Game of the Week: September 28: MIA @ COL

[Commissioner Erick]

Miami Marlins (71-84) @ Colorado Rockies (89-67)


MIA: Archie Bradley (7-12, 4.87)
COL: Riley Pint: (3-2, 4.92)


On September 22nd, six days ago, the Colorado Rockies were four games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and destined to play the Washington Nationals or Arizona Diamondbacks in the Wild Card.

They come into tonight's Game of the Week a single game behind the Dodgers and in control of their destiny for an NL West crown.

The Rockies will look to continue their improbably comeback when they face off against the Miami Marlins in the Game of the Week.

Colorado will turn to the youngest pitcher in its rotation tonight when 22-yearpold Riley Pint takes the hill. Pint has had a mixed time of it in the majors, which is to be expected of a 22-year-old with some mechanical issues thrust into a playoff race. He gave up eight runs in his last home start, and also allowed a pair of home runs in a loss to the Dodgers afterwards. However, his last two starts have seen him allow just three runs in 11 innings, both one-run Rockies wins.

Pint won't give Colorado much length and he's wild if you can wait him out. He's shown that his stuff is excellent though. Righties are hitting just .229 off him, and .239 in the first three innings. However, he has a .796 OPS after the first three innings as his stuff hasn't been able to hold up as he works deeper and deeper. Nonetheless, this year's #31 prospect and last year's #22 has been a revelation for a Rockies staff that needed some talent in its rotation this year. Pint's 1.95 ERA in Hartford might win him some AA awards as his ERA and WAR topped the Eastern league. He may add an NL West title to his award belt.

On the offensive side, Nolan Arenado has had a huge second half to put a flourish on the best season of a spectacular career. Arenado is in the top three of all the major offensive stats except runs and on base percentage. He's also fourth in doubles, while standing second in home runs. If not for Bryce Harper and Francisco Lindor, he'd be getting significant MVP consideration, but he'll have to settle for leading Colorado to a third straight postseason berth in all likelihood, while winning a second Gold Glove and a Platinum Stick.

Colorado also would not have been able to produce the success it has had without Josh Ockimey turning into one of the game's best sluggers. A Rule-V pick from Boston, Ockimey had a decent rookie year last year and was expected to be split time at first base this year. Instead, he leads NL First Basemen in Home Runs and Slugging Percentage, is third in On-Base Percentage, second in RBI and OPS and third in WAR. His 44 home runs are fourth among all National Leaguers, and his .931 OPS is sixth. Ockimey has hit lefties at a .300 clip with 15 home runs, a development that has taken him from a platoon starter to a first rate first basemen.

the Rockies will face a Marlins team rounding out a mildly disappointing year. They'll likely win more than last year, but will finish in the 71-76 range yet again. The Marlins pitching has been strong, but their offense has produced the lowest OPS of NL teams in September.

While he may strike out 200 times, Jeren Kendall has shown that he can hit. He has 26 doubles and 23 home runs, giving him a solid ISO number of .196. With great defense and speed, Kendall is showing off the bat that will make him a very valuable player.

Miami has also gotten a fantastic year from Willi Castro. Acquired for Tyler Naquin, Castro has 47 doubles, which leads the NL. Combined with terrific middle infield defense, Castro has been a 3.3 WAR player in his age-23 season.

Miami's veterans haven't produced though. Jose Abreu has 33 home runs and 39 doubles. However, it comes with a .307 OBP as a designated hitter. It just hasn't been enough to get the Marlins to take the next step.

The core is still incredibly young and talented, plus with their Triple A affiliate, the New Orleans Baby Cakes, winning the Pacific Coast League for the third year in a row, there's depth and talent in their upper minors as well. However, they still need one more star to really take the next step and compete for the NL East.


Questions for the GM's:


For Ben Vincent, how do you feel about your young outfielders? All ooze talent, but it seems some are developing a lot faster than others.

Your offense hasn't come together. How much of that is the result of your hitting coach, Keoni de Renne, who happens to have a very narrow head?

Who are you paying the most attention to tonight and over this final week?

For Erick Blasco, Travis Demeritte leads the league in strikeouts. Why do you still start him?

Your team didn't make any acquisitions at the trade deadline, which may bite you if your team misses out on a divisional crown by a game. Do you have any regrets?

Charlie Blackmon has declined a lot from a spectacular 2018.Are you worried for his present and his future?

[Commissioner Erick]

For Erick Blasco, Travis Demeritte leads the league in strikeouts. Why do you still start him?

Our roster ended up so outfield-heavy and Sergio Alcantara has been so underwhelming that we haven't had many other options. Alcantara has a .608 OPS, which just isn't good enough. Demeritte theoretically has some power and he's played strong defense. We may platoon in the playoffs and get Alcantara at bats against righties, with Demeritte facing lefties.

Your team didn't make any acquisitions at the trade deadline, which may bite you if your team misses out on a divisional crown by a game. Do you have any regrets?

Not at all. We expected our team would naturally play better in the second half and that has happened. It's how we've, at the least, taken control of the wild card run. We haven't lost any of our future assets, we were limited with our payroll. We're going to win at least 90 games and we're still set for the postseason.

Charlie Blackmon has declined a lot from a spectacular 2018. Are you worried for his present and his future?

Not too much because he's coming from such a high peak. He won't hit for as much power, but we're still looking at a guy with an .800 OPS and speed. His price tag is a little high, but we still expect him to be productive for two more seasons at least.

[Ben_Dodgers]

For Ben Vincent, how do you feel about your young outfielders? All ooze talent, but it seems some are developing a lot faster than others.


Jeren Kendall is a budding star.  While the batting average and strikeouts show room for improvement, he's among the league leaders in walks and still gets on base at a good clip.  20 HR 40 SB with gold glove defense will play on any team.

Isael Soto shows a lot of promise.  He's showed impressive defense and surprising speed this year.  He profiles as more of a power bat, and we expect more out of him next year now that he's had exposure to PBA pitching.

Mitch Haniger started the season in AAA and that seemed to pay off with a couple of stellar months before the all-star break, but he really struggled during the second half.  We'd like to see more consistency from Mitch.

Trent Clark has incredible potential but also trouble with consistency, which limited his playing time this year.

Luis Robert was hampered by injuries again this year.  He could be the best hitter of the bunch, but needs to stay healthy.


Your offense hasn't come together. How much of that is the result of your hitting coach, Keoni de Renne, who happens to have a very narrow head?



Keoni was very successful at developing many of our young hitters in the minors.  I think the fact that his head hasn't swelled upon reaching the majors like many others is a point in his favor.

Who are you paying the most attention to tonight and over this final week?

Archie Bradley has had a disappointing season, but he's been hot lately.  We're looking for him to close out the season with another strong start tonight.  Trevor Clifton was called up for September roster expansion to get a bit of experience in the bullpen.  After Daniel Norris went down with an injury he's made a couple of quality starts.  We'd like to see him develop his changeup, but he stands a good chance of starting for us next season.

[Commissioner Erick]

Marlins 7 - Rockies 1


WP: A. Bradley (8-12)
LP: R. Pint (3-3)



Archie Bradley wasn't able to build upon a strong 2019 with the Miami Marlins this year. His gem in Coors Field though hints that he may be able to be an ace for Miami in 2021.

Bradley struck out nine in 6 innings as the Miami Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies 7-1, dealing a crippling blow to Colorado's National League West title hopes.

Bradley put the finishing touches on a strong September that saw him strike out 47 in 35.2 innings. He went 3-2 in six starts, but worked to a solid 3.79 ERA and an exceptional 1.01 WHIP. Bradley had struggled on the road for much of the season coming into September. However, after getting beat up by Washington September 1st, he's followed that up with three excellent starts against playoff-caliber competition. He went 6 innings allowing two runs against Atlanta, struck out a career high 11 in 7 one-run innings in Atlanta, and then the start tonight.

Miami broke the game open late with a bases clearing ninth-inning triple by Donny Sands, just the second triple of his career. With the Colorado outfield playing relatively shallow, Sands hit a first pitch fastball to the center field wall for an easy triple to make the score 7-1.

Colorado returned home after a road trip and mustered only four hits. Nolan Arenado, who will earn MVP votes had two of them, and Carlos Gonzalez hit his 31st home run for the loudest hit. Charlie Blackmon went 0-4 with three strikeouts and fell to 2-20 lifetime against Bradley.

The game was also a failed test for Riley Pint. The talented youngster was able to escape the second inning unscathed, but he walked two and hit a batter in a 32-pitch inning. In the third he walked Willi Castro to lead off the frame and Castro came around on a Mitch Haniger single for the first run of the game for Miami. Another hit, walk, and sac fly later and the wildness contributed to the first two runs for the Marlins.

Extra base hits led to the next two runs. Jose Rondon doubled in the fourth and scored on Castro's double to make it 3-0. Blake Tiberi's slow chopper down the first base line became an infield hit to put runners on the corners for Haniger to knock in his second RBI with a sac fly.

With Jon Gray struggling, the Rockies were hoping Pint could grab the second spot in their rotation. With the loss, they may be relegated to the Wild Card Game and not get the luxury to need a second starter.


Questions for the GMs:


For Ben Vincent, Archie Bradley came on strong in September and pitched a gem in Coors Field. What are your thoughts on him heading into the final season of arbitration next year?

Jose Rondon made a few plays at short and got on base twice. What did you think of his game as someone who has spent two years on your roster after being plucked in the Rule V draft two years ago?

Kyle Barraclough walked two in 1.2 innings, but he was able to strike out three and emerge unscathed. Next year will be his final season with an arbitration-set contract. Will you ride the roller coaster one more season?

For Erick Blasco, Riley Pint really bombed. Will this affect his postseason status?

Your team didn't have good swings against Bradley. What was the issue?

Carlos Gonzalez hit his 31st home run and is on pace for having his highest average in his PBA career. Do you feel like he's gone under-the-radar this year?

[Commissioner Erick]

Feb 1, 2019 21:44:12 GMT -5 Ben_Dodgers said:

Keoni was very successful at developing many of our young hitters in the minors.  I think the fact that his head hasn't swelled upon reaching the majors like many others is a point in his favor.

Zing!

[Ben_Dodgers]

Despite the disappointing record this season, we see a lot to be excited about in Bradley. We’d like to extend him; hopefully he will be interested as well.

Rondon has been serviceable at short, but we’d really like to get more out of the position. We’ll be in the market for middle infielders this winter.

Barraclough can be wild, but is elite when he’s on his game. At this point we’re not sure if he’ll be more valuable on our roster next year or for what he’ll bring back in a trade. We’ll definitely listen to offers during the off-season.