Antonio Senzatela's battle for the Opening Day roster

Who has been the Colorado Rockies best pitcher this spring?

If you’ve been paying attention to the games, you’re aware that most of the expected starters have had a game or two where they’ve been knocked around for some runs. So, you know it isn’t Jon Gray, or Tyler Anderson, or one of the more likely candidates. If you move your mind to someone who has come out off the bullpen you can probably figure it out.

Yes, the pitcher who has the best combination of actually pitching a decent numbers of innings (second most on the team at 14.2) and posting a great ERA (1.23) is Antonio Senzatela.

Understanding all caveats about the statistics produced this time of year, it’s still worth noting when a guy on the bubble for the MLB roster shows up the way Senzatela has.

There is no indication, nor should there be, that any of the expected rotation of Gray, Anderson, Chad Bettis, German Marquez, or Kyle Freeland are in danger of losing their spots. At this time, all are still better suited to begin the season pitching every fifth day for Colorado.

However, that doesn’t mean Senzatela won’t be on the roster, even as early as Opening Day.

Here’s how:

While there has been plenty of talk of Senzatela working out of the bullpen, something he showed an affinity for in the latter half on 2017, the constant reminder has been that the best ultimate value for someone of his talents is to keep him as a starting option.

Furthermore, the Rockies—like every team in baseball but maybe just a little bit more—need to be prepared for inevitable injuries to their starting rotation.

And while Colorado could certainly use a right-handed long man in the bullpen, especially if they intend to keep Chris Rusin for higher-leverage situations, no one fits that bill better than Senza. But it shouldn’t be his only role.

It seems the club is going to give lefty Zac Rosscup every opportunity to make the MLB roster. Carlos Estevez isn’t expected to be fully healthy until right at the start of the year and the team will likely lose Rosscup if they don’t take him, so he has the advantage.

But if there is even the smallest injury to literally any kind of pitcher, Senzatela should get the call. The fact that they already have three lefties in the ‘pen (Rusin, Jake McGee, Mike Dunn) means that Rosscup’s inclusion shouldn’t be a slam dunk. The organization has shown over and over again how much they value having the options and prefer not to lose players for nothing, but Tony Senz may just be too perfect of a fit to wait.

Either way, once he does come to Denver—and he will—the Rockies shouldn’t tie him to one role and should do everything in their power to keep him stretched out. This may include sending him back to Triple-A on multiple occasions. He is going to be using an option year no matter what, so they might as well take full advantage of it.

In this way, Senzatela can become a kind of super-swing man. Rotation or bullpen, MLB or Triple-A, Senzatela just pitches when and where he is needed. It’s a tough task for a young kid but one that keeps his future options open while getting the most out of him in the present.

Spot starts for small injuries or three innings out of the bullpen after an injury followed by a short stint back in the minors to make room for the returning player and suddenly you’ve got yourself a catch-all.

Of course, all of this crazy moving around would come to an abrupt end given a more serious injury or remarkable performance from the young man, grabbing ahold of whatever spot opens itself to him.

Everybody in this world needs a little backup from time to time. And, for pretty much the entire Colorado Rockies pitching staff, Antonio Senzatela is that backup.