2016 may not have been their season, but the Rockies are looking good for 2017! Here are all the reasons why.
Good Young Pitchers
When you think of the Rockies, solid young pitching isn’t the first thing that comes to mind for most people. However, that seems to changing this season. Jon Gray is emerging as an impressive starter, and he’s only 24. In 27 starts he has a 4.42 ERA, and his ERA+ is 111, a full 11% better than league average. There’s also Tyler Anderson, Tyler Chatwood, and Chad Bettis, all of whom are also above 100 in ERA+ on the season. It’s not difficult to picture the Rockies having a rotation of incredibly productive members next season.
Trevor Story
Rookie Trevor Story was thrown into the fire from the get-go this season and boy, did he run with it! Unfortunately his season ended prematurely due to an injury, but in 97 games he hit .272/.341/.567 with 21 doubles, 4 triples, 27 home runs, 67 runs, and 8 steals. He’s also solid on defense as shortstop, teaming with DJ LeMahieu and Nolan Arenado to form a very formidable offense/defense threesomes to play second base, shortstop, and third base.
CarGo Flexibility
Carlos Gonzalez is no longer an albatross. The formerly injury-plagued player has finished his second straight healthy season, and is also only under contract for one more season. The Rockies have the option to hang onto him for their potential playoff run in 2017. They could also trade him, but they don’t have to.
Improvements on the Road
For the past several years, the Coors Field factor has had a huge effect on the Rockies. They were frequently the best offensive team at home and one of the worst on the road. This season, though, the Rockies ranked 20th in road OPS in the majors. That’s still not great, but it’s a lot better than they used to be. If they continue on that upward trend and get closer to league average, that’ll be enough to contend.
Off-Season Flexibility
If nothing else on the roster changes aside from free agents leaving the team, the Rockies’ payroll will be around $15 million less than it was in 2016. The first order of business has to be bringing Tyler Chatwood back now that he’s come into his own this year. Again, Gonzalez is available for them to trade if need be, and this flexibility should allow them to shore up the bullpen.
There are lots of options and moving parts that the Rockies are facing this off season. If they can swing things the right way, our boys just may be ready for a nice breakout season in 2017.
