Colorado Rockies: German Marquez most underrated starter in the NL?

While many have noted the rise of Kyle Freeland for the Colorado Rockies this year, another pitcher has dominated for the Rockies and established himself.

In the National League this season, just two teams have two starters who have posted bWARs of 3.5 or better on the same team. Many would guess the Arizona Diamondbacks and their 1-2 punch of Zack Greinke and Patrick Corbin, but probably a half dozen other NL clubs would be guessed before the Colorado Rockies would be guessed as the second team.

Many have noted the breakout season that Kyle Freeland is having, and that has continued to be a positive for the former #8 overall selection, as he’s pitched to a 2.96 ERA over 28 starts, tossing 170 1/3 innings with a 61/145 BB/K ratio. The other arm is probably more of a mystery.

In January of 2016, the Colorado Rockies traded away outfielder Corey Dickerson to the Tampa Bay Rays. Many saw the big reward in the deal as lefty reliever Jake McGee, but right-handed pitching prospect German Marquez worked his way all the way to his major league debut in 2016, and he’s been a fixture in the Rockies rotation ever since.

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Marquez was one of a host of young arms the Colorado Rockies rode to a Wild Card berth in 2017 as he went 11-7 over 29 starts, tossing 162 innings, with a 4.39 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, and a 49/147 BB/K ratio. He’s simply improved on all of those numbers in 2018, going 11-9 over 28 starts so far, tossing 164 1/3 innings, posting a 4.05 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and a 52/184 BB/K ratio.

Marquez works with an impressive 5-pitch mix, featuring a mid-90s fastball, mid-80s slider, low-80s spike curve, and a mid-80s change. He gets tremendous late movement on all of his pitches, allowing nothing to really ever be squared up except his four-seam fastball, which does sting him at times, as seen by his 21 home runs allowed, but he also gets over 47% ground balls.

A new slider grip has allowed him to see a more distinct, sharp slider break this season, and that has allowed Marquez to see a sharp uptick in his strikeout rate. His 26.6% strikeout rate in 2018 has ranked 6th among qualified NL starters.

Whether Marquez will get a chance to show off his improved stuff in October remains to be seen, but he’s definitely taken significant steps forward to establish himself as a major part of the future of the Colorado Rockies rotation.