Colorado Rockies roundtable: Debate and discussion on the future of the pitching staff!

After the Colorado Rockies traded Corey Dickerson to the Tampa Bay Rays for Jake McGee, a few of our staffers here at Purple Row got together for a pretty informal chat about the Rockies' pitching staff and depth... that even ventured into are we in win-now mode territory.

Check out the conversation between Drew Creasman, Ryan Freemyer, Ryan Schoppe, Thomas Wilson, Russ Oates, Bryan Kilpatrick, and myself, Cameron Goeldner, below. Then, join us in the comments to continue this debate!

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Drew: Do we think German Marquez will start 2016 in Hartford?

Ryan F.: Yeah, I'm sure he will.

Russ: Trick question. No one is actually starting the 2016 season in Hartford...

Bryan: Boom.

Drew: GAH! RUSS!

Ryan F.: Well, almost sure. He did well enough in High-A last year I can't imagine he repeats. Russ is actually correct here.

Bryan: I think Kyle Freeland is still a good candidate to go to Triple-A after like a month.

Ryan S.: Those MiLB rotations are just getting sick. 3-4 guys at each level worth watching.

Drew: If Freeland and Hoffman are 6-9 months further along than I originally thought, this whole 'try to win now' thing makes a lot more sense.

Thomas: Honestly for Bridich, I like the Jairo Diaz grab, the Cuddy pick. I liked the Hale pickup. Loved the draft, liked the Tulo return despite being disappointed with where his value was at, and even this trade makes some sense in that I think a guy like Patterson may end up approximating Corey's value very soon. Bridich hasn't blown me away, but given the restrictions I believe our front office operates under I think he has done fine.

Ryan S.: I really want to know if they're putting Miguel Castro back as a starting pitcher.

Drew: The one question I really wanted to ask Bridich but couldn't was about the plan with Castro.

Ryan S.: Like, Castro being a starter makes either that Double-A or Triple-A rotation mind-blowing.

Alex Balog. [Image via Jen Mac Ramos]

Drew: Lets assume that for a moment. Send him to Triple-A. What are our rotations? Triple-A: Castro, Butler, Matzek, Hale...?

Thomas: Anderson

Drew: Then Double-A: Senzatela, Freeland, Marquez, Balog?

Thomas: When is Jemiola set to return? DC: Return? I think he is healthy.

Thomas: for Triple-A you also have Carle.

Ryan S.: Modesto: Tinoco, Castellani, Hill

Thomas: And Howard.

Drew: Jemiola and Wade. Modesto is gonna be packed.

Thomas: Musgrave in Doube-A/Triple-A, too.

Ryan S.: Probably Double-A to start? That's a ton of pitching depth and it's no longer 3-4 levels away; it starts at Triple-A and goes all the way down.

Drew: Yeah, the Musgrave/Carle/Flemer contingency has to fit somewhere in Double-A or Triple-A.

Ryan S.: Crazy thought, even in the Rockies' bad years, they usually start off OK before the lack of pitching depth craters them in June, right? By that usual time in June, guys like Hoffman are going to be better depth than anything we've ever had.

Thomas: I have to say that Bridich has done an excellent job adding depth and ceiling.

Cameron: Are you guys all about to jump on the win-now train?

Ryan S.: I'm not on it, but I can see it. And if I knew everything that Bridich did about these guys, I might be on it.

Thomas: Helmis, Polanco and Castellani in Modesto.

Helmis Rodriguez. [Image via Charlie Drysdale]

Ryan F.: The problem is I'm pretty sure we're gonna be terrible on offense.

Bryan: Yeah. This group, promising as it may be, isn't winning now. That's far too wishful thinking. Next year? MAYBE. 2018-19 more likely.

Drew: I'm starting to drink the 2017 kool-aid.

Thomas: it isn't winning now, but it is beginning to arrive in waves.

Ryan S.: Offense in the OF is set, 3B, 2B are fine. And 1B might not be all that bad if they actually platoon right.

Thomas: Waves: Gray, Murphy, Story in 2016. Hoffman, Freeland, Dahl, Tapia, McMahon in 2017.

Ryan S.: Story might solve the SS thing and Murphy could solve the catcher thing. This first wave that's hitting this season could fix a lot of problems and make this team respectable and ready to win next year as Dahl, etc. fix the rest of the holes.

Thomas: Winning now can't be the goal, but after watching what poor Gray went through last year, I think beefing up outfield defense and the bullpen make some sense.

Ryan S.: And they really haven't gone win-now at all costs, which I can appreciate.

Thomas: We can't get rid of Coors Field and it's difficulties for these young guys, but we can mitigate its effects by supporting them on both sides of the ball.

Ryan S.: They've just said we're not going to tank. And as much as we all wanted the nuclear option, this really isn't a bad fallback.

Drew: By my count, 13 of our top 16 prospects should have debuted by the end of 2017. Twelve if you don't include Senzatela.

Ryan S.: I think Senzatela will, since he's already on the 40-man roster.

Drew: Me too.

Ryan F.: Let's say Jake McGee is Jake McGee in the first half next year. What can he realistically bring back in a trade?

Ryan S.: A lot.

Thomas: He could bring back a ton, but what if at the midpoint of the season Matzek is back to '14 form, Bettis hasn't regressed and Gray is pitching well, then a Motte, Miller, Ottavino, McGee bullpen starts to look a lot like '09.

Ryan F.: I'd still prefer to trade him if we can truly get a haul in return.

Drew: Also, the triumphant return of Eddie Butler! Rockies 2016!

Ryan S.: I'm not planning on this rotation being good, but it could be. There are a lot of pieces at the MLB level that are such big questions.

Thomas: I'd like to see what an extension looks like on Jake McGee. I miss Raffy and having a left-handed version of him would be pretty sweet.

Drew: I was thinking that too. I'd love the McGee part a lot more if he was signed for four years and not two.

Cameron: I mean, it would cost a lot but the Rockies can always extend McGee if both find it to be a fit they like.

Ryan S.: I think I know what to expect out of JDLR, but Gray, Bettis, Chatwood, Rusin, Butler, and Matzek are all so variable that they could go really bad or really good.

Thomas: Sure, in addition to the guys above Lyles, Chatwood, Anderson are all at least 4th starter material.

Ryan S.: Gray becomes the Ace, JDLR is a great #2, Bettis from last year would be a wonderful #3, Lyles would be good #4 and Rusin as a dependable #5?

Ryan F.: Well, Chatwood and Anderson are still big question marks.

Drew: The team is super high on Chatwood right now FWIW.

Ryan S.: Anderson/Hoffman/Butler in Triple-A hopefully.

Thomas: I honestly think Rusin would be a really good pitcher in a place like KC or Pittsburgh, might be a nice piece of a bigger trade.

Drew: Yes.

Ryan S.: And Chatwood can be anything from 2-3 starter to bullpen lockdown... or, worthless because of his arm.

Tyler Anderson. [Image via Charlie Drysdale]

Thomas: Holy s**t I named all those guys and forgot the #24 prospect on BP's 2014 list, Eddie Butler.

Ryan S.: Yeah, welcome to the modern day Rockies pitching. Used to be someone like Butler we'd cling to and hope he'd make it back to what he once was (Franklin Morales). Now, we can just forget about him and hopefully be pleasantly surprised when he pulls a Bettis.

Thomas: Feels a lot better than when we were pinning all our hopes on Edwar Cabrera doesn't it.

Ryan S.: Yep. Miss that guy. Great changeup.

Drew: That's the part that people don't get. They think we who hype the farm are the same people who were calling for Edwar Cabrera to be the savior.

Drew: 2017: David Dahl - CF, Raimel Tapia - LF, Carlos Gonzalez - RF, Nolan Arenado - 3B, Ryan McMahon - 1B, Trevor Story - SS, DJ LeMahieu - 2B, Tom Murphy - C. Patterson, Blackmon(?), Adames, Garneau (then Nunez) - bench.

Rotation: Gray, Hoffman, Freeland, Bettis, Chatwood, Lyles, Buter, Matzek, Anderson, Castro, Marquez. Bullpen: Estevez, Qualls, Motte, McGee, Ottavino, Diaz, Miller, Bergman, Oberg, Moll.

Ryan S.: Quit it, you're bringing me too much hope.

Zach Jemiola. [Image via Charlie Drysdale]