The Colorado Rockies have announced that starting pitcher Jon Gray is out for the season with a fractured left foot. In a corresponding move, the Rockies have called up pitcher Tim Melville.
The Rockies have selected right-handed pitcher Tim Melville from Triple-A Albuquerque and have placed right-hander Jon Gray on the 60-day injured list with a left foot fracture. Melville will start for the Rockies today.
— Rockies Club Information (@RockiesClubInfo) August 21, 2019
The Injury
On August 8th Gray was pitching against the San Diego Padres. During that game, Gray slipped on the dugout steps in San Diego and hurt his foot. His next scheduled start was on August 13th, but Gray was not able to make that start. But he started on August 16th and had his best game of the season despite pitching through pain.
Gray is leaning towards having surgery to fix the stress fracture in his foot. This injury is similar to an injury Gray had in April of 2017. The surgery could prevent this from being a lingering issue.
Gray’s Career
The Rockies drafted Gray with the third pick in the 2013 draft. After three seasons in the minors, the Rockies promoted Gray in August of 2015. He has been a major part of the Rockies rotation ever since.
In 2016 Gray went 10-10 with a 4.61 ERA. He was named the opening day starter in 2017. Gray rewarded the Rockies by having a breakout season going 10-4 with a 3.67 ERA. But in 2018 Gray went 12-9 and stumbled to a 5.12 ERA.
This year Gray returned to form with an 11-8 record and a 3.84 ERA. He has been one of the lone bright spots this season for the Rockies.
Rockies Outlook
After making the playoffs in 2018, the Rockies have had a down season. The Rockies are currently 57-69 and 25 games out of first place. To be fair the closest team to the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the division is the Arizona Diamondbacks at 19 games back.
Pitching has been a huge issue for the Rockies this season. Starting pitcher Kyle Freeland who was a Cy Young contender in 2018 has had a disastrous season in 2019. The Rockies team ERA is ranked 29th out of 30 in the league.
This season home runs are at an all-time high. The Rockies play at one of the most home-run friendly ballparks in the major leagues, but they are not among the league leaders. They rank 20th out of the 30 teams in the league in home runs hit. The Rockies pitching staff has allowed the sixth-most home runs in the league.
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