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2018: Record: 91 – 72

2018 Finish: 2nd in the NL West, 4th in the National League

BAH GAWD THAT'S CHARLIE BLACKMON'S MUSIC! pic.twitter.com/xpqXbo1iOO — 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗼 𝗥𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗲𝘀 (@Rockies) January 18, 2019

Surprises in 2018

Kyle Freeland ‌

Kyle Freeland's ERA is 3.04—2.18 at … pic.twitter.com/6P2mzTILD6 — 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗼 𝗥𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗲𝘀 (@Rockies) August 7, 2018

There’s turning things around and becoming an all-star caliber player, and there’s Kyle Freeland’s 2018 season. After a so-so 2017, during which he posted a 4.10 ERA, an 11-11 record, along with a 1.487 WHIP and a 6.7 K/9, Freeland turned on the jets and exploded into the 2018 season. Over the first month of the season, his 1-4 record, 4.24 ERA, and 1.265 WHIP seemed normal for a Rockies pitcher.

The problem with pitching for the Rockies will always be the games you play at home. The other 29 teams have the benefit of home-field advatange, but the Rockies lose that edge by playing in Denver. In the same way that Larry Walker‘s years in Colorado are hurting his Hall of Fame chance, taking the mound at Coors Field is going to hurt your chances of putting up solid numbers.

Not the case for Kyle Freeland.

🔊 Perhaps the next Kyle Freeland was at the game yesterday.



What a moment: https://t.co/E4IpMkMlpr pic.twitter.com/gX6rw8JJHa — 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗼 𝗥𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗲𝘀 (@Rockies) July 10, 2017

After his tough April, Freeland would finish the season 16-3, going 9-1 in his 13 starts at home.

If there’s a takeaway from Freeland’s season it’s that he’s nasty good at Coors Field. If there’s a weakness in his game it’s pitching away from Coors Field. At Coors, Freeland was 10-2, with a 2.40 ERA, a 1.174 WHIP, an 8.3 K/9, giving up 79 total hits, over his 15 starts at home. Away from Coors, Freeland’s 3.23 ERA, 1.307 WHIP, 7.2 K/9, and 103 hits surrendered, were good enough for a 7-5 record.

Freeland has mastered pitching a mile above sea-level. All he needs now is to figure out how to pitch away from elevation. And I think that’s a much easier thing to learn.

German Márquez…



• Struck out six consecutive batters last night, tying a Rockies record



• Has 44 strikeouts in his last 4 starts, a new club record



• Is very good



• 🎯 pic.twitter.com/L4Xql3dyeL — 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗼 𝗥𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗲𝘀 (@Rockies) September 11, 2018

Another welcomed surprise in the Rockies rotation was 23-year-old German Marquez, who followed up his 2017 season with a stunner. After finishing 5th in Rookie of the Year voting in the previous season, Marquez began 2018 slow, going 1-3, with a 5.14 ERA and a tough 1.571 WHIP. With the impending sophomore slump on the horizon, Marquez faced a mountain similar to the ones seen from Coors Field.

May proved to be a settling period, as Marquez dropped his WHIP .200 points, and saw his ERA drop to below 3.50 for the month. June was less kind to the young Venezualen, getting hit for 4+ earned runs in 5 of his 6 starts at the beginning of the summer.

With his ERA once again above 5.00, and his WHIP sitting just below 1.400, Marquez was once against facing a mountain of disappointment. And that’s when he began to climb.

Daniel Descalso giving up a bomb to German Marquez. 💣



As you know, I usually don't show pitchers giving up tanks, out of respect.

But, position players giving up HRs to pitchers??



Heck, I'll add a soundtrack and special effects. [🎼audio] pic.twitter.com/Yn348V7g1N — Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 12, 2018

The first start of the second half for Marquez saw him get roughed up by division rival Arizona for 5 earned runs on 8 hits over 5 innings of work. That would be the last time a team would be able to get more than 3 runs off Marquez for the rest of the season.

In his remaining 13 starts, Marquez would stifle opposing hitters to the tune of a 2.25 ERA, a 0.983 WHIP and a 12.1 K/9. If Marquez can keep that trending going into 2019, he’ll be solid candidate in the NL Cy Young race.

Disappointments in 2018

Andrew Miller, Bryan Shaw and Cody Allen have a combined 0.87 ERA this Postseason. They shut it down last night.



Filthy. #RallyTogether pic.twitter.com/kEELZ530NP — Cleveland Indians (@Indians) October 29, 2016

In 2016 and 2017, Bryan Shaw was part of the three-headed dragon of the Cleveland bullpen. The lineup of Andrew Miller, Shaw and Cody Allen was something to behold when they were firing on all cylinders. Opting to leave Ohio during free agency, Shaw signed a 4-year, $35 million dollar deal with the Rockies.

If Shaw benefited from being sandwiched between Miller and Allen, it became evident in Colorado. Shaw’s numbers skyrocketed across the board in 2018. In the first half of the season, opposing hitters were teeing off on Shaw, hitting .335 against him.

The biggest issue with Shaw was that he was completely unreliable in close games… or really any games for that matter.

Clutch Stats Split G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR SB CS BB SO SO/W BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB ROE BAbip tOPS+ sOPS+ 2 outs, RISP 28 35 31 18 11 2 1 2 2 0 4 6 1.50 .355 .429 .677 1.106 21 0 0 0 0 0 0 .391 144 203 Late & Close 30 93 83 24 29 3 0 4 2 0 8 16 2.00 .349 .402 .530 .932 44 6 0 1 1 1 2 .391 108 167 Tie Game 12 44 37 7 16 1 0 2 0 0 6 4 0.67 .432 .512 .622 1.133 23 3 0 1 0 1 0 .452 155 214 Within 1 R 22 89 80 25 31 1 1 7 2 0 8 14 1.75 .388 .443 .688 1.131 55 4 0 1 0 1 2 .407 150 209 Within 2 R 34 124 109 29 38 3 1 7 3 0 12 21 1.75 .349 .407 .587 .994 64 6 0 1 2 1 2 .373 121 173 Within 3 R 44 169 149 36 48 8 1 7 5 2 17 34 2.00 .322 .387 .530 .917 79 6 0 1 2 1 2 .373 104 153 Within 4 R 47 181 158 41 52 8 1 7 5 2 19 36 1.89 .329 .394 .525 .920 83 6 0 1 3 1 2 .381 105 154 Margin > 4 R 17 76 66 10 18 7 0 2 0 0 9 18 2.00 .273 .368 .470 .838 31 1 1 0 0 0 1 .348 87 123 Ahead 30 107 96 20 28 10 1 3 0 0 10 29 2.90 .292 .355 .510 .866 49 3 0 0 1 0 3 .385 92 144 Behind 28 106 91 24 26 4 0 4 5 2 12 21 1.75 .286 .368 .462 .829 42 1 1 0 2 0 0 .324 86 121 View Original Table

Generated 2/15/2019. Provided by Baseball-Reference.com Generated 2/15/2019.

After looking at those numbers, is there any point in a game where you would trust Bryan Shaw? Not particularly. What a disappointment.

Here’s A-Rod calling Ian Desmond “Desmond Howard” 😂 pic.twitter.com/x5RujpFBgX — Eric Edholm (@Eric_Edholm) October 3, 2018

Ian Desmond continued his disappointing tenure with the Rockies. There’s not much more I can say that hasn’t already been said. It’s just sad to see all that money go to waste.

Looking Ahead to 2019

If progress is incremental, then the Colorado Rockies will make their first NLCS appearance since 2007 this season. In 2017 they fell to the Diamondbacks in the National League Wild Card game. In 2018, they made it to the NLDS, but failed to best NL MVP Christian Yelich and the Milwaukee Brewers. If that pattern holds, the Rockies will advance to the NLCS, after taking down the Washington Nationals in the NLDS.

BIGGEST HIT OF HIS CAREER!



Tony Wolters comes up CLUTCH to give the Rockies the lead. pic.twitter.com/Za9rxVoWyT — ESPN (@espn) October 3, 2018

While 2018 might feel like a failure, it’s not. Taking down the Cubs at Wrigley Field is no easy task, just ask Clayton Kershaw. After slaying Goliath, to then go toe-to-toe with the hottest team on the planet, the Rockies were behind the eight ball from the get-go.

Perhaps if they won Game 163, things would have been different… the past in the past. Let’s talk about the future.

What Bud Black has been able to do over the last two years shouldn’t be a surprise, considering he’s done a bang-up job with starters in the past. Since taking the wheel in 2016, the Rockies pitchers have seen their collective numbers drop from a 5.04 to 4.33 ERA, and a 1.513 WHIP reduced to 1.310. This is a turnaround that Bud Black had with the Padres, and with the Angels.

If Bud Black can continue his mastery with this pitching staff, they’ll overcome their biggest disadvantage: pitching at Coors Field.

If the Rockies can keep moving forward, there’s no stopping them in 2019. This team is ferocious, young and ready to dominate the NL West.