The Rockies kick off their 2017 campaign with Jon Gray on the mound. Gray had a 10-12 record and a 4.79 ERA across 29 starts in 2016.
Gray’s numbers last season, particularly his ERA splits were a bit anomalous. Gray had a higher ERA (4.91) on the road than at Coors Field (4.30), where pitchers normally struggle. While Gray had an inconsistent campaign last year, Colorado’s offense offers hope that the Rockies would just be fine regardless of how Gray would perform later.
The Rockies enter the new season with some of the best bats in the majors. They were second in MLB last year in runs, second in batting average, and 10th in home runs. Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon, and Trevor combined for 87 home runs last season and were major reasons why the Rockies’ starters enjoyed 5.43 runs support per nine innings, fourth most overall in 2016.
Junior Guerra is ready for his second year in the majors following a strong rookie campaign in which he posted a 9-3 record and a 2.94 ERA with a 1.15 WHIP in 20 starts.
In his first start of the season, Guerra will look to tame the Rockies’ offense at home, where he went 5-2 with a 2.23 ERA and .209 opponents’ batting average across nine appearances at Miller Park last year.
There Brewers are still in the midst of their rebuild but they have some solid pieces on the lineup to keep the team respectable during this phase.
Like Guerra, Jonathan Villar had his breakout in 2016. Villar batted .285 in 2016 and had 19 home runs while providing 62 stolen bases. Ryan Braun and Jonathan Lucroy are dead giveaway threats for Gray too. Braun hit .305 last year, while Lucroy registered a .299 batting average.
The Brewers are 5-5 in Guerra’s last 10 starts at Miller Park.
