Rockies-Astros Series Grades: Going toe-to-toe with the champs

The Colorado Rockies have won a lot of series lately, but this was a big test hosting the defending champion Houston Astros,  one of the most heavily featured squads in our list of MLB DPR leaders.

Going against Gerrit Cole and Charlie Morton—two of the top-20 starters per our in-house metric—made that test even greater. Considering all that, taking the Astros into the 9th inning in both games was quite the win, even if Colorado ended up splitting the series.

As we do after each series, using our advanced statistics and our in-house all-encompassing metric DPR, here are our individual grades.

Note: The scores below are each player’s average DPR for the series. All Rockies stats can be found here.

Charlie Blackmon (96.27 — ⭐): Blackmon had a huge series and not just because of his walk-off homer. He had a hit each game, with a double in game one, and reached the base pads three times in game two with two walks and the game-winning jack. His WPA in game two was an insane .490, giving him a single game DPR of 152, his third highest of the season and by far the highest since April.

His DPR would’ve been even greater in the series if not for two strikeouts in game one—his error in that game isn’t accounted for here but was really his biggest blimp in an otherwise great showing.

Nolan Arenado (52.74 — C-): Nolan’s big contribution in the two games was a double in game one that he eventually scored on. He managed one hit in eight ABs with no walks or strikeouts for the series.

Trevor Story (29.31 — F): This was Story’s worst series in July per DPR, though, in fairness he did have some extraordinary defensive plays that aren’t accounted for by our metric. His game one performance with two strikeouts and a negative WPA really lowered his score. Game two wasn’t as bad, as Story got a single and a walk, though, he still struck out once and was caught stealing.

Story also had an error in game one which isn’t accounted for in his DPR score.

Ian Desmond (68.07 — B-): Desmond had another solid series, as his DPR average on the season keeps on rising. He had three singles in eight ABs and could’ve had an even higher grade if not for a strikeout in game one, his positive WPA in both games helped him.  

Carlos Gonzalez (66.06 — B-): CarGo added an RBI in both games as he had an RBI double in game one and then got a homer in game two. A solid series despite having three strikeouts in the two outings, which resulted in a negative WPA in game two.

Garrett Hampson (64.18 — C+): Hampson continues to hit, as he was consistent getting on base in each game including a triple in game two. He also had a walk in the two matchups with Houston while only striking out once in eight plate appearances.

Gerardo Parra (36.26 — D-): Parra tied up game one with an RBI single, but he struck out five times in the series, walking only once. In just a two-game series that brought on his low grade.

Tom Murphy (67.29 — B-): Murphy appeared in one AB in the 10th inning in game one with things already out of hand, his grade here is reflected purely on what he did in game two in which he started and was a solid contributor. The catcher got two hits with a double giving him his high score and a positive WPA. He also struck out twice. 

Chris Iannetta (27.68 — F): Appearing in only game one, Iannetta had little to show in the series as he had all of two ABs and struck out once.

Tyler Anderson (83.35 — A-): Anderson battled Gerrit Cole masterfully after allowing two runs in the opening inning—one earned. In 90 pitches Anderson was efficient inducing 10 ground ball outs and only allowing three hits in 7.1 innings. He did walk three while only striking out four and his 5.07 FIP also lowered his score. Overall, it was a fantastic outing from the big lefty keeping the Rockies in it right to the very end.

Jon Gray (91.16 — A+): Gray was terrific once again, with slightly lower K numbers—six—but much more efficient ground ball to fly ball ratios (11-to-5). In seven innings the Rox aspiring ace only allowed one hit off of 97 pitches. Since returning his average DPR is of 89.24, an off-the-charts figure. If he can keep that up Colorado will be hard to beat.

Adam Ottavino (99.79 — ⭐): Otto was masterful in two outings against the Astros high-powered offense throwing less than 10 pitches in both games and striking out four in the two matches. His strike percentage was ridiculously high as he only threw three balls off of 17 pitches the entire series. He was simply dominant.

Wade Davis (24.31 — F): Game one was Davis’ first game in which he was asked to pitch for more than one inning and he fell apart in the 10th, allowing five runs off of four hits while conceding a two-run jack. His 13.69 FIP and -.341 WPA were Davis’ worst of the month.

He was able to shut things down in game two after walking one with two Ks and a ground ball out, getting the win in the process. However, his -28 DPR in game one really hurt his grade in the series.

Yency Almonte (7.44 — F): Almonte came into game one when the Astros had already done their damage to Davis, he allowed three hits and one run in 0.2 innings in the 10th, the first earned runs he’s allowed all season.