What to do with the Colorado Rockies? They went 68-94 in 2015, on the heels of losing 96, 88, 98 and 89 games the four previous seasons. Only the Astros have lost more games over the past five seasons, but at least the Astros just made a playoff appearance. The Rockies led the NL in runs scored for the second straight season (thank you, Coors Field) but allowed the most runs for the fourth consecutive season (thank you, Coors Field). Face-of-the-franchise Troy Tulowitzki was traded away, replaced by Nolan Arenado, who hit 42 home runs and led the majors with 130 RBIs.
What do they need? Pitching! Of course they need pitching. At least Jeff Bridich, who took over as general manager last offseason, has acknowledged the team needs to focus on power pitching or fastball/changeup guys, not the sinkerball mentality of the past. The Kyle Kendrick-Chris Rusin model of pitcher just isn't going to work at Coors Field because they don't miss enough bats.
Hitting! That's right, as usual the Rockies' offense is overrated. Away from Coors they hit just .228/.277/.375, and while some of that despair is attributable to the "leaving Coors Field and seeing better breaking balls" effect, some of it is that they don't have enough good hitters. That said, they don't have any obvious openings in the lineup, assuming they hand first base to Ben Paulsen, who hit .277/.326/.462. They may want a platoon partner for him. They'd love to trade Jose Reyes, but his recent domestic abuse arrest, combined with his awful performance in Colorado and big salary, means the Rockies are stuck with him.
Guy on the rise: You have to go with Arenado after his breakout season. After hitting 28 home runs total during his first two seasons, he exploded with 42 home runs, including 22 on the road. He added his third straight Gold Glove Award as well. He turns 25 in April, so the Rockies have to decide if this is the guy to build around and figure out a long-term extension with him (which may be easier now that Arenado has left agent Scott Boras).
Prospects to anticipate: The Rockies have some interesting prospects, including SS Brendan Rodgers, the third overall pick in 2015, but he's a few years away. While RHP Eddie Butler struggled at the major league level, RHP Jon Gray showed some sign good signs, with a 40-14 strikeout/walk ratio in 40 MLB innings (although he was used very cautiously, averaging fewer than five innings per start). He retained his rookie status for 2016. Then there's hard-throwing RHP Jeff Hoffman, the prize of the Tulowitzki trade. He returned from Tommy John surgery with mixed results, throwing hard but with mediocre K rates. He did reach Double-A and could move quickly.
Winter action plan: The big question: Do they trade Carlos Gonzalez? After an injury-prone 2014, he regained his trade value with a monster second half (27 home runs in 71 games). He also played a career-high 153 games. With Tulo gone, it seems likely that CarGo, with two years remaining on his contract, is next. The Rockies can build an outfield around Charlie Blackmon, a hopefully healthy Corey Dickerson and maybe a free-agent signing as they wait to see if David Dahl and Raimel Tapia develop.
On the pitching front, one idea is for the Rockies to focus on more fly-ball pitchers who limit walks. Coors Field is a big offensive park more because of the hits it gives up than the home runs, so maybe Wei-Yin Chen makes sense, or a buy-low guy like Mat Latos. It's another rebuilding year and they'll need results from Gray and Hoffman, but by 2017 the Rockies should start to see some of the minor league talent reach Denver.
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