Sunday’s win over the New York Yankees show that the Colorado Rockies still have a fighting chance at a Wild Card spot. The offense is still clicking with Charlie Blackmon opening the game with a home run. The Rockies need to focus on fixing their starting rotation, and possibly adding to the bullpen. Here are three reasons why the Rockies should still be buyers at the July 31 trade deadline
Wild Card Race
The Wild Card race is still very close. Every team but the Miami Marlins are within seven games. Colorado currently sit tied for fifth with the San Diego Padres. The Rockies have a key series starting on Monday at the Washington Nationals. Colorado won the first set in Denver two games to one. A series win here would do wonders for them in the chase. Also, Colorado has yet to play against another key Wild Card contender – the St. Louis Cardinals. All teams in the Wild Card standings have played well recently except the Rockies. A good boost from the series against Washington would help the cause in making them buyers.
The Offense
As much as the pitching staff is struggling, the offense is still raking. Their 542 total runs scored is second in the National League. Blackmon is hitting .319 for the season, while Nolan Arenado is batting .307. The rest of the lineup is still hitting respectable numbers. The bats have cooled slightly since the start of the second half, but the eight runs against the Yankees should give them hope.
Young Staff
The pitching staff needs help, and a strong pickup at the deadline could help the youngsters that currently make up the rotation. The rumors have been floating around to sell some of their pieces,but this would be a mistake. Colorado are not in a rebuild, and the pitchers they have will be the core of the future. Scott Oberg could replace Wade Davis at anytime as the team’s closer, while Jake McGee could move to the eighth inning setup man. German Marquez was back to his dominant self against New York on Sunday. Throwing seven innings, he gave up two runs on three hits and struckout five. Marquez has periods of inconsistency, but Sunday’s performance should give the team hope. Jon Gray is also been pretty consistent, except for his last outing against San Francisco where he gave up six runs. Additions to these young players could help the pitching staff and move Colorado back to into a Wild Card spot.
Targets
. If the Rockies are going to buy at the deadline, then the starting rotation and bullpen should be their targets. The Rangers Mike Minor would help immensely, as he 8-5 with a 2.86 ERA and 131 strikeouts. Matt Boyd would also help with his 160 strikeouts and has a team friendly contract as he would be under club control until the 2023 season. On the bullpen side, Shane Greene has 22 saves for a lowly Tigers team, and would be under club control until 2021. Will Smith could be on the move as well, should the Giants choose to start selling pieces. Smith has 24 saves and 63 strikeouts. Any of these pitchers would do wonders to help the Rockies struggling pitching staff.
Featured image courtesy of The AP
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