For some it’s a make-or-break
season
Bartolo
Colon Jersey , for others it’s time to prove their doubters wrong. Either
way, 2019 will be a big year for many young pitchers’ careers with the
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ReportRockpileRockies Game ThreadsRockies Fan ExperienceRockpile2019 will be a
revealing season for many of the Rockies young pitchersNew,23commentsRockies
news and links for Wednesday, March 20, 2019 2019 will be a revealing season for
many of the Rockies young pitchersJeff Hoffman’s 2019 season could make or break
his Rockies’ tenure | Mile High SportsJeff Hoffman is an enigma. As the
centerpiece of the trade that sent Troy Tulowitzki to Toronto, he has shown both
flashes of greatness and atrociousness while bouncing up and down from Triple-A
to the majors. His playing time has been as inconsistent as his pitching, but
Jeff is working to take a big step forward in 2019 and secure his position in
the team’s plans for the future—the big question, of course, is can he
breakthrough?Aniello Piro of Mile High Sports writes about Hoffman’s potential
path to the Rockies rotation this season, as well as Jeff’s offseason work at
Driveline (where Adam Ottavino trained prior to his breakout 2018) that has
supposedly fixed his mechanics and given more life to his fastball again. Piro
argues that outside of Freeland and Marquez there are only question marks in the
rotation long-term, and if Hoffman pitches well he can still add his name to an
incredible young core of pitching talent setting up shop at Coors Field.Rockies’
Freeland making big pitch for opening day role | Associated PressSpeaking of
Kyle Freeland and German Marquez, it’s pretty much a given that one of these two
aces will start on Opening Day. Bud Black is still keeping his lips sealed, but
as Carrie Muskat writes, Freeland has a great opportunity to earn the privilege.
He set a franchise record for ERA in a season and was fourth in NL Cy Young
voting, but most of all, he hasn’t let pitching at altitude affect him. Kyle’s
home ERA (2.40) was actually better than on the road (3.23)—but that might be an
argument for him to pitch the home opener instead...Plus, if you’re into caring
about Spring Training stats (I’ve heard some of you are), Freeland has arguably
out-performed Marquez this spring. Kyle has an ERA of 3.95 in 13.2
IP
Jon Niese
Jersey , and has only walked three batters while striking out 16. After a
tough outing against the Angels last night, Marquez has an 8.03 ERA in 12.1 IP,
has walked six and struck out 15. Then again, it might not mean anything, and
both pitchers would deserve the honor of being no. 1.Righty Pint ready to
reemerge for Rockies | MiLB.comOur friend Tyler Maun—one of the fine hosts of
the Purple Dinosaur Podcast—wrote this in-depth article about Riley Pint, the
Rockies first-round draft pick in 2016, a “phenom” at the time who currently
sits as the club’s 8th best prospect.Pint is best known around these parts as
the kid with an incredible fastball who hasn’t delivered on his incredible
potential, but Riley is happy to “fly under the radar” and get back to the
basics. He was also plagued by injury and has only pitched 8.1 innings since
August of 2017, so Riley is ready to get back into his routine this spring, stay
healthy, and prove he’s more than just a flash in the pan.Inside the Clubhouse:
Pivotal pitchers pontificating | BSN Denver ($)Another friend of the Row, Drew
Creasman, is in Arizona following the Rockies this spring and has some great
soundbites from Kyle Freeland, Jon Gray, Bud Black, Peter Lambert, and more in
his latest “Inside the Clubhouse.” Give it a listen and hear from the players
and manager themselves on a variety of topics regarding the upcoming season and
how Spring Training is going so far.Arenado bats third for first time this
spring | MLB.comIn a somewhat expected turn of events, Nolan Arenado found
himself back in the third spot in the lineup yesterday after spending every game
this spring batting second. It was a total of 15
games
Edinson
Volquez Jersey , and prior to that, Nolan only hit second in a meager 23
regular season games. Thomas Harding of MLB.com talked to Nolan about the lineup
experiment so far and the star third baseman wasn’t shy sharing his feelings
about it. Most importantly, Nolan says, he has found his swing, is comfortable
hitting again, and is ready for the season to begin.BSN Exclusive: Why Nolan
Arenado just won’t stop wearing his new Denver Nuggets shirt | BSN DenverIn an
exclusive chat with BSN Denver’s Ryan Koenigsberg, Nolan Arenado discuss his
newest favorite t-shirt—a Denver Nuggets City Edition tee—and what makes it so
special to him. Nolan banters with Koenigsberg about basketball, his favorite
Denver hoops player, the thriving Denver sports scene, and more. It’s
lighthearted, fun, and a better look at Nolan the person instead of just Nolan
the ballplayer.A look at each club’s closer situation in ‘19 | MLB.comIt’s Wade
Davis.All right, fine. It’s a useful article to get a quick look at every team’s
closer situation heading into the 2019 season. It’s pretty straight-forward for
the Rockies, who will have Davis returning for his second year as the club’s
bullpen anchor. He set a franchise record for saves in a season last year,
despite his 4.13 ERA, and looks to have a lock on the high leverage role. If
there’s any threat to Wade’s role as the closer, it’s Scott Oberg who had a
fantastic 2018 and has carried that success over to this season, too.2019
Positional Power Rankings: Second Base | FanGraphsFor your daily dose of Ryan
McMahon and Garrett Hampson
discussion
Kendall
Graveman Jersey , Craig Edwards of FanGraphs has their 2019 Positional
Power Rankings for second base, and the Rockies fall in at 24th place (click
here for an explanation of their projections and rankings). McMahon is projected
to have an fWAR advantage over Hampson (1.3 to 0.6), and his hot spring is
backing it up. Craig also points out that a platoon is not going to help either
candidate, as both infielders will need consistent playing time and at-bats to
settle into their role. Alexander’s season was full of ups and downs, walks were
still a issue for the ground ball specialist.He did lead the team with 73
appearances on the mound."The Dodgers acquired left-handed reliever Scott
Alexander as part of a three-team trade on January 4, 2018.Alexander started his
2018 season by walking nine in 11?innings in 11 total games played in March and
April.He was then optioned to Oklahoma City on April 29th.He pitched four
scoreless innings in four games at Oklahoma City and was recalled to the Dodgers
on May 9th.Alexander would stay on the 25-man roster for the rest of the
season.Alexander led the team with 73 pitching appearances, one of those was his
first start in his major league career.What went rightAlexander was again one of
the best at getting batters to hit a ground ball.His ground ball rate was
70.9%.That was second to Brad Ziegler in the National League.He also did not
give up a home run to a left-handed batter in the regular season.What went
wrongAlexander repeated his 3.7 BB/9 IP from 2017.Also he had an ERA of 4.00 or
higher in four of the six months he pitched in 2018.2018
particularsAge:29Stats:2-1, 3 saves in 73 appearances.3.68 ERA, 7.6 SO/9 IP, 3.7
BB/9 IPGame of the yearScott Alexander made his first career start on May 19,
2018 against the Washington Nationals.It was in the second game of a
doubleheader. Rich Hill had to leave the game due to a blister.Hill did get two
strikes on Trea Turner before leaving.Alexander came in and got the strikeout.In
fact, he struck out the side in the first inning.In the second, he gave up a
walk that was followed by a ground ball which became a double play.Alexander
would then record his fourth strikeout to end his night.Eventually, the Dodgers
would rally to beat the Nationals 5-4 and sweep the doubleheader. ]Roster
statusAlexander has 2.097 years of service time.He also has two options
remaining.