Thursday, December 26, 2019

Uncustomed Heroes of 2019: Rockies


A year after making the playoffs and becoming a sleeper hit basically overnight, the Colorado Rockies followed things up by winning 70 games and acting like nothing ever happened. Lovely.

Ian Desmond is still a lineup presence, because the Rockies are trying to fulfill as much as his overdone contract as possible before cutting him. Desmond had a 20-home-run year, but hit .255 with 119 strikeouts.
Why Him in 2019?: Made it back to the outfield after David Dahl got injured.
2020 Prediction: Back to underwhelming bench numbers

 The slow fall of Antonio Senzatela continues. After Freeland, Gray and Marquez all went down in July, Senzatela was one of the few trusted starters the Rockies had left, and Senzatela rewarded them by having ERAs over 10 in July and August. He finished the season with a 6.71, and an 11-11 record.
Why Him in 2019?: Was fighting as a lone competent starter for a lot of the year.
2020 Prediction: Hopefully the Rox get enough good pitchers so they can finally pitch this guy in the bullpen. He's the Vince Velasquez of the west.

 At least the bullpen was good in Denver. In the absence of Adam Ottavino, Scott Oberg became the scary setup man, with 58 strikeouts in 49 appearances and a 2.25 ERA. Sadly, an injury cut his year short, but his 2.4 WAR was the highest in the pen.
Why Him in 2019?: Best bullpen performer hands down on the team.
2020 Prediction: Does more of the same, gets traded in July.

 After Oberg got injured, it became Carlos Estevez' pen, and he definitely delivered, with 81 strikeouts in 72 innings, and a 3.75 ERA. Not bad at all.
Why Him in 2019?: Only gave up 1 earned run in 11 September appearances.
2020 Prediction: They give him the closing gig after Davis blows it once more, he gets huge in the ninth.

 One of the few rookie pitching experiments to work for the Rox this year was Peter Lambert, even though it took a while. He was still an innings eater, although his ERA rose over the year. He's 22, so hopefully he can get it together, but his rookie year was slightly disappointing.
Why Him in 2019?: Pitched 89 innings in his rookie year.
2020 Prediction: A 4 ERA, but won't be entirely spent as a starter.

After being cut by the Sox, Yonder Alonso wound up signing with the Rockies on a whim, and somehow managed to find his bat again, hitting .260 with 10 RBIs in 54 games.
Why Him in 2019?: Potentially extended his career longevity by not sucking in the second half.
2020 Prediction: Will DH somewhere.

Coming Tomorrow- The Royals lost 100 games this year, and we'll figure out why.

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