Drew Pomeranz makes his season debut for the Colorado Rockies this afternoon hoping he can be a stabilizing factor on the back-end of a surprisingly good rotation. Jorge De La Rosa kept the solid pitching performances going yesterday, keeping the top three of Jorge, Jhoulys Chacin, and Tyler Chatwood rolling at a time when the Rockies have taken the first two of 16 straight against the NL West.
It should be quite the test for the young man the Rockies received in a trade in exchange for arguably the best pitcher in Rockies franchise history. He takes the mound against perhaps their biggest division rival, the San Francisco Giants who will be taking the field behind their most solid pitcher; Madison Bumgarner (7-5 3.20)
Pomernz hopes to replicate the career arc of Tyler Chatwood, who made an early MLB debut under high expectations but needed some time in the minors to iron some things out. It remains to be seen whether or not he has done so as regularly high pitch counts this season at the AAA level often lead to early exits from games and are cause for some concern moving forward.
Also, while his record was a promising 8-1 in Colorado Springs, his ERA was a pedestrian 4.20. And pitcher record can be one of the most misleading stats in sports. Still, I remain optimistic about his return to the big league club and hope that his upward trending strikeout rate (up to 10.09 K/9 at AAA) will provide a nice change of pace at the back end of a rotation that has mostly groundball pitchers who get very few strikeouts.
We here at Purple Row have been writing after every transaction it seems that this is further proof that the Rockies brass are going for it. Going for what? We aren't entirely sure. They may not be entirely sure. But putting the most effective 25 man roster on the field seems to be at the forefront of the strategy behind each move and this one could end up being low risk high reward if Pomeranz can be effective.
The risk comes really for Pomeranz more than the club itself. The Rockies still have some depth in the systems and options with Juan Nicasio, so the question becomes are they rushing Pomeranz to the MLB? If so, it could hurt his progress and potentially the Rockies future pitching depth. If not, the Rockies may have added a fourth solid starter to a trio that is absolutely on fire.
It's an exciting day, especially if you are a member of the Pomeranz clan.
His journey to prove he belongs in the big leagues begins this afternoon. 0-0 record. 0.00 ERA. Good luck, kid.
LINKS!
Check out Drew Pomeranz's Fangraphs page just to psyche yourself up a little more for today.
What does Troy Renck expect from Drew? Check it.
Not really related to anything but I found this piece on Hardball Times about the greatest Canadian ballplayers of all time to be thoroughly entertaining. Quick quote from the piece: "Arguably the greatest Canadian baseball player to ever live, but unquestionably the greatest position player." Thanks for the memories No. 33
I am writing this from Grand Junction where I watched a truly terrible game of baseball last night between the GJ Rox and Orem Owlz (yes they spell it with a Z) make sure you read the Pebble Report today, and I'll be around answering "eye test" questions for anyone who is interested. Quick hit: SSS but Briceno looked terrible defensively behind the plate.