Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Injuries ended Rockies rotation hopes

By Paul Meyer.

Injuries Ended Rockies Rotation Hopes

 The Rockies rotation will probably want to forget 2014. It was a season full of disappointment amd injures, especially for an underwhelming rotation.

Rockies had to use 15 starting pitchers this season, including guys that were pitching in Double-A Tulsa to start the season. Rockies started the season with Brett Anderson, Jordan Lyles, Tyler Chatwood, Jhoulys Chacin, and Jorge De La Rosa in their rotation going into Spring Training.

The Rockies also used Yohan Flande, Christian Friedrich, Christian Bergman, Jair Jurrjens, Pedro Hernandez, Matt Belisle, Juan Nicasio, Eddie Butler, Tyler Matzek, and Franklin Morales in their rotation.

Chacin had problems with his shoulder and had to wait until May before he could pitch. Anderson, acquired from Oakland in the off season, in April, suffered a broken finger on a swing during a game in late April in San Francisco. He was able to come back but then suffered a back injury that required him to miss the rest of the season. This was the guy the Rockies had hoped a change of scenery would do him good, especially since he suffered many injuries with the Athletics. Chatwood had elbow problems and was only able to make four starts before being shut down with Tommy John Surgery. Lyles, acquired from Houston in the off season, suffered a broken left hand after trying to cover home on a play at the plate.

Chacin finished the season 1-7 with a 5.40 ERA. Anderson finished the season 1-3 with a 2.91 ERA. Chatwood went 1-0 with 4.50 ERA in only 4 starts. Lyles finished the season 7-4 with a 4.33 ERA. Lyles was basically the Rockies best starter.

Even the replacement starters had injuries. Bergman, who was Lyles replacement in the rotation, suffered a broken left hand as well. Butler had shoulder inflammation problems after his Major League Debut. Bergman finished the season 3-5 with a 5.93 ERA. Butler finished the season 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA.

Other guys were just simply ineffective. Flande and Friedrich both not only struggled in the MLB level, they struggled with Triple-A Colorado Springs. They didn’t win a game in the Majors combined to go 0-10 this season. Flande went 0-6 with a 5.19 ERA. Friedrich finished with an 0-4 record and a 5.92 ERA.

Morales was Morales as his second stint with the Rockies resulted in him having command issues again. Morales finished the season 6-9 and had a 5.37 ERA. Nicasio struggled to the point where he had to be sent to Colorado Springs. He finished the season 6-6 with a 5.38 ERA. Jurrjens was okay but just couldn’t find that once All Star form and was outrighted to the minors. Jurrjens finished the season with a 0-1 record and a 10.61 ERA. Hernandez and Belisle each only mad one start this season. Hernandez was outrighted to the minors and Belisle went back into the bullpen. Hernandez finished the season with a 0-1 record and 4.76 ERA in his only Major League start. Belisle finished the season 4-7 with 4.87 ERA. It was Belisle’s first start since he was with the Reds.

Matzek and De La Rosa were basically the only guys that were able to stay healthy and did decent. De La Rosa finished the year 14-11 with a 4.10 ERA. Matzek finished 6-11 with a 4.05 ERA.

The question now is with the offense the Rockies have, can their rotation stay healthy in 2015?

We’ll definitely see what might happen when Spring Training starts.

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