Colorado Rockies Should Wait on Jon Gray
By David Hill
It is safe to say that the Colorado Rockies are not going to be in contention this season. With a 39-51 record, it seems apparent that the Rockies will be in sell mode, while keeping an eye towards building for next year and the future. Since the Rockies have not been in postseason since 2009, and have not been over .500 since 2010, this is not exactly uncharted territory.
With the ongoing rebuild, and the Rockies seemingly endless quest for pitching help, one would think that they would jump on any chance to take a look at a top pitching prospect. Yet, the Rockies, after initially planning on calling up their top pitching prospect in Jon Gray, reversed course and started Eddie Butler yesterday instead.
One can understand the decision to start Butler and hold off on bringing up Gray. After all, he struggled in his previous outing, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks in three innings. Yet, even in this rough outing, there were positives, as Gray struck out six batters. The outing was not a complete disaster, at least.
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Overall in 2015, Jon Gray has struggled for the Albuquerque Isotopes. In his 18 appearances spanning 99.1 innings, Gray has a 4-6 record with a 4.80 ERA and a 1.510 WHiP. He has struck out 90 batters, but has seen a slight uptick in his walk rate, as he has 35 walks. The Colorado Rockies reluctance to promote Gray would be understandable, if they felt he just needs a bit more time in the minors to iron everything out.
One also cannot blame Gray’s struggles on bad luck. His peripheral numbers are right in line with the Pacific Coast League averages, as his .317 batting average on balls in play against and 19.3% line drive rate are almost exactly the norm. Gray has, simply, just been far too hitable at this stage in his development.
Yet, given the Rockies need to find a viable young starter, they mind end up bringing Gray up anyway. With the team on the path to yet another finish as an also-ran, this would be a mistake. The Rockies, instead of throwing Gray to the wolves over the next two and a half months, would be better served by letting him taste sustained success at the AAA level before bringing him up to the majors.
It is understandable that a team like the Rockies, with almost no chance of making the postseason, would look to bring in some of their younger prospects to see what they have. However, the Rockies need to be looking forward, not just for the latter half of this season, but beyond. Bringing up Gray, when he has not had that success at AAA, could be quite the mistake.
The Colorado Rockies hope that Jon Gray will be an important piece of the pitching rotation once they get back to contention. With that in mind, there is no reason to bring Gray up this early.