2011 Rockies Player Review: Troy Tulowitzki

by Jeff Aberle on Jan 24, 2012 11:00 AM MST in Rockies Player Reviews

Throughout the doom and gloom of 2011 (and there was quite a bit of both), there was a consistent example of what 2011 was supposed to be in the form of Troy Tulowitzki.

After producing a Herculean September in 2010 (15 HRs, 40 RBI) on his way to a 5th place MVP finish, winning some well-deserved hardware (Gold Glove and Silver Slugger), as well as receiving a mammoth 7 year, $134 million extension to his existing contract, Troy Tulowitzki had some gigantic expectations to meet in 2011.

A notorious slow starter, Tulo sprinted out of the gates in 2011, smashing the ball in April to the tune of .298/.385/.617 with 7 HR and 17 RBI (178 sOPS+). In the last month in 2011 that the Rockies were a joy to watch, Tulo shone brightest. And the crazy part was, Tulowitzki had two months in 2011 at the plate that were even better than April.

Like everyone else on the roster, Tulo had a dismal May (.209/.269/.364, 77 sOPS+), but he rebounded with a good June and was voted in as the NL starter at shortstop in the All-Star Game with a .268/.337/.488 line. I firmly believe that he'll be a fixture in that position for at least the next five years.

Tulowitzki's 1st half numbers might have been a little light for an All-Star starter, but he really turned it on in the 2nd half. A great July (.352/.404/.615, 5 HR, 180 sOPS+) was followed by a spectacular August (.356/.438/.673, 8 HR, 197 sOPS+) before his September was abbreviated by a nagging hip injury to only 11 games and 40 PAs. Still, his 2nd half line was certainly a MVP-type performance (.356/.426/.634, 13 HR, 48 RBI in 54 games, 187 sOPS+). If the Rockies get more of that 2nd half Tulo in 2012, they'll be very much on pace to take a winnable NL West.

In all, Tulowitzki's 2011 season line looks pretty similar to his 2010 -- a few more HR (30 to 27), a few less steals (11 to 20), but about the same production (.302/.372/.544 vs.315/.381/.568, 6.3 fWAR vs. 6.5 fWAR) and postseason accolades (8th place MVP vs. 5th, but both seasons garnered Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers). I can only hope that 2012 brings more of the same.

The conclusion to the 2011 Rockies Player Review series after the jump.

Rating: A

In my mind, Tulo was the Rockies' only player who truly deserved an A for 2011. He excelled at every facet of the game except base-running and he was a constant bright spot in what was, for all accounts, a dismal 2011 campaign.

2012: I think that 2012 will be the year 2011 was intended to be -- Tulo and CarGo will reign as titans of the NL, swatting homers and firing lasers at a prolific rate...and this time, they will have a better supporting cast. On Fangraphs, expectations for Tulo's 2012 season have reached the stratosphere -- fan projections have him at 7.6 fWAR, which is a MVP season.

With that, the 2011 Player Reviews (all 36 of them) are in the books -- and now there's only about 26 days between now and the beginning of the 2012 baseball cycle.

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It is nice that Tulo will have a real 2B/3B playing with him this year

"Self-control is the chief element in self-respect, and self-respect is the chief element in courage." ― Thucydides

by TomCat009 on Jan 24, 2012 11:16 AM MST reply actions

Tulo is great, lineup is solid, rotation is a bit shallow

Tulo is likely to earn a spot in the HOF. It’s great we got him.

I believe having balance in your lineup makes your better players stronger. This last year too much was hanging on Tulo and Cargo. They could not do it by themselves. Both got injured. Not sure, but the injuries may have come in part due to their tryying to carry it all on their shoulders. Helton came through to help them. But pitching let them down, and the already mentioned players who have left the roster were not carrying their fair share.

But the lineup now looks pretty solid, and there are some excellent bench players in the mix to help out.

My only concern for the net season is the lack of an ace in the rotation. Chacin is capable of being an ace fairly soon, but he was certainly not there at the end of this last season. De La Rosa is probably an ace, but even if he comes back in late May, it will likely be another month after that before he has his dynamics and accuracy back.

Pomeranz could become an ace but is probably be too young to achieve that this season, and he certainly will not carry ace caliber by start of season. Moyer used to be an ace, but at 49 he will not be carrying the load. Hammel, is not there yet. Morosco is a late in the rotation starter. White? Not hardly — at least not yet.

So where’s the guy that’s going to go for 7 innings each time he pitches and win 70% of his games? Who is going to carry the load until JDLR comes back, then work in the second spot for the next couple of seasons, or at least until Chacin is fully ready?

The Rox seem to have a strong bull pen right now. But I don’t see a top of the rotation guy in that group who will be moving up. And if these guys are compelled to step in too early or too often in relief of the starters, before long they will be worn out and wasted.

With DOD’s aggressiveness so far, the lineup is now in excellent shape. But the rotation looks rather peaked. Are there any more rabbits in the hat that can be pulled up?

by Real Perspective on Jan 24, 2012 12:46 PM MST up reply actions

Tulo and HOF in the same sentence is too early right now

As for an Ace, or a pitcher who wins 70% of his games and pitches 7 innings almost every time there are very few of them out there. DLR is a TOR pitcher as is Chacin but I do not consider either to be an Ace because they are simply not in an elite category with Hallady, Verlander, Lincecum, Kershaw, C. Lee and Sabathia. Most teams have a great #1 starter but very few have an ace on their staff.

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by jrockies on Jan 24, 2012 5:27 PM MST up reply actions

OK, aces aside, the Rox don't have a real #1 starter, and won't until late June

It would be nice to have a top of the rotation starter sintead of everything riding on guys who are #3, 4 or % caliber for every game.

by Real Perspective on Jan 24, 2012 5:53 PM MST up reply actions

% is a new standard to me, care to explain

Chacin is at worst a 2. Nicasio, who appears ready to make the rotation is at worst a 3. DLR comes back is at worst a 3 with White and Pomeranz having the ability to get up to 1-2 range. They’re not exactly riding guys who are 3,4,% all the time. This of course depends on health of pitchers and how fast they develop. At this point the Rockies stack up well, but we have to see how they all pan out (the reason there are 162 games).

by jrockies on Jan 24, 2012 6:01 PM MST up reply actions

Overconfident I think.

Chacin is a 2 or a 3 depending on his form this season – last season had enough worrying signs. DLR is also a 2 or a 3 but he’ll be 5th starter level for several weeks when he comes back, I’d imagine. Nicasio I agree with you, with the “facing live hitters” caveat.

White and Pom – does anyone really think either of them could be an ace? Pomeranz maybe? Still, it’s (obviously) best case scenario rather than likely, right?

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by biondino on Jan 25, 2012 3:23 AM MST up reply actions

Maybe a little over confident on my part

And I do agree with what you have said regarding timing this season. We will just have to wait and see though.

by jrockies on Jan 25, 2012 6:26 AM MST up reply actions

Inside Pitch on XM is doing a top 30 for the countdown of 30 days til P&C report

Both pitchers and position players. Consider if all teams were equal it would be one per team so all the pitchers listed would be aces. #30 was Gio Gonzales. He was never the top of Oaklands staff and he won’t be in Washington either. I can see him being a borderline fringe “ace” but it illustrates how far behind the Rockies pitchers are.

On the positive side I am betting they get two position players on the list – even though they did mention that Posey and Mauer both failed to make the top 30 position players list. I can’t rememeber who was #30 off the top of my head but I do know that Ian Kinsler was #29. I haven’t heard the show the last few days so I don’t know who else is on the list.

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by Kris Hansen on Jan 24, 2012 7:31 PM MST up reply actions

in 5 years, 4 full seasons

he has 24.5 fWAR, he’s averaged just under 6WAR/season because 2008 was so bad. and 2012 will be his age 27 season. that’s definitely on track to the hall; just look at other HOF shortstops; aparicio had ~18 fWAR after 5 years, appling had ~23, bancroft ~18, banks ~32, boudreau ~32, cronin ~32, davis ~18, jackson ~18, jennings ~22, maranville ~23, reese ~28, ripken ~38, rizzuto ~20, sewell ~25, smith ~14, tinker ~22, vaughan ~32, wagner ~32, wallace ~25, jeter ~25. (a-rod and yount both have only around half their time at SS, so i’m not counting them)

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by papality on Jan 24, 2012 8:03 PM MST up reply actions

He needs 10 years to be eligible

When he gets that, we can talk (I really like how he’s doing so far though)

by jrockies on Jan 24, 2012 8:11 PM MST up reply actions

i found the tiers

that they fell into to be very interesting

Trolling the Offseason: Starring Jamie Moyer, Directed by Dan O'Dowd, with Executive Producers Dick and Charlie Monfort

PRMLB Arizona Diamondbacks GM

by papality on Jan 24, 2012 9:16 PM MST up reply actions

oh, and barry larkin

is at ~23

Trolling the Offseason: Starring Jamie Moyer, Directed by Dan O'Dowd, with Executive Producers Dick and Charlie Monfort

PRMLB Arizona Diamondbacks GM

by papality on Jan 24, 2012 9:17 PM MST up reply actions

Well, we definitely don’t have an “ace” per se; no one on the caliber of a Kershaw, a Lincecum, a Halladay or a Johnson. However, we only need a couple things to break right to have a rotation full of #2s and 3s. With a very solid lineup and defense behind them, that might still be enough to win a boatload of games. I mean, this year we won’t be throwing anyone as bad as Mortenson or Reynolds or Cook, which is a damn good thing.

by squalene203 on Jan 24, 2012 2:01 PM MST reply actions

replay fail to Real Perspective

by squalene203 on Jan 24, 2012 2:01 PM MST up reply actions

I didn't see this

when I posted. I agree

by jrockies on Jan 24, 2012 5:28 PM MST up reply actions

Tulo 2012-2020 9/148.5 Prince Fielder 9/218 so glad

"Self-control is the chief element in self-respect, and self-respect is the chief element in courage." ― Thucydides

by TomCat009 on Jan 24, 2012 2:30 PM MST reply actions

I still love the extension

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by Resolution on Jan 24, 2012 5:32 PM MST up reply actions

oh come on

by Shoemaker on Jan 24, 2012 5:34 PM MST up reply actions

???

"These are thin mints. I put them in the freezer. My favorites. So good."
--Reds outfielder Adam Dunn, on the girl scout cookies he keeps in his locker

PRMLB: The Brew Crew

by Resolution on Jan 25, 2012 12:05 AM MST up reply actions

Maybe I'm biased

ok, I’m definitely biased – but right now, all things considered, I would take Tulo over ANY other player in baseball. Still young, a really good bad, great glove/arm at the most important position on the field, and under contract forever. Yeah, he earns a lot, and yeah, his temper might get the best of him from time to time, but damn glad DoD and the Monforts locked him up.

by volduck on Jan 24, 2012 3:26 PM MST reply actions

Here here!

Just a small town kid who thinks Coors Field on a sunny summer Saturday night is the best place to be on this or any other plane of existence. When a late-inning Todd Helton go-ahead homerun is added to this scenario, my brain melts.

by Gasstation1 on Jan 24, 2012 3:36 PM MST up reply actions