Nick Groke has the scoop on the Rockies’ biggest weapon that has done a great job of keeping them in the Postseason hunt—the bullpen. Wait, what? Yes, I’m being told that is correct. In fact, over the last 30 day, the bullpen has the second best ERA- in all of baseball behind only Cleveland and stands out as a pillar of consistency as the Rockies play catch up in the NL West. For comparison, the Dodgers fall in ranked 21st for ERA-.
There have been ups and downs, of course, but there always are. For the most part, this group—led by Scott Oberg, Wade Davis, and Bryan Shaw—have been lights out, or very good at minimum. Chad Bettis has re-emerged, Jairo Díaz is breaking out, and Carlos Estévez is settling in. The whole pen is playing their part, which is vital for a team with playoff aspirations.
What would it take for the Colorado Rockies to trade for Marcus Stroman? | Rox Pile
The Rockies’ rotation, on the other hand, has been the opposite of the bullpen—unsteady and surprisingly bad. As a result, there has been plenty of talk about the Rockies’ shoring up their starting pitching by making a trade for an impact arm before the deadline.
Marcus Stroman has been on many fans’ radar as a possibility, and the Rockies have a good history of making deals with Toronto, but Jake Shapiro suggests it’s unlikely to happen. So what kind of deal would it take to actually get Stroman in purple pinstripes?
If Jake is right, it would be a major hit to the Rockies’ farm system that is already falling in its rankings and includes the one name I personally place on a “cannot trade list.” It’s a classic win-now vs. save-for-the-future debate, but watching Peter Lambert dominate the Cubs his last two outings sure makes keeping the homegrown talent feel that much better.
Rockies GM discusses rotation, trade possibility | MLB.com
Jeff Bridich talked to Thomas Harding about the approaching trade deadline and the possibility of the Rockies being buyers, and while it sounds like JB is pretty set on sticking with the starters he has (at the big and minor league level, for depth), he also fully expects to be active if the Rockies are winning and in contention. Jeff doesn’t do a lot, but he has a good track record of doing something to help the Rockies improve around the deadline—it will likely just be a mystery up until the news breaks.
Arenado races out to lead in first All-Star update | MLB.com
The first 2019 National League All-Star voting update was released by Major League Baseball, and Nolan Arenado finds himself firmly in the driver’s seat to start at third base for the NL at the Midsummer Classic. Charlie Blackmon still finds himself in a relevant position in the outfield discussion, and Trevor Story falls in at 4th place for shortstops. David Dahl, having himself a breakout season (again?), is the biggest snub for the Rockies, although many might argue Tony Wolters is just as deserving (he’s not, but many might argue...).
On the farm
It was a low-scoring day for the Rockies affiliates outside of the Dominican Republic. DSL Colorado was led by Junior Guerrero and Johan Liberato, who combined for five of the team’s ten hits.
Antonio Santos pitched seven sparkling innings for Lancaster and Jack Wynkoop did the same for Hartford. In our Pint Watch, Riley pitched a scoreless inning of baseball for the Tourists, struck out one, but walked another batter in his attempt to discover consistency out of the bullpen this year.
Double-A: Akron RubberDucks 2, Hartford Yard Goats 0 | MiLB.com
High-A: Lancaster JetHawks 2, Lake Elsinore Storm 1 | MiLB.com
Low-A: Columbia Fireflies 8, Asheville Tourists 1 | MiLB.com