2010 Record: 83-79
Pitching:
Ubaldo Jimenez started last year like a guy who was a lock for the Cy Young, although he slowed down the Rockies ended up going 22–11 in games in which he started. Jorge De La Rosa is the #2 guy and is OK, but not great. We have been waiting for him to breakout for a couple years now, and he never seems to. Last year he 8-7 with a 4.22 ERA, he did win 16 games in 2009, but has always had an ERA above 4.2. Behind him is Jhoulys Chacin, who really could end up being the key to this team. The 22 year old went 9-11 last year with a 3.28 ERA and averaged over a strikeout an inning. He has the talent to be an ace, so if he can develop the Rockies rotation will look a lot better. The back of the rotation is where Rockies fans should start getting concerned. Aaron Cook was terrible in an injury plagued season going 6-8 with a 5.08 ERA. The Rockies need him to go back to what he was in 2008 when he went 16-9 with a 3.96 ERA, but age 32 he is starting to get to the point where that might be asking to much. Jason Hammel is their 5th guy, and fits that role well (10-9 with a 4.81 ERA in 2010), and seems to be consistent (10-8 4.33 ERA in 2009). Not a bad bullpen with Houston Street closing and Matt Belisle/Rafael Betancourt setting him up.
Hitting:
The Rockies have some exciting young players on offense in shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (26), and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez (25). What the Rockies need is Dexter Fowler to come through for them this season. He should be batting leadoff, and this will be his 3rd full year in the majors. He has the speed, but needs to steal more then he did last year (2010 13 SBs, 2009 27 SBs). Like I said Tulowitzki and Gonzalez will caryy this lineup, but they could be so much better if Ian Stewart can improve and find the power he had in 2009, and Todd Helton can find the fountain of youth. Overall I do think this is a good lineup and with so many young players they should improve from last season.
Overall:
This is a really good and young team. I have some questions about the backend of their rotation, but I think they will be OK. Todd Helton is washed up and they should really use an upgrade at 1st, but the rest of the lineup is solid, so runs shouldn't be a problem. The Rockies seem to make the playoffs every other year, so I think the trend continues, but they need to find a way to win on the road (52–29 at home, 31–50 on the road), but I attribute some of that to the fact that they are a young team (and their stadium).
2011 Record: 93-69
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