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The Colorado Rockies are experiencing a season full of production from players coming up through the farm system. During this youth wave, Colorado’s games have been must-watch stuff, especially with the call-ups of David Dahl in July and most recently, Raimel Tapia in early-September. As of right now, on the active roster, Colorado is carrying 14 rookies out of the 37 players. Three of those players, Trevor Story, Tyler Anderson, and John Gray, are well deserving of the National League Rookie of the Year.
So the question is, who deserves it more out of the three mentioned above?
Trevor Story’s record breaking season was cut short after a sliding attempt at second base on July 31 against the New York Mets. Later on, in the same game, Story dove to his right for a ground ball that aggravated the injury even more. A few days later, the club announced that Story would miss the remainder of the 2016 season with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb. A huge blow to a team with playoff aspirations.
Story was phenomenal, and that’s putting it lightly. In only 97 games, the native of Irving, Texas clubbed 27 home runs while hitting at a clip of .272/.341./.567. What’s even more incredible is the fact that Story still leads the entire MLB in home runs at the shortstop position. Marcus Semien of the Oakland Athletics trails him by one home run (26) while Corey Seager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, a shoe-in favorite for the NL ROY, trails him by two (25). Keep in mind that those two players have played in 146 and 145 games respectively.
According to Baseball Reference, Trevor Story currently ranks fifth on the entire team with a WAR (Wins Above Replacement) of 3.0. The four players above him: Nolan Arenado (6.1), DJ LeMahieu (4.9), Charlie Blackmon (4.3), and fellow rookie Tyler Anderson (3.2). The only downside of Story’s game, however, was his strikeout percentage. 130 strikeouts in 372 at-bats is quite the concern; that’s a strikeout rate of 35%.
The glove was better than advertised. Most Rockies’ fans were quick to diagnose Story as a bat-only type of player. Well, he proved them wrong and then some. Story committed just 10 errors in 442 chances, good for a fielding percentage of .977. According to Baseball Reference, Story ranks first among National League shortstops in terms of Range Factor/Game for shortstops at 4.50. That’s the calculation of putouts plus assists per game.
Moving on to Tyler Anderson.
Anderson was Colorado’s first-round draft choice, 20th overall in the 2011 draft. After battling injuries most of his Minor League career, Anderson has made his name known this season, and not just among Rockies’ fans. Anderson has drawn Clayton Kershaw comparisons, mainly due to the somewhat hitch his has in his windup. Now, he should be getting Kershaw comparisons for his pitching alone.
The 26-year-old has made 17 starts this season for the Rockies, compiling a record of 5-5 to go along with an earned run average of 3.65. That mark is the best for a rookie in franchise history. In 118 innings pitched, Anderson has given up 37 runs, 26 of which were earned while walking 40 and striking out 106. Prior to Anderson’s last hiccup against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the southpaw was dealing in three-straight games.
In those three starts against the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Francisco Giants respectively, Anderson totaled 17 strikeouts over 18.2 innings pitched, giving up just four earned runs which is good for an ERA of 1.98. Although he lasted just five innings on August 24 against the Brewers, Anderson recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts in Colorado’s 7-1 loss.
Last but not least, Jon Gray.
Gray is said to be the savior of Colorado’s pitching staff. You know, an ace which Colorado has desperately needed for the longest time. Well, his last start against the San Diego Padres showed us a glimpse of what could be at his absolute best to fulfill the promise of being the third overall pick.
Jon Gray was brilliant, needing 113 pitches to capture his 10th win of the season. Not to mention, Gray finished the game with a 102 game score, the best that we’ve seen in a Colorado Rockies uniform. The hard-throwing right-hander pitched a complete game shutout, yielding four hits while striking out a career-high 16 batters; also a Rockies’ record.
As for the season overall, it’s been up-and-down for Gray. His last two starts were bumpy ones, possibly due to fatigue or simply just missing location. Gray lost two-straight prior to the 16 strikeout performance, giving up 10 earned runs over 11.0 innings pitched, walking four while striking out just six batters. One of those starts coming against the same Padres team.
On the season, Gray boasts a 10-8 record, striking out 172 batters over 158.2 innings pitched while holding opponents to a .239 batting average. Believe it or not, The Wolf of Blake Street, as coined by Drew Creasman, has pitched slightly better at home than opposed to the road.
At home, Gray is 7-2 with a 4.30 ERA, giving up just 40 earned runs over 83.2 innings pitched. Gray has struck out 94 batters compared to 18 walks. As far as the road goes, Gray is 3-6 with a 4.56 ERA, yielding 38 earned runs over 75.0 innings while striking out 78 batters and walking 35.
Similar results can be seen with Tyler Anderson, who has collected all five of his wins at home with a 3.04 ERA, opposed to going 0-4 on the road with a 5.10 ERA.
When it’s all said and done, Trevor Story, in my mind, is the easy candidate for this award. For what he did in a short amount of time is remarkable and just to think what he could’ve done barring injury is mind boggling. Tyler Anderson would finish second in my voting followed by Jon Gray. But however you look at it, this is the best class of rookies the Rockies — or maybe any team — has seen in a long, long time.
