Colorado Rockies: Three things we have noticed on this road trip | Rox Pile
The Rockies are 1-4 on this road trip so far, leaving them at 20-25 for the season. One major issue is the strikeout rate the Rockies are facing. They have 435 strikeouts in 44 games, with an on-base percentage of .308. One of the goals during the offseason was working on plate discipline and getting more offense while on the road. The games they’ve lost lately, and if they were able to hit better and get runners home, that might have made a difference in the final results. Kyle Freeland has been having trouble on the other side, too. He’s been giving up runs in the first three innings, making the Rockies have to play from behind. He threw 65 pitches in Sunday’s game, only making it through 1.2 innings. Something has to give with him, if only he can figure out what. On a bit of a bright side, the young players are showing they’ve got real promise. Brendan Rodgers and Ryan McMahon might just turn into a powerful duo.
Newman vs. Kiz: Are the Rockies already out of the playoff race? | Denver Post ($)
The 2019 season is still young, but the Rockies are currently running an uphill race. Expectations were very high to start the year, but things just keep going wrong. According to Fangraphs, they’re sitting at a 6.5% chance of making the playoffs. Unless the Rockies can find a quick way to turn the season around, and if the rest of the division starts to lag, it’ll be tough to make it to a third Rocktober. Kyle Freeland has been struggling to live up to the ace hype surrounding him, but fortunately German Marquez has been more consistent. The Rockies have found themselves in last place in the division, but they’re still within 4.5 games of the wildcard spot. They’ll have to play well above .500 in the remainder of the season to earn that spot, and while it’s not impossible, some current trends will have to be remedied to make it.
On the Farm
Pat Dean struggled to pitch against the Chihuahuas, giving up 10 hits and allowing 12 runs. The Isotopes put together some offense, with Yonathan Daza (no. 14 PuRP), Pat Valaika, and Elliot Soto getting two hits apiece. Drew Butera also had a handful of hits, but it wasn’t quite enough to pull out the win.
Triple-A: El Paso Chihuahuas 21, Albuquerque Isotopes 10 | MiLB.com
Double-A: Erie SeaWolves 4, Hartford Yard Goats 1 | MiLB.com