Rockies will Finish 4th

After 2 straight years of finishing 5th in the West, the 2014 Colorado Rockies will finish 4th.   It remains to be seen if Arizona ties them, but both teams are playing playoff teams this weekend.  Colorado goes to LA to play the Dodgers who are chasing the Nationals for the #1 Seed in the NL, while St. Louis travels to Phoenix to play the D-Backs with Pittsburgh breathing down their necks to win the Central.

The Rockies also won't have the worst record in Franchise History, even though the local media ran with that one early in August, despite the fact that the Rockies have never been on pace to hit 100 Losses, as opposed to 2012, when the Rockies were below the .382 winning percentage needed to hit 100 losses in mid-August.  Granted winning their last 11 of 13 games at home sealed the deal, but it still was premature to talk about 100 losses that early.

So what of the 2015 Rockies?  There is a lot of talk about improved offense but in reality, the Rockies will likely finish with their 6th lowest Run output ever.  On the other hand they will end up with their 8th Best Runs Scored Against Season, which is a little surprising considering that they wen through 15 different starters, 10 of them with at least 8 starts.  

Can the Rockies find 5-8 consistent starters in 2015 either from their existing players or via trade?  It may surprise you to know that Tyler Matzek had the best overall ERA of pitchers with 10 or more Starts at 4.05.  DeLaRosa was #2 at 4.10 and Jordan Lyles had a 4.15 ERA.  Do the Rockies exercise the option on Brett Anderson who only managed to pitch 49 games in the past 4 years including 8 this year.

On the Offense and Defense, more questions abound.  Cargo and Tulo have been injury-prone for years, combining for a full-season this year, but can the Rockies move them via trade, or will they be back for 2015.    Charlie Blackmon has exceeded expectations in the leadoff position and played  in a team high 151 games so far edging out D.J. LeMahieu's 148.  Those are the only two everyday players who did not hit the DL this season.

Michael Cuddyer in his last year of his contract is 36 years old, and only played in 47 games this season.  His contract is up and the Rockies will have to decide whether it is worth it to bring the 2013 NL Batting champ back (and if he wants to.)

My biggest concern heading into the off season is why are there so many injuries to Rockies players?  Is it a conditioning issue, or do the Rockies just have fragile players?  If the answer is the former, they need to alter their training/conditioning.  If it's the later, the Rockies need to be better about acquiring more solid players.

The current roster definitely has talent, and ultimately they may not be far off if they can find a way to avoid injuries.  But is it enough?