Comparing the 2019 Real Rockies with the 2020 Sim Rockies

It is officially June, which means we are nearly halfway through 2020 already! We are also entering month three of our Purple Row Sim, so thank you for following along as we navigate through simulated baseball in the absence of real baseball. The Sim Rockies are currently 25-34 and last in the National League. Not great. There have been some crazy roster moves that have taken place over the last few weeks, so hopefully things will turn around. Although June is a notoriously bad month for the Real Rockies, but maybe that will be different in our simulation.

In this simulated stats update, we will take a look at the 2019 Real Rockies stats and see how they compare to the Sim Rockies, starting with batters.

Note: All players included in the 2019 table overlap with current Sim Rockies roster members. Players who did not see major league action during this time frame with the Rockies last year are not included.

As you look at these tables, a few things stick out. The first thing is that Nolan is being Nolan and putting up nearly identical numbers in Sim 2020 that he did in 2019. Charlie Blackmon is also putting up similar numbers in Sim 2020 that he did in 2019, if not slightly better. David Dahl’s slash has take a huge hit so far in Sim 2020, as has Trevor Story’s. However, some of their raw stats remain fairly on par with where they were last year. The dip in the average might account for some of the issues that are plaguing the Sim Rockies, but the pitching is where things are starkly different than last year.

The difference between these two sets of stats is astounding. Remember how Wade Davis was solid for the first part of the year last year? Same with Jake McGee? This simulated year, they are more of a liability. Davis was moved out of the closer role in favor of Scott Oberg (who is currently on the Sim IL with a broken wrist) and now Tyler Kinley (who wasn’t with the Rockies in 2019). Jake McGee was DFA’d on Friday. Bryan Shaw was waived before the season even started.

On the starting side, Kyle Freeland is bouncing back and is statistically the best starter on the team with his 3-3 record and 2.79 ERA in 10 starts. Last year, he was sitting at 2-6 with a 7.13 ERA in 12 starts and was optioned to Triple-A on May 31, 2019. Germán Márquez made his trip to Albuquerque to “work on things” after a 3-5 record and a 7.94 ERA. Last year, he had a 6-2 record and starting rotation-best 3.48 ERA. He’s back now, and Jon Gray is back down in Albuquerque after a 2-6 record and 5.66 ERA.

With all of that in mind, here is how the standings stack up against each other:

The Rockies continued at 15-13 in June 2019 and finished June in second place in the division with a 44-40 record behind the pesky Dodgers. Their 6-19 July killed them. A 15-13 record for the Sim Rockies would be nice, but hopefully they don’t go 6-19 in July (and hopefully we have real baseball in July).

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The Sim Rockies finish up in Arizona tonight against the Diamondbacks and then head back to California to take on said pesky Sim Dodgers to finish off the week.

As always, check out Ben Kouchnerkavich’s YouTube channel for all the Sim Rockies action. We will broadcast again on Thursday, and possibly on Friday if the Rox are headed for the sweep. Thanks for your continued support and, as always, go Rockies!