The reality is this: Unless the Rockies can improve their starting pitching this winter, they face another long, hot, discouraging summer in 2024.
General manager Bill Schmidt has already made one significant move, acquiring right-hander Cal Quantrill in a trade with the Cleveland Guardians last month. But there are so many holes to fill, searching for pitching will top the Rockies’ to-do list when Major League Baseball’s winter meetings begin Monday in Nashville.
But the team just might have a partial solution already on its roster in 26-year-old right-hander Peter Lambert, who’d become something of a forgotten man until he flashed promise in the second half of the 2023 season.
“I thought it was a great year, and it was a win for me — personally,” Lambert said toward the end of the season. “I had a couple of rough years, for sure, and coming into this year there were still a lot of question marks as to whether I could stay healthy and what I could do on the mound.
“But I think I went out there and answered some of those questions, for sure, and I’m happy where I’m at and excited for the future.”
From July 1 through Sept. 4, Lambert went 2-4 with a 3.60 ERA over nine starts while striking out 30 and walking 11. Lambert pitched six innings or more in each of his last five starts and allowed three runs or fewer in four of them. In an Aug. 18 game against the White Sox at Coors Field, Lambert pitched a seven-inning gem, allowing one run on four hits, striking out five and walking one.
Lambert, who was already scheduled to pitch limited innings, saw his season end early when he was shut down because of right biceps tendinitis after a poor start vs. the Giants on Sept. 10. He’s expected to be full go for spring training.
Despite all the arm issues that have derailed his career, Lambert’s average fastball velocity of 93.4 mph was up a tick compared to his debut season in 2019 when his fastball averaged 92.7 mph, according to FanGraphs.
“Peter is now ready to take on the challenge of being an integral part of our rotation,” manager Bud Black said. “He pitches with grit and heart and has the stuff to be a successful major league pitcher. He now knows what he needs to do.”
If Black is right, Lambert’s emergence would be huge.
The Rockies’ rotation, ravaged by injuries and lacking quality depth, posted a 5.91 ERA last season, the highest in the majors and the second-highest in franchise history behind the 1999 club (6.19). Colorado starters combined for a 28-70 record and made just 39 quality starts, the lowest in the National League and the second-fewest for a full season in franchise history, ahead of only the 2012 Rockies’ 27 quality starts.
The rotation will be without veteran right-hander German Marquez and Antonio Senzatela at the start of the season as they recover from Tommy John surgery. Lefties Kyle Freeland and Austin Gomber lead the staff, with right-handers Ryan Feltner, Quantrill and Lambert penciled in to fill out the rest of the 2024 rotation.
The Rockies have been waiting for Lambert to blossom ever since he was drafted in the second round out of California’s San Dimas High School in 2015. He debuted in 2019 at age 22, but it was a rocky rookie season. He put up a 7.25 ERA over 19 starts.
Then came the elbow problems.
In June 2020, during the pandemic, Lambert suffered a torn UCL and underwent Tommy John surgery. He was back on the mound by August 2021 and pitched during the final month of the season. But he never looked right as he struggled to an 11.12 ERA over 5 2/3 innings at the big-league level.
The elbow issues lingered throughout the 2022 season, and he pitched just 8 2/3 innings over four games at Triple-A Albuquerque before getting shut down in June.
But Lambert is healthy now and is participating in a normal offseason workout routine.
While the Rockies’ 103-loss season was a disaster on many levels, Lambert’s comeback, though short in duration, provided a silver lining.
“There’s no doubt I had to prove things to myself,” Lambert said. “In the second half of the season, I proved that I could handle a starter’s workload, and I had some success. The most success I’ve had in my career, to this point, for sure.
“Where I’m at, innings-wise and what our goal was this season, it was the right move.”
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