Luke Wortman | @Luke_W31 | March 28, 2024
Opening day is here! With the Rockies Arm Barn set, let’s break down and talk about the pitchers who will try to hold it down in the middle and late innings. The bullpen is a mix of Rockies veterans and unproven guys with a ton of potential that will look to build upon 2023’s promising early season results.
While there clearly is a lot of promise, there are also several questions. How will Justin Lawrence do as the closer? How will new guys Jalen Beeks and Anthony Molina adapt to Coors? Will having just one lefty (Beeks), be enough? These are all questions that figure to be answered over the next coming weeks.
Justin Lawrence – RHP
Having pitchers who stick around on the Rockies’ roster for multiple years is something of a rarity, whether because of their contract status or performance. Given these facts, it’s pretty clear that Lawrence is one of those rarities. The sidearm righty with mid-90s velocity and a frisbee for a slider figures to be the closer for the team after pitching to a 3.72 ERA with 78 strikeouts in 75 innings last season. 2023 was clearly his best season as a pro and it’ll be interesting to see if he can continue to build upon last season and find stability from start to finish.
Anthony Molina – RHP
There wasn’t much doubt surrounding Molina’s chances of making the club given that he was a Rule 5 pick, but it was still great to see him pitch well in Spring Training and show Rockies fans what the front office saw in the young Venezuelan right-hander. Molina only walked two and struck out ten batters in 11 innings this spring. This comes on the heels of last season where he pitched to a 4.37 ERA in 55 innings with the Rays Triple-A team. Molina isn’t going to overpower hitters–though he can sit in the mid-90s–but his consistency and strike-throwing will help him get outs. Expect him to get a lot of long-reliever innings with the chance to start if needed as he builds more experience.
Jalen Beeks – LHP
The only lefty in the Arm Barn, Beeks is looking to have a bounce-back season after uncharacteristically struggling with the Rays last year. A fixture in the Rays bullpen since 2018, Beeks has a career 4.38 ERA across 277 big league innings, though he had a 2.80 ERA in 2022. If he can find his 2022 form, it would be a major help to the Rox. Beeks pitched to a 3.24 ERA this spring so hopefully that is a sign of things to come. The former Ray sits 92-96 from the left side, features a nasty changeup he uses as his primary pitch, and has a mid-80s cutter/slider that has gotten great results in limited usage. Beeks walks a few more than you’d like and that may lead to issues but he has the stuff to be a valuable piece.
Tyler Kinley – RHP
The 33 year-old Kinley enters his fifth season with the Rockies, a tenure that has had ups and downs, highlighted by an elbow injury suffered early in 2022 that forced the flamethrower out most of 2023. Kinley provides a veteran presence to a young bullpen that is in need of guidance. While his numbers last season weren’t pretty, (6.06 ERA in 16 innings), this is the same guy that pitched to a 0.75 era in 2022 behind upper 90s velo and a low 90s slider. If Kinley starts off the year strong, there’s a good chance that the Rockies will try to trade him at the trade deadline, though he could also provide big time support in the late innings.
Nick Mears – RHP
Mears is the epitome of a true hard worker, signing with the Pirates as an undrafted free agent out of a JUCO and making his big league debut after only 2 seasons in the minors. He didn’t get consistent playing time with the Pirates, bouncing between Triple-A and the big leagues over three seasons. The Rockies claimed him off waivers going into 2023 and he had a strong first season with the team, pitching to a 3.72 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 19 innings. He dealt with injuries throughout last season, but if he can stay healthy, he could be a major breakout candidate. Mears, like Kinley, possesses upper-90s velocity, capable of touching 99 and he backs it up with two effective breaking balls that miss bats. Mears had a strong spring collecting 10 strikeouts in 7 innings and profiles as a key 6th and 7th inning arm.
Peter Lambert – RHP
A 2nd round pick by the Rox in 2015, Lambert’s tenure with the team has shown flashes of promise, but unfortunately, injuries have dampened his success. Lambert was finally healthy last year and had his most successful season to date as an MLB arm, pitching to a 5.36 ERA in 87 innings. Much like Anthony Molina, his stuff won’t blow you away, but is more than adequate enough to get outs. Last season was the first time Lambert was used as a reliever, though he still started 11 games and figures to make starts for Colorado as needed. The California native will hold the long relief role and can hopefully build on the progress he made last season.
Jake Bird – RHP
Since making his debut in 2022, Bird has been a fixture in the bullpen and a super reliable arm. Over two seasons and 137 innings, Bird has a 4.53 ERA and 119 strikeouts with the big league club. In a bullpen that has a bunch of variables and question marks, Bird provides stability. He has power, he has a deep arsenal, and he commands the baseball well. Bird has excellent multi-inning ability but he may get a chance to close some games out this season, if Lawrence is unavailable.
Victor Vodnik – RHP
Double V came over to the Rox in the Pierce Johnson trade last season. After making his big league debut and pitching six games with the club last year, Vodnik has a chance to get consistent big league innings. He struggled a bit this spring but also showed promising stuff that will play at the big league level, consistently touching 99 and mixing in his heavy low-90s changeup. The 25th best prospect in this system, according to our BSB rankings, Vodnik has the durability to pitch multiple innings with the club and has as much upside as any arm in the pen.
Likely starting on the injured list, Lucas Gilbreath will look to finish his return from Tommy John surgery. He’ll be joined by Daniel Bard, who is recovering from knee surgery. The first few weeks will be critical in determining who has their spots taken by Gilbreath and Bard, as they’re viewed by the organization as key parts.
Overall, the club’s relief crop is the best aspect of the organization as of now and could rank out around average when compared to the rest of the league. They have experience with certain arms, a ton of power spread across their pitchers, and several unique pitchers with different arm slots and delivery tempos.
Last year’s bullpen was doomed by the injury-plagued rotation’s inability to rack up innings, leading Bird, Lawrence, and Brent Suter–now with the Reds–to pitch an absurd number of innings, with Bird leading MLB in relief innings and Lawrence finishing 10th.
Freshness will be key but the Rockies have the depth this year with key young arms like Evan Justice, Gavin Hollowell, and Riley Pint immediately ready to fill in innings, along with the two injured veterans. We’re remaining optimistic about this crew and expect quality things.
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