Coloroado Rockies 2017 June Update
Well, folks, the end of June has come, and it's safe to say it was another very successful month. We started the month behind in the race for the division (behind the Dodgers) and we ended the month with a 6 game lead in the division.
We finished 20-8 during the month (first time ever winning 20 games in one month) to get to an overall record of 54-28. It seems the Dodgers are starting to trend downward, while my Rockies are starting to trend upward.
Here are the overall standings as of July 1:
In order to have a successful month like that, you have to have players that put it all together, and we certainly had that.
Here are the team stats as of July 1:
Some key guys to keep an eye on:
1) Nolan Arenado - Not only is Nolan the best player on the Rockies in 2017, he's the best player on the planet... If the season ended today, he would win the Triple Crown in the NL. He has a .337 avg, with 24 HRs and 65 RBIs (all tops of the NL) but he also has a completely ridiculous 1.052 OPS. The crowd says MVP every time he comes to the plate, and they are right. He is also the leading vote-getter for all of the National League players.
2) German Marquez - And then there is the Cy Young Award. And this one is pretty much a 3 man race. For these Rockies, Marquez is right there in it (along with Bumgarner and Kenta Maeda). German leads the league with an outstanding 12-1 record. But he is also 2nd in the league with a 1.88 ERA (Bumgarner is ahead with an unbelievable 1.56 ERA). You would think Sonny Gray and Jon Gray would be the top of the staff at this point... but that definitely belongs to Marquez. Also, he is the 2nd highest vote-getter in the NL Starting Pitcher category. Bumgarner is currently ahead of him.
3) Carlos Gonzalez - I don't think it's possible to have a better 3-4 punch than Arenado-Gonzalez. Arenado gets first crack at knocking the runners in (which he almost always delivers on), but Gonzalez gets to clean it up. He has a .309 avg, with 20 HRs (3rd in the NL) and 50 RBIs. If it weren't for Arenado, people would be amazed by the numbers CarGo is putting up (he actually has a better SLG% than Arenado). Unfortunately, CarGo ended up pulling his hamstring, so he will be out for several weeks (currently on the 15-day DL), but if he comes back the same as he went out... we'll be in great shape.
4) Tom Murphy - At the beginning of June, I was desperately wishing we still had Nick Hundley behind the plate because my Catchers were leaving a lot to be desired, but then Tom Murphy went on a bit of a tear. He finished the month with a .253 average and 5 HRs with 23 RBIs. And he's a beast behind the plate. I laugh at people that try to steal on him.
5) Tyler Anderson - In my May update, I mentioned that I was bringing Anderson up. I was hoping that he would be what I thought Jake Peavy was going to be. At this point, however, I think it's safe to say he has been that and a lot more. In his 5 starts this month, he had a 2.62 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, and finished with a 3-0 record. Of those 5 starts, 4 of them fall under the Quality Start category. He's not just turning into the guy I was hoping for with Jake Peavy... he's beating out Sonny Gray.
It was a fun month, but the All-Star break is coming and when that passes us by, things will get really serious. If the first three months were any indication, however, then the Rockies are up to the task.
Comment