As everyone very well knows by now, Coors Field, the home of the Colorado Rockies, is the most hitter friendly ballpark in Major League Baseball thanks to the extreme altitudes of the Denver area. Even with the dimensions of the park, which are very spacious (347/350 to left and right field, 415 to center, and 390/375 in the alleys), those who step into the batter's box have dominated the best pitchers to the most experienced the MLB has to offer. So if the aces and vets have their fair share of struggles, how do the young Rockies' prospects get acclimated to pitching in a hitter's paradise? Really, they don't have much success, if any, as many highly ranked pitching prospects have had their careers derailed in Colorado.
Victims of Coors Field
As one of two key pieces heading to Colorado in 2011 for Ubaldo Jimenez, Alex White looked to be an MLB ready prospect when the Rockies acquired him. Prior to the trade, the 15th pick in the 2009 MLB Draft was off to a great start with a 1-0 record, 3.60 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 15 innings of action (3 starts for Cleveland). Nevertheless, opponents finally adjusted to the starter resulting in White going 2-4 with an 8.42 ERA in a seven start cameo with the Rockies.
The following season brought even more struggles as he started the 2012 campaign by allowing at least two earned runs in his first eleven starts! Although White pitched much better in the last two months of the 2013 season, Colorado traded the former top prospect to Houston and has since had Tommy John surgery before being designated for assignment by the Astros. Currently the right hander is suiting up for the Gwinnett Braves (Triple-A affiliate of Atlanta).
Unlike Alex White, Drew Pomeranz, who was also traded to Colorado for Jimenez, is currently in the Major Leagues. But that does not mean his three years in Colorado went ideally. Despite being the fifth pick in the 2010 MLB Draft making his ML debut on September 11 with five shutout innings against the Cincinnati Reds, he had a very rocky three seasons in the "Mile-High City" and possessed a 5.40 ERA to go along with a 3-10 record apart from his first start.
In the offseason after the 2013 season, the Rockies traded Pomeranz to Oakland (for Brett Anderson), where he has straightened out his career as a hurler that can work out of the bullpen and the starting rotation. This season, the southpaw is 4-3 with an ERA of 3.66 and 54 whiffs in 30 games (9 starts) for the team across the bay from the San Francisco Giants.
Even though second-year pitcher Eddie Butler has many innings of Major League Baseball ahead of him, the 24-year old's career has gotten off to a very turbulent start. The Radford University product's biggest issue at the next level has been his inability to miss bats as in 2014 opponents hit .343 while this season the opposition is batting .314. In fact, Butler has only one start (5.1 IP versus San Francisco) of no earned runs allowed as a Major Leaguer!
Until the 2012 MLB Draft Compensation A selection can post ERA totals under 3.50 in three to four consecutive seasons, he will continue to be living proof that Rockies' pitching prospects falter due to their geographical location.
Who To Keep An Eye On Moving Forward
"Make them pay Gray!" Although Colorado Rockies' prospect Jon Gray dropped out of MLB.com's top twenty prospects within his first season in the Pacific Coast League, the former Oklahoma Sooner is still one of the best pitchers in Minor League Baseball. After a quality season at Double-A Tulsa (10-5 record, 3.91 ERA, and 113 SO in 124 1/3 IP), his earned run average has ballooned to 4.53 while he has already been tagged for one more loss than last season. While one should not automatically jump to the conclusion that Gray is destined to be a bust, Rockies' fans have to be uneasy on the fate of their top pitching prospect.
For a pitcher that has never pitched away from the East Coast, the hitter friendly confines West of the Mississippi River could take its toll on MLB.com's 67th prospect Jeff Hoffman. Hoffman, who was shipped from Canada to the United States yesterday for Troy Tulowitzki, has done amazing in his first season of professional baseball by combining for a 3-3 record and a 3.21 ERA between Dunedin (Single-A Advanced) and New Hampshire (Double-A). Unfortunately, no one will immediately know if Western baseball will affect the right hander since he is heading to New Britain (Double-A) rather than Albuquerque (Triple-A) for his organizational debut.