Dodgers: Sizing Up the NL West Competition- Rockies

This article is part four of a five-part series in which I will break down the Dodgers’ competition in the NL West for the 2018 season. The articles will feature the teams’ offseason additions and subtractions, a pitcher to watch out for, a batter to watch out for, and a season expectation.

The Colorado Rockies are, like the Diamondbacks, a force to be reckoned with in the NL West. Their hitting is excellent as usual in their Rocky Mountain altitude, their pitching much improved, and their season performance was a step in the right direction.

Last year the Rockies put together their first winning season since 2010. They finished third in the division behind the Dodgers and D-Backs and lost in the Wild Card Game which marked their first playoff appearance in eight years.

Despite a loss in the Wild Card Game, the Rockies showed the rest of the division that they are ready to contend and push for first place. After a very interesting offseason, here is what you should know about the Colorado Rockies prior to the 2018 season.

The Rockies’ offseason was executed with tunnel vision. The front office focused almost entirely on the bullpen and in doing so they signed three big-name relievers that will ultimately be key additions in 2018. Of their four major league signings, three of them were bullpen additions.

The first to big additions were made within hours of each other. The team signed hard-throwing lefty, Jake McGee, to a three year-$21 million contract. McGee who is 31-years-old was paid generously after having a nice season in Colorado in 2017. McGee will make for a solid lefty specialist and, although he was signed to a massive deal, he could be a positive piece for the team this year,

Just hours after signing McGee, the Rockies signed right-handed-pitcher, Bryan Shaw to yet another lucrative deal. Shaw was given the exact same deal McGee signed and yet again the Rockies left fans puzzled. Shaw is 30-years-old and the Rockies yet again committed a large amount of salary to an aging player.

Two weeks after signing Shaw and McGee the Rockies decided they would go for one more. On December 29th the team added former Cub, Wade Davis. As if there was a strategy, the Rockies again signed a pitcher over the age of 30. Wade Davis is 32-years-old and unlike the first two players, he made even more money. Davis and the Rockies inked a contract worth $52 million over three years and thus concluded their bullpen shopping spree.

With the 30’s the magic number, the Rockies continued the trend but this time in the field. The team added 34-year-old catcher Chris Iannetta on a two-year packed worth $8.5 million. Iannetta will serve the team as catching depth with occasional starts.

As for subtractions, the team lost Tyler Chatwood and Greg Holland both of whom were huge pieces of the team in the year prior. The team did a good job of replacing Holland but the hole left by Chatwood has not been filled as nicely as the Holland’s.

The Rockies pitching is actually quite impressive especially given the fact that they pitch in the friendliest batter park in the league. Through the high altitude and the thin air, the Rockies’ pitchers offer a nice group to choose from when highlighting just one player.

But, choose as I must, I am having a hard time picking anyone but Jon Gray.

Jon Gray, pitcher by day and ghostbuster by night is pure talent. His pitches all compliment one-another and his strikeout ability is one that rivals that of Clayton Kershaw, Chris Sale, and Max Scherzer.

In his three big league seasons, the 26-year-old righty has maintained an ERA of 4.40, impressive given his home field location. Perhaps more indicative of his talent, Gray has an ERA+ of 111 in three seasons. If you were to take away his first year in which he played in just nine games, Gray’s ERA drops to 4.24 with an ERA+ of 116. But, talented as he may be, Jon Gray has an issue a coach cannot fix, he is very fragile.

In back to back seasons, Jon Gray found himself on the disabled list with injuries that kept him there for an extended period of time. In 2016 Gray was on track to place well in the Rookie of the Year race and finished just sixth after a string of injuries causing him to miss starts.

Last season, Gray missed an extended period of time due to a toe injury which ultimately became a stress fracture in his foot. But, His dirty health track record makes him all the more intriguing for 2018. If Gray can stay healthy for an entire season, it could be reasonable to project him with elite numbers. Gray’s health will be the main factor in his season’s outcome and for that reason, he is the pitcher to watch.

To keep with the trend of these articles I want to avoid talking about someone obvious. Players that everyone knows are good and have been All-Stars are not, in my opinion, worth breaking down. We all know what they can do.

So, for that reason, I choose to talk about batters who are a little more obscure but can still make a big impact on his given team’s success. In the case of the Rockies, the player is outfielder David Dahl.

Any Fantasy Baseball player should already know this name from 2016 where Dahl broke onto the scene at the end of the year and made a huge splash. In just a couple months of playing, Dahl accumulated 222 at-bats where he hit .315 with seven home runs and 24 RBIs. Dahl had a slugging percentage of .500 and also managed an OPS+ of 113 and the 22-year-old made it look as though he was the next big thing in Colorado.

2017 was 180-degree turn for Dahl, a player with an injury history. Back in 2013 he badly injured his hamstring, in 2015 he lacerated his spleen, and at 2017’s Spring Training he broke his ribs. The broken ribs were not devastating. He was supposed to miss just a couple months but the rib injury turned into to back spasms that held him out of baseball for most of the year.

Dahl’s injury-laden history is alarming for anyone following him but it could also be his motivation to make an impact in 2018. Dahl is a great batter and at just 24 he still has plenty of time to stay healthy and make a name for himself.

If he can stay healthy, Dahl’s skills could very well catapult him into the spotlight yet again.