They Survived
September 1st, 2017
W - 77 / L - 52 / 14 Game Lead
Many thought the Rockies might implode due to the injuries to 3 of their starting pitchers, instead they went 18-7 in August and gained 6 games within their division effectively putting the regular season away. It wasn't a perfect month for them though as 3B Rosell Herrera went down with an injury that put him out for 6 weeks on August 21st. Due to the timing of the injury and length (it would keep him from being eligible for the playoff roster) the Rockies did not put him on the DL instead choosing to rough it with 24 active players instead of 25. The Rockies replacement pitchers performed admirably in the absence of their injured starters. Some might have wondered if trading Ryan Verdugo earlier in the season would hurt them but to give you an idea of how good of a season SP Wilmer Font has had in his place let's look at some stats.
- Font is 9-0 in 10 starts
- his ERA is 2.14 and has a 1.09 WHIP
- His FIP is 3.52 (The Rockies saw his FIP in MLB games was just 3.84 although he had a high ERA
- Perhaps the best stat to show though is his ERA+, a stat that adjusts for the park the player pitches in to show an ERA if the fields were all the same, is 191. That stat was last surpassed by Zack Greinke in 2009 when his was 205 and his ERA was 2.16
If Wilmer Font had started the season and pitched this well he would have started the All-Star game. Another note on young players filling in. LF Yasukazu Tsuchiya nabbed rookie of the month honors when in 90 at bats he hit .289/.340/.700 with 11 HR and 22 RBI's in the month of August.
Top Team Performances
MLB Hitter - SS Troy Tulowitzki - .320/.358/.610 9 HR 27 RBI
MLB Pitcher - SP Drew Pomeranz - 2-1 2.10 ERA 0.86 WHIP
AAA Hitter - 2B Taylor Featherston - .291/.365/.488 4 HR 11 RBI
AAA Pitcher - SP Rafael Rodriguez - 2-1 2.97 ERA 1.47 WHIP
AA Hitter - RF Carl Thomore - .248/.333/.426 2 HR 12 RBI
AA Pitcher - RP Matt Flemer - 18.0 IP 2.00 ERA 1.22 WHIP