The Colorado Rockies fan base is extremely cynical. That cynicism has been earned.
On Monday night, those cynics were out in full force, questioning another terrible Rockies loss that was snatched from the jaws of victory. It was an all-too-common story.
Jon Gray, the Rockies starting pitcher, making his first start on the road in a big league uniform was phenomenal. It was the kind of start that breathed hope into the despondent fan. There were flashes of this pitcher in Gray’s debut, but the nerves were clearly there and he never got a chance to really show off what he could do.
Monday night, Gray looked noticeably more confident. The debut was over and it was simply time to pitch. That is exactly what Gray did, pounding the strike zone and mowing through Mets batters. Through three innings, Gray had thrown only 27 pitches. Compare that to his first start where it took him 33 pitches to get through one frame. In his six innings of work, Gray gave up just one hit. That hit was a mistake that Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud drove to left-center field for a home run.
Gray was dominating and looked great. He had recorded five strikeouts and walked just two batters. The impressive part of his performance was how he went out and attacked the strike zone. So many of the young Rockies pitchers struggle to trust their stuff. They nibble at the strike zone and hope for swings and misses. In the big leagues, that model doesn’t work. Gray attacked the strike zone and forced the Mets to swing early in the count. That resulted in plenty of weak contact.
Something that fans should watch over the final couple of months when they get a chance to see Gray pitch is how he deals with adversity. When no one is on base, a guy who can touch 97 MPH without much effort can simply blow the ball passed batters. However, when there is trouble and the game hangs in the balance, how will an inexperienced Gray handle adversity?
On Monday in the 5th inning, Gray got two quick outs. He then seemed to lose his focus and walked opposing pitcher Jon Niese. He made a pitch to get out of the inning by getting Met’s leadoff man Ruben Tejada to ground towards second. The only problem is that as DJ LeMahieu slid to get the ball, he couldn’t glove the ball and only knocked it down. In a hurry to get up and get the speedy Tejada, LeMahieu pulled Kyle Parker off of the bag at first base, putting two runners on base with two outs. If that didn’t test Gray enough, he threw a wild pitch past Nick Hundley, moving both runners into scoring position.
Many young pitchers would find themselves in that situation and suddenly unravel. Instead of bearing down and getting an out to end the threat, they would start to overthrown and make a perfect pitch. Instead, Gray showed some early maturity. With a 3-1 count on Curtis Granderson, Gray threw a 97 MPH fastball that got the Mets slugger to pop up, ending the threat.
That type of pitching should bring a ton of excitement to Rockies fans. It is something that has been missing from their starting rotation for quite some time. The only pitcher who consistently works out of situations similar to what Gray worked out of is Jorge De La Rosa, who somehow seems to enjoy those situations and wiggles off the hook frequently.
To get through six innings it took Gray just 75 pitches. As was expected, when Gray was removed, Rockies fans lost their cool. Predictably, the bullpen gave up three runs in the 7th inning and turned a 2-1 Rockies lead into a 4-2 deficit that wouldn’t be overcome.
The Rockies have made it very clear that they are going to play it safe with Gray. They aren’t going to extend his innings beyond what they think is a healthy level. The problem is, the Rockies aren’t going about it the right way. If they don’t want Gray to throw more than 150 innings over the course of the entire season, then they shouldn’t limit him to five or six innings in every start, they should simply shut him down when he hits the maximum number of innings that they think is appropriate.
On a night like Monday, there is no reason not to let Gray throw another inning. If the team has to shave off a start or two and shut him down late in the season, the experience that he gets while on the mound with a tiny amount of fatigue will go a long way for his development. Probably more than easing him in to the workload that is required from a big league pitcher.
The Rockies hesitation isn’t without thought. Gray had to be shut down a year ago because of fatigue. He struggled late in the season and the Rockies made the call to have him stop pitching. It is wise to be careful with an arm like Gray’s. The problem is, the way to go about it isn’t through limiting him to five or six innings every time out. The right answer is to let each game dictate it’s own course and then rein him in when he reaches the maximum number of cumulative innings for the whole season. The fans wouldn’t be too upset if the club came out in mid-September and said that the team has decided to shut Gray down and he misses his final three or four starts.
Overall, despite the arguments about leaving Gray in, the focus should be about how good Gray looked on the mound. He looked like he was more relaxed and ready to show what he could do. That is a great sign for the future of the Rockies.
