Pitchers on the Rockies’ 40 Man Roster

Going into the 2024 season, the Rockies are yet again coming off a year with an injury list full of pitchers, with an unsettling number of them being starters. German Marquez is thankfully due to return around mid-season, as well the Rockies’ hometown bullpen lefty Lucas Gilbreath, hoping to come back sometime after Opening Day. Unfortunately Antonio Senzatela is not projected to make it back onto the roster this coming season due to needing Tommy John surgery like many others, including Marquez and Gilbreath. Although they’ve endured these losses, Bill Schmidt and his operations have done what they can to bring the Rockies a healthy amount of arms in both the bullpen and the starting rotation. Primarily by utilizing the Rule 5 Draft, waiver wire, and trades. 

The Rockies aren’t short of hard throwing righties in the bullpen. They have their ‘tried and trues’ being Daniel Bard, Jake Bird and Justin Lawrence, but the squad has a lot of potential lurking on the 40 man roster that could fall into a relief spot or even snag a late inning setup role. Victor Vodnik, Juan Mejia, and Angel Chivilli are the young righties that the Rockies are looking to test out this spring, each one of them sporting a strong fastball that reaches the high 90’s. Ultimately, the Rox are expected to look to righties such as Peter Lambert, Tyler Kinley, Riley Pint, and Gavin Hollowell to fill these roles during the regular season, but it’s a possibility that we could see one, if not, multiple of the younger flame throwers on the Opening Day roster come late March. One way or another, these options are going to be refreshing for Bud Black and the Rockies’ org.

In terms of lefty bullpen pieces, Colorado will be led by Lucas Gilbreath once he’s fully recovered with his impressive repertoire. His release point supports a fastball with rising action, a slider that can completely fall out of the zone, and a touch of his late breaking split finger. Not to mention he’s a stellar personality for this team and the community it brings. Gilbreath is also active on social media, where he’ll document his training regimen and give tips to young throwers on mechanics and arm health. He’ll be joined by familiar face Evan Justice and new addition via the waiver wire back in November, Jalen Beeks. Evan Justice’s production last year was inconclusive in the small amount of time he was called up. He showed a strong fastball and slider combo from the left side with a funky windup. Despite the high walks and the inflated ERA of 8.59, Justice did not give up a single barreled ball in the 42 batters he faced, also keeping the ball on the ground ~58% of the time. Again, this is a small sample size, but this tells us that the Rockies haven’t yet gotten what this rookie is capable of. Jalen Beeks is a promising pickup for the Rox that was made off waivers in early November. He’s had a good amount of success with the Rays, even starting a few games in the last couple years and showing off his longevity. They’ll likely look to him for a long relief spot as they did with Ty Blach, Beeks providing more velocity and a frequent changeup that has proven successful for hurlers at Coors Field.

Colorado fans have had many years of wondering who their starters are going to be. Signings and pickups have been made this year by the Rockies that are combating that. Dakota Hudson, previously on the Cardinals, was signed to a one-year deal for $1.5 to $3 million depending on performance and/or innings pitched. As well as Cal Quantrill being traded to the Rockies from the Guardians for one of their many farm catchers, Kody Huff. Both of these new arms are still young, and at one point have proven that they can go far into games while limiting baserunners. Hudson ranked 5th in Rookie of the Year voting in 2019, while Quantrill broke out in 2022, posting a 3.38 ERA in over 186 innings pitched. Year in and year out, Hudson has been in the top ranks for ground ball % among starters, which is a huge tool to have playing at a Mile High. These new starters equally have a fitting repertoire for their new home stadium. Each carrying at least five different pitches, two of them being fastballs. The Rockies will have this spring to find who will join them, and Kyle Freeland in the rotation to start the regular season. It is likely going to be Austin Gomber and Ryan Feltner, but it will be interesting to see how things pan out. Peter Lambert, who was a highly touted prospect and suffered lengthy arm injuries, will finally be getting some starting reps in. Likely along with Noah Davis, Ty Blach and Jalen Beeks. 

It would not be surprising in the slightest to see this Rockies’ pitching staff make some improvements this year. What the operations have done to pad to the arm depth could pay off in many ways, for the now and future of this squad. Jacob Stallings was another pickup the Rox made this offseason, a veteran pitcher’s catcher who’s had plenty of success blocking and framing for his pitchers.

Seeing the front office establish a plan along with all the injuries that have occurred has been impressive. With previous general management, it seemed like there wasn’t a plan to grow and build off young pitching. There was a lack of getting arms/appropriate reps with the help of mentor veterans and coaching. So it’s been exciting to watch the new management take over and reestablish what’s required for the success of our Colorado Rockies and its players.