In a wild pitching season, the Rockies have found one near-constant in Jon Gray | The Athletic ($)
Nick Groke writes about Jon Gray’s journey to return to form this year and how the 27-year-old pitcher has learned to adjust and adapt through four up-and-down seasons to remain relevant and become the ace he is today.
In a season that has seen very few things “go right” for the Rockies, Jon has turned himself into a beacon of hope and consistency. Especially when you consider the state of the starting rotation in context with the expectations they had entering 2019, Jon Gray stands out as the sparkliest silver lining of all.
Jon is certainly writing his own tale in Rockies history. No matter how you feel about the “win” stat, the fact that Jon is the first in franchise history to record four straight ten-win seasons—all while battling a foolish narrative spread by the media that Jon is mentally weak—speaks volumes.
Even in advanced metrics Jon has pitched a tick better at home than on the road, so wins aside, he has shown an ability to conquer the Coors narrative. If you ask me, Jon is proving he is actually one of the toughest pitchers around.
In increasingly lost year, Rockies showed what could’ve been in latest win | Mile High Sports
As I’ve mentioned, not much has gone well for the Rockies this year. But Monday’s victory over the Dodgers left a mark on Luke Zahlmann, who writes that the 9-1 win showed just how good the Rockies could have been this year if expectations had been met, a little luck had gone their way, and—as Luke says—all the calamities didn’t come to be. The Rockies were smiling and having fun on Monday, a sight that has been seen far too little in 2019.
Colorado Rockies: Trading Scott Oberg is a terrible idea | Rox Pile
Today is the day. It’s July 31st—the new and improved trade deadline. The Rockies have played themselves into complacency, with almost no chance of being buyers and too much hope for 2020 and beyond to be true sellers.
Nevertheless, rumors swirl, and now even Scott Oberg—the Rockies best arm in the bullpen—is being mentioned as a possible target for contenders. In this article, Luke Mullins tells you why it would be a terrible idea for the Rockies to sell Oberg.
Some interesting trade deadline discussion from Ken Rosenthal on the eve of the trade deadline. The focus of this piece is on the will-they-won’t-they dynamic playing out in Cleveland regarding Trevor Bauer being traded. We all know that’s old news now, with Bauer being traded to the Reds last night, but there’s more insight to other possible trades, too.
The most... intriguing... part of the article for Rockies fans, however, is a quote from one club official regarding poorly operated teams and bad self-evaluations:
The Rockies are a great example. They thought they were building off a 91-win team (last season) without appreciating how fortunate they were and that their true talent was well below that.
Ouch. Brutally honest. Is change in the air for the Rockies front office? It might not be, but it’s getting ever more obvious that many fans and analysts believe it should be.
On the farm
The struggles of Rico Garcia continued yesterday as the 25-year-old starter from Hawaii was knocked around for six earned runs on four hits (two home runs) and four walks. He only struck out two, and the PCL is turning into quite the roadblock for this promising prospect.
In Boise, the bats came alive for many young Rockies prospects as Bladimir Restituyo, Ezequiel Tovar, Yorvis Torrealba, and Aaron Schunk all had multi-hit games. Even first-round pick Michael Toglia joined the fun by reaching base three times via the walk.
Triple-A: Memphis Redbirds 6, Albuquerque Isotopes 3
Double-A: Harrisburg Senators 5, Hartford Yard Goats 2
High-A: Rancho Cucamonga Quakes at Lancaster JetHawks
Short Season-A: Boise Hawks 5, Vancouver Canadians 1
Rookie: Ogden Raptors 4, Grand Junction Rockies 3