Colorado Rockies ***Official*** Thread: Wade Davis signs on (1 Viewer)

[Arsenal of Doom]

I think about doing this every April when the Rockies are actually playing watchable baseball but have held off knowing that the summer nose dive is inevitable. But hey, this team can still claim a pennant in the last decade and there are legitimate reasons to be excited about the future. They have a farm system ranked in the top 5 across all the major lists and most of those had Trevor Story outside the top 10 in the system. 

So while I expect this will largely be a place to talk to myself with the occasional drive by when Trevor strikes out 4 times a game or Jon Gray gets hammered at Coors, I'm putting down the flag dammit. 

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

Reasons for optimism:

Nolan Arenado is a legit superstar and should be an MVP caliber player for the foreseeable future. Even when the Rockies aren't with watching, he is. He also just turned 25 and is quietly getting better.

Pitching help is on the way. Jeff Bridich has made it an organizational priority to acquire high caliber arms. Jon Gray is MLB ready and Jeff Hoffmann and Kyle Freeland are knocking on the door. Antonio Senzatella is lesser known but is also performing in the high minors. There are also a handful of arms at or near the majors who could be solid bullpen options. The new trend is to focus on pitchers who can be successful throwing fastballs and aren't as dependent on off-speed pitchers that are less reliable at altitude. 

Carlos Gonzalez is playing like Carlos Gonzalez. Going back to the second half of last season, CarGo is ripping the cover off the ball. The knee and hand problems that dogged him for 2+ years seem to be behind him. The question is whether or not he can stay healthy, and, of course will they end up moving him before the deadline? It's a weird situation where the better he plays, the more likely he probably is to be traded. The team has a handful of OF prospects close to MLB ready (Dahl, Tapia, Patterson), but also signed CarGo's best friend (another OFer, Gerardo Parra) to a multi-year deal this offseason. 

Trevor Story continues to hit the ball hard. Good new piece on Fangraphs today, basically concludes that Story's batted ball profile means he's likely to continue launching HRs at a high rate. His contact issues probably limit his upside but because he plays SS, he likely continues to be an asset even if the power/contact trade off only leaves him as a league average bat. Plus, it's just super fun to watch right now!

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

Miguel Castro has been more or less unhittable in the early going, so naturally he has right shoulder inflammation and they are contemplating a DL stint. 

Those looking for a super under the radar fantasy sleeper may want to check out Jordan Patterson. He's following a similar career trajectory to Corey Dickerson, he just keeps hitting as he moves up levels. The ML outfield is obviously crowded with left handed bats, but If he keeps hitting I think he'll likely be the next one up ahead of Dahl and Tapia. 

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

Jon Gray's debut:

Good:

Consistently sitting on 96-97, touching 98 on his FB

10 Ks against 2 BB in 5 innings

7 of the Ks on his slider at 88-89, Righties had no chance at it. 

Bad:

7 hits in those 5 innings including 2 HR and a 3B (all in the first inning)

Overall I think it was a promising start, he didn't get rattled after being touched up in the first. Kept the team in the game and they won late in a bullpen contest. 

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

11-12 and tied for first in the NL West at the end of April:

• 4-8 at home with a -30 run differential and 96 runs against
  
• 7-4 on the road with a +18 differential and only 39 runs against
  

May is a tough schedule with 19 games out on the road including series against SF, StL, Pit, and Bos, so hanging around .500 probably won't be happening much longer. Overall a mostly positive first month though.

• Arenado looks to be getting even better at the plate
  
• Bettis is backing up his performance from last year and looks more and more like a solid rotation piece
  
• Chatwood is pitching as well as he ever did pre-injury
  
• Gray's stuff is excellent, even though he's had some bad (unlucky) results 
  
• Prospects are doing well, highlighted by Dahl, Rogers, Hoffman, and Freeland
  

On the flip side, De La Rosa's implosion, if it turns out to be that, is untimely. He's always managed Coors well and they need to figure out how to get back to winning there. 

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

Tyler Chatwood with 4 wins and a 2.15 ERA on May 4th, just as predicted. 

 

[Long Ball Larry]

11-12 and tied for first in the NL West at the end of April:

• 4-8 at home with a -30 run differential and 96 runs against
  
• 7-4 on the road with a +18 differential and only 39 runs against
  

May is a tough schedule with 19 games out on the road including series against SF, StL, Pit, and Bos, so hanging around .500 probably won't be happening much longer. Overall a mostly positive first month though.

• Arenado looks to be getting even better at the plate
  
• Bettis is backing up his performance from last year and looks more and more like a solid rotation piece
  
• Chatwood is pitching as well as he ever did pre-injury
  
• Gray's stuff is excellent, even though he's had some bad (unlucky) results 
  
• Prospects are doing well, highlighted by Dahl, Rogers, Hoffman, and Freeland
  

On the flip side, De La Rosa's implosion, if it turns out to be that, is untimely. He's always managed Coors well and they need to figure out how to get back to winning there. 

I like that these bullet points are alphabetical (and the thread in general).

Keep it going!

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

Apparently the Rocks brought some non-humidor balls with them to AT&T. 

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

Saw last night that this was the first winning road trip of at least 10 games against division opponents. The first. In team history.

That's kind of amazing and sad at the same time. 

 

[rascal]

Finally showing some promise down the road with a good farm system.  Need to keep it going and be patient with the players development (i.e. don't pull another Butler please).

 

[rascal]

I do wonder what the Rockies will do with Story/Rodgers/McMahon.  I do wish the Rockies could duplicate some of the padres international development

Yard Goats have an impressive team.

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

I do wonder what the Rockies will do with Story/Rodgers/McMahon.  I do wish the Rockies could duplicate some of the padres international development

Yard Goats have an impressive team.

The Rockies have had a few notable international signees:

Ubaldo Jimenez, Jhoulys Chacin, Wilin Rosario

Carlos Estevez and Cristhian Adames on the current 25 man roster are both international. Raimel Tapia is a borderline Top 100 MLB prospect who should be up sometime in the next 1-2 years. 

I think McMahon is likely to end up at First Base unless something crazy happens with Arenado, as long as his bat continues to play. The MI group in the near term is Story/Rodgers/Wall. Rodgers is currently making a mockery of A ball in his first full season, and will probably get moved to high-A at some point. I think it will be 2018 before he's really in the MLB picture so the team will get a good long look at Story at SS before needing to make any decisions. 

I also think we'll see a more patient approach with the pitching prospects in particular. In part because they can more or less afford to. They can use players like Rusin, Bergman, Lyles, Flande to gobble up innings as needed this year. By this time next year, ideally, Hoffman will be where Gray is right now. If Chatwood stays healthy the rotation going into next year could be something like: Gray, Bettis, Hoffman, Chatwood, Butler with Freeland, Senzatella, Marquez, and others close also.

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

Jose Reyes will be eligible for a rehab starting on June 1st. Buster Olney reported earlier today that there will be multiple teams interested in potentially acquiring him, though I'm uncertain why?

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Jose Reyes will be eligible for a rehab starting on June 1st. Buster Olney reported earlier today that there will be multiple teams interested in potentially acquiring him, though I'm uncertain why?

I think it must have been a recent episode of Sleeper and the Bust where they were discussing the possibility of the Rockies trying Reyes in CF and leave Story at SS (assuming they would/could not trade him).

He will be owed about $40 million total from the time of his reinstatement. Rockies would probably have to eat some, but he would still be an upgrade for some teams.  Though a lot are not in the right place in their organizational cycle.  Maybe the White Sox?

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

I think it must have been a recent episode of Sleeper and the Bust where they were discussing the possibility of the Rockies trying Reyes in CF and leave Story at SS (assuming they would/could not trade him).

He will be owed about $40 million total from the time of his reinstatement. Rockies would probably have to eat some, but he would still be an upgrade for some teams.  Though a lot are not in the right place in their organizational cycle.  Maybe the White Sox?

Part of the problem is that the Rockies don't even have a great way to get him back on the MLB roster. They are currently carrying 4 MIers already and had to send down Ben Paulsen in order to active Descalso because Adames is out of options. Clearly they aren't sending Story down. Unless someone gets hurt they don't have an open OF spot either.

The best case scenario would be to find a trade partner without having him back on the 25 man.

 

[rascal]

Hey it's the end of July and almost .500.  WOOT!!!

 

[rascal]

Dahl looking legit as well with his second homer since being called up but like story that strikeout rate is concerning.  Rockies finally appear to have a minor league system worth talking about.

 

[rascal]

Mother ####er...story injured.  Looks like a thumb?

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

Losing Story really sucks. Descalso has hit well this year but he's shaky at SS and even if he somehow keeps his average up he obviously can't provide anything like Story's power. 

Of course the biggest development this July has been with the starting pitching. Gray is every bit as dominating as we could have hoped for and is a legit #1, which the team hasn't had since Ubaldo's 2010 season. Chatwood has been solid all year and untouchable at times on the road. Bettis and De La have been up and down but more consistent over the last month. Tyler Anderson has been a boon. Former 1st round pick who was supposed to be a fast-track player but hasn't been able to say healthy. Hoffman is still in AAA knocking on the door. 

I don't expect them to be able to leapfrog the teams they'd need to in order to make a really serious wild-card run this year, but .500 would be a huge step forward and the pieces start to line up well for next year. 

 

[rascal]

Arenado is just manly.  Rox approached Cargo about an extension.  WTF is Cardullo?

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

Bud Black seems to be drawing a lot of positive response nationally, as well as from the players. 

Having a pitching focused coach in Coors will be interesting, and it's a good fit with all the young arms the Rockies will be bringing up in the next few years. 

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

Been a while since I've updated but it's been an eventful opening couple of weeks. 14 straight to start the season with 8 on the road and significant injuries and they come out of it 9-5 and a half game lead for first in the division, including the first ever 4 game series win in San Francisco. 

The Good:

Pitching in general and the bullpen in particular. Holland looks like a major steal right now. Not just the 7/7 in saves but he's generally looked dominant doing it. At this point he looks like a huge asset if they keep winning, or if they start to fall back and look to move him later in the year. 

Pitching depth is being tested early with injuries and will continue to be pressed with Gray on the self for at least a month + rehab time. There will continue to be hiccups like Freeland's second start but so far so good. Senzatela has been nails and his start yesterday was probably his best of the season despite giving up 3 first inning runs (on only 13 pitches). His secondary pitches were much better than his previous start and just like in his first start where he ran into early trouble he just shook it off. 

Arenado continues to be good at baseball.

The Bad:

Injuries continue to nag. Dahl, Desmond, and Murphy are all close to coming back, and Rusin made it back just in time for Gray to get hurt. Hopefully they got everything out of the way early and it doesn't become a season-long trend. 

A lot of shaky offense to start the season but Story in particular looks lost right now. Part of it is a crazy-low .174 BABIP but that's also a result of a lot of weak contact. He made hard contact on 45% of his batted balls last year and only 25% so far this year. He had a couple of bad stretches like this last year but he got off to such a hot start it wasn't apparent in his overall stats. 

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

First 3-game sweep of SF in Colorado since 2002. 

Senzatela and Freeland combined lines from the last two: 14 IP, 10 H, 1 BB, 1 R, 6 K

Story showing signs of life, Charlie in full gear. 

 

[rascal]

Shhh.....

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

16-10 April, finish taking 2 of 3 from the D-Backs on the road to earn the NL West lead after a month. 

12 starts from Senzatela, Freeland, and Marquez produced 1.4 WAR

14 starts from Gray, Anderson, and Chatwood produced -0.1 WAR

Dahl and Murphy should both be back this month, along with Desmond

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

Greg Holland signing kinda working out

 

[rascal]

Won series against Arizona to further lead in division.  Worried about story and cargo.  Hopefully Dahl comes back soon so cargo can be benched 

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

I think Marquez might have the best pure stuff of the rookie pitchers. His stuff was filthy and had the Cubs flailing for most of the game. 

Oh yeah, the Rockies just reeled off 5 strait quality starts at Coors field against the D-Backs and Cubs. 

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

The John Lackey game has to be one of the strangest stat lines of recent times. In game one, the Rockies pound Arrieta something fierce, but in game two the thirty-eight year old Lackey and his 77 MPH sliders had the team scuffling. 

Is there an ETA for Jon Gray? 

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

The John Lackey game has to be one of the strangest stat lines of recent times. In game one, the Rockies pound Arrieta something fierce, but in game two the thirty-eight year old Lackey and his 77 MPH sliders had the team scuffling. 

Is there an ETA for Jon Gray? 

Gray had a scan last week that had him ahead of schedule but he's still in a boot as far as I know. Once the boot is off and he's throwing the last I heard was 3 weeks, so he's probably between 3-4 weeks out still at minimum.

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

6-4 home stand, salvaged a split with the Dodgers to stay in 1st place with today's win. 

A note from down on the farm, Brendan Rodgers was 4 for 4 with a home run today to bring his average up to .418 on the season. 

 

[rascal]

With Dahl about to return the Rockies have a logjam at OF with Cargo finally heating up.  There isn't enough ABs with Desmond, Blackmon, Parra, Cargo, and Dahl.  Not sure what they will do.  I'd vote to kick Parra, but his salary prohibits that.

Getting Wolters back is nice as Garneau just sucks. 

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

With Dahl about to return the Rockies have a logjam at OF with Cargo finally heating up.  There isn't enough ABs with Desmond, Blackmon, Parra, Cargo, and Dahl.  Not sure what they will do.  I'd vote to kick Parra, but his salary prohibits that.

Getting Wolters back is nice as Garneau just sucks. 

I can see Desmond being moved around in a Super-Super Utility role. Particularly if Story doesn't come back hitting right away. Start in in the OF against lefties and rotate him through SS, 1B, and maybe even 2B.

Murphy should also be back soon. 

An equally interesting question is what happens with the rotation when Gray is back? Do they send one of the rookies back to AAA? Send Anderson down if he's still up and down? Move Chatwood to a long relief role? 

 

[rascal]

I can see Desmond being moved around in a Super-Super Utility role. Particularly if Story doesn't come back hitting right away. Start in in the OF against lefties and rotate him through SS, 1B, and maybe even 2B.

Murphy should also be back soon. 

An equally interesting question is what happens with the rotation when Gray is back? Do they send one of the rookies back to AAA? Send Anderson down if he's still up and down? Move Chatwood to a long relief role? 

Move marques or chatty to long relief and catapult lyles to the moon

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

4-2 on the current road trip, with four games in Philly left to go. The team just keeps cranking out series wins. 

 

[rascal]

Hoffman with an excellent outing.  Rockies now 5-2 on road trip.

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

Hoffman looked great last night. Great command of the fastball and curve, running the fastball up to 98. Big swings and misses on the curve. 

I might have said this earlier in the thread but this reminds me of 07-08 when Ubaldo was coming up, except there are like 4 Ubaldos. It's nuts. 

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

Couldn't finish the sweep against the Phils but took all three series on the road trip and went 7-3. Even the loss yesterday had a silver lining as Tyler Anderson pitched another strong game and Trevor went deep. 

In his first two games back off the DL Trevor had 2B, HR, and 3 BB against only one K. 

 

[rascal]

Senzatela with a gem and Rockies pounce on Cardinal's bullpen after Charlie I have the greatest beard ever blackmon chases away Martinez.  

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

Oh hey, another series win.

12-2-2 in series so far

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

Hoffman dominant again. Another good start and I don't see how they can keep him out the rotation. 

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

5 in a row. 3-0 last three against last year's AL and NL champs.

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

Blackmon is just ridiculous. 

Jon Lester holds such ownage over LH that Blackmon taking a wicked slider and scooping it opposite field for a hit unnerved him to such an extent that he lost focus and grooved one to LeMahieu.

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

Hoffman dominant again. Another good start and I don't see how they can keep him out the rotation. 

Blew away the Cubs in Wrigley. 

6.1 Inn, 1R, 4H, 8K 1BB and actually pitched better than the line. 

In his 4 starts this year he has a 34/3 K/BB ratio. Just sick.

 

[rascal]

And he isn't even part of the starting rotation.  Grey to start an assignment nthis week and bettis back by all star break as well...who do you demote?  Wow.

 

[rascal]

http://mediadownloads.mlb.com/mlbam/mp4/2017/06/10/1483378483/1497128103259/asset_1800K.mp4

http://mediadownloads.mlb.com/mlbam/mp4/2017/06/10/1483244983/1497122794198/asset_1800K.mp4

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

Nolan with the walkoff HR to cap a cycle

Cargo did that back in 2010 in the first baseball game I ever took my son to. 

 

[scoobus]

Would/do the Rockies have any interest in Lucroy?

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

Would/do the Rockies have any interest in Lucroy?

I haven't seen anything about it. My guess would be probably not since they seem happy with Wolters and Murphy.

 

[rascal]

Would/do the Rockies have any interest in Lucroy?

Yes, yes they would.