Jon Gray is in position to have best pitching season in Rockies history

In 2016 Jon Gray had the ninth-best pitching season by fWAR in the history of the Colorado Rockies, he was a rookie. Now unencumbered by the the weight of playing in the show and with the unquestioned title of ace of the staff on his name, the Gray Wolf could howl towards uncharted territory for a Rockies starting pitcher.

The biggest question for most starting pitchers at a mile high is can they figure out how to deal at altitude. In just 200-plus innings Gray has undoubtedly figured out the riddle that is Coors Field. Gray did that faster than any pitcher in club history. He had the best rookie year in franchise history, the next step is figuring out how to be a true MLB ace, a title which the Rockies can say they only owned for two years in Ubaldo Jimenez. It took Jimenez nearly 100 more innings to get to level Gray is currently at. The 25-year-old is right on schedule in his quest for stardom.

Last season, in 168 innings, following his cup of coffee in 2015, he pitched his way to a 10-10 record with a 4.61 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP amounting for a 3.7 fWAR. There were a few signs Gray tired towards the year’s end including a slightly raised walk rate.

Among the concerns with Gray entering 2017 is can he pitch 200-plus innings in a year, the most he’s pitched in a season in his pro career was last year. If he can stay on the mound longer per game and avoid injury this alone will put him right at the top for Rockies’ pitching seasons so long as he pitches about the same.

Once again, this is assuming he pitches the same, which it’s likely he will even improve, not only in his durability but his savvy on the big league rubber.

Behind a very solid spring, which saw Gray toy a bit more with vertical movement, it looks like he is rearing to make the jump from very good to great.

Things are not always a straight progression with young players, and it’s more than possible that Gray could hit a bump in the road, but all signs point up. His low FIP and a strikeout rate which should climb are two of the biggest signs that Gray is due to continue his improvement.

Gray’s season will be made more memorable by playing in games that actually count, a thing the Rockies are seemingly poised to do this season. In fact, adding to Jimenez’ dominance in 2009-10, what made his prime so memorable was it happened over two of the best seasons in franchise history.

Even the lowest projections of Gray point to him having another top ten year as a starter in club history, but those who have seen his progression know that him hunting down Jimenez or Aaron Cook‘s best seasons are nowhere near out of the question for 2017. It’s not to say that Gray will win a Cy Young or something crazy like that, it is to say that the Rockies will be running out one of the top 15 pitchers in the game every fifth day, a rarity for the Purple.