, with the Dodgers and Padres stacking up their roster, can this team even hope to compete or is time to tear this thing down? They’ve already traded away Nolan Arenado for left hander Austin Gomber and some mid-tier prospects, which won’t improve their chances. However, there are still some strong names in that lineup. The question is can the pitching hold it together? Let’s look at some of the newcomers in 2021.

Arrivals

Dereck Rodriguez (FA/Giants, Tigers)
Robert Stephenson (Trade/Reds)
Austin Gomber (Trade/Cardinals)
C.J. Cron (Minors)
Jordan Sheffield (Rule 5/Dodgers)

Unfortunately, the Rockies aren’t making a ton of upgrades for 2021. Dereck Rodriguez had an impressive rookie season with the Giants in 2018, but has slowly gotten worse since then until being released last season. The Tigers claimed him but never used him. He’s obviously got a good arm and if he can improve his control and get back to something that resembles his 2018 form, he could be a nice bullpen piece and start some games if needed. They traded for some bullpen help in the form of Robert Stephenson, who has a nice slider with strikeout stuff but gives up a lot of fly balls, which might not bode well for him in Colorado.

Austin Gomber looked great in 2020 but like everyone, it’s a small sample size. Over 104 career innings, he has a 3.72 ERA but has great stuff and potential and at just 27, he could have a big season for the Rockies which would help justify trading Arenado. C.J. Cron has a big bat that should produce a lot of big flies at Coors Field. He’s a guy with power who usually keeps his batting average relatively respectable. They did well to snag Jordan Sheffield, a 2016 Dodgers first round pick who has struggled with control in the minors but has a 10.2 strikeout per nine ratio in 211 innings. In Double A Tulsa in 2019, he walked 32 batters in 37 innings but still held his ERA to 3.58 while striking out 48. If he can hone his control skills, this could be a great pickup.

Lineup

1. Raimel Tapia LF/CF

2. Trevor Story SS

3. Charlie Blackmon RF

4. Ryan McMahon 2B/3B

5. Josh Fuentes 1B

6. Elias Diaz C

7. Hampson/Hilliard CF/LF

8. Brendan Rodgers 3B/2B

The lineup was definitely the strength for the Rockies going into 2020 and still looks pretty decent even without Arenado. Tapia has improved his chase rate and hit .321 last year but doesn’t work a ton of walks and doesn’t offer much power. He does have speed and at just 27, could continue to improve. Trevor Story is one of the best shortstops in the game and has only gotten better over his career, striking out less and making more consistent hard contact. He can also fly, leading the league in steals and triples in 2020. Blackmon can rake when’s on, especially at Coors. He was hitting over .400 for almost the entire first half of 2020 but then struggled the rest of the way, still finishing at .303 with a nice overall season. He’s also going to crush 30+ home runs and have an on-base percentage of at least .350.

Ryan McMahon is another guy who can smash the ball but does strike out a lot and hits a lot of groundballs. He should be good for close to 25 home runs and 80 RBI with at least average defense at second base. Josh Fuentes hit over .300 in 2020 and is looking to do big things in his first full season. He can crush off-speed stuff even when it’s not hanging, but he only has 3 walks in his entire career spanning 54 games and 153 at bats. Elias Diaz was named the minor leagues top defensive catcher and had a nice 2018 with the Pirates, hitting .286 with 10 homers in 250 at bats but hasn’t repeated that performance offensively. Dom Nunez is a homegrown catcher with some pop who will be a nice backup and occasional starter as well.

Sam Hilliard will get plenty of starts as a powerful and quick player who also needs to cut down on the strikeouts. Between MLB and Triple A in 2019, he hit 42 home runs, which is all you need to know about this guy’s potential. Ian Desmond opted out of the season again and so Garrett Hampson could get some time in the outfield as well. He can also fill in at second base and is very versatile but struggled at the plate in 2020, striking out 60 times in 167 at bats with a .234 average. Finally, Brendan Rodgers should get his opportunity in 2021. He has at least .300 average and 25-home run potential but far, he has only shown flashes of what the Rockies wanted out of the first round pick and has had injury issues but is apparently healthy and ready to go for ’21.

Overall, this lineup has definitely lost some thump without Arenado along with some other names from last year like David Dahl and Daniel Murphy. However, there is still plenty of big bats like Story, McMahon, Blackmon and potentially Rodgers. There’s nice speed throughout and strong defense although again, without Arenado that takes a little hit. The negatives are too many strikeouts, unproven talent and inconsistency, especially on the road. Overall, I’m going to give this lineup a C+.

Rotation

1. German Marquez

2. Kyle Freeland

3. Antonio Senzatela

4. Jon Gray

5. Austin Gomber

Ryan Castellani

Chi Chi Gonzalez

Peter Lambert

Dereck Rodriguez

At the top of the rotation is German Marquez, who has a nice hard fastball with a great slider and curve. In 2020, he had a 2.06 ERA on the road, which might be a more accurate indicator of his season. He struggled at Coors Field, however, which is the story for most pitchers. Kyle Freeland had a nice bounceback season after a horrific 2019. He has a big arsenal of pitches and started mixing in more curves and changeups last season, which seemed to make a difference. He ended up 2020 with a 4.33 ERA, which is about what you can expect from him again in 2021. Antonio Senzatela is a ground-ball pitcher and won’t strike out a ton of guys. He was great on the road with a 2.1 ERA and 3-0 record. At home, he was 2-3 with a 4.62 ERA. Story of a Rockies pitcher. Jon Gray lost some velocity in 2020 and showed a big decrease in his strikeout ability. He had a 6.69 ERA in 2020 and needs to figure something out for ’21. Finally, the young Austin Gomber should get every opportunity to crack the rotation after a solid year with the Cardinals. There are also other options but no major game changers. For instance, Ryan Castellani walked more hitters than he struck out in 2020. Like I mentioned, Dereck Rodriguez has a great arm but he hasn’t been good since 2018. Ultimately, this rotation is shaky at best and doesn’t seem well constructed for a team that plays at Coors Field. Jon Gray’s velocity drop is concerning, Kyle Freeland’s advanced stats don’t indicate great things to come, and Senzatela is great on the road but gives up too much contact for success at Coors. Overall, there is a lot of nice talent here but for a Rockies rotation, I am going to give it a D.

Bullpen

Daniel Bard
Mychal Givens
Scott Oberg
Yency Almonte
Chi Chi Gonzalez
Tyler Kinley
Robert Stephenson
Phillip Diehl
Ben Bowden
Joe Harvey
Lucas Gilbreath
Yoan Aybar
Antonio Santos
Jesus Tinoco
Jose Mujica
Dereck Rodriguez

When your best option for a closer is a guy who retired 7 years ago, you might have issues. That said, Daniel Bard was a great comeback story and at 35, he came back throwing high 90’s heat with a killer slider. If he continues to pitch well, he could be the favorite to close out games. However, Scott Obert is another solid arm who missed 2020 after a major surgery should be back in 2021 and if he looks good in Spring Training, he is a closer option as well. Fomer O’s closer Mychal Givens also has good stuff with a mid-90’s fastball and wipeout slider. After that, there’s Yency Almonte who was one of the few relievers to pitch well for the Rockies in 2020, keeping contact soft and limiting walks. Robert Stephenson should help although he got hit hard last year for the Reds, he’s got a nice slider and over a long season, should be okay. One left-handed option Phillip Diehl has great strikeout ability but has gotten lit up in the limited opportunities he’s gotten. The big wild card for me is another lefty Ben Bowden, who is absolutely filthy and struck out 186 minor league batters in 127 innings. He should make his big league debut in 2021. Tyler Kinely has potential but major control issues. Overall, this bullpen should be at least as good if not better than it was in 2020, but lacks reliable and consistent shutdown relievers. There are several good arms though and a lot of depth with the rotation, meaning there will be plenty of long relief options. Overall, I think this bullpen is decent but, at Coors Field, you’ll never have a bullpen with pretty stats. So with that in mind, I’m going to give this bullpen a C+ because I like the names; I just don’t expect them to be great, especially at home.

So, there you have it for the Rockies. This is a team that has a few nice bats in the lineup, a few good arms in the pen but I really worry about the rotation. Also, with trading away Arenado, the players know this isn’t a team going for anything big and that can have a big effect on the field. Overall, I’m going to give this team a C-.