By Jordan Long
The Colorado Rockies climbed over .500 for the 1st time since March 30th when they were 2-1. Colorado stands at 28-27. Colorado hosts Toronto for a 3-game set starting tonight. Colorado may want to think about sending struggling pitcher Kyle Freeland down to Triple A to work on his pitching.
Freeland was going to be the ace of the Colorado Rockies’ pitching staff heading into this year. Last season he was the top Rockies pitcher with a record of 17-7 and an ERA of 2.85. His strength was strikeouts with 173. Freeland didn’t leave the ball in the zone for home runs giving up 17. That helped him be in the conversation for the Cy Young Award.
This year the Rockies haven’t seen last years’ Freeland show up yet. He is walking batters with 25 which adds traffic on the base paths. Freeland can’t strike batters out with a total of 49. His problem has been leaving the pitches in the zone where a hitter can smack the baseball for hits or home runs. These are often extra base hits. Those add more base runners and the next batter in the lineup scores him with a sacrifice fly or base hit. He has given up 16 home runs, far too many.
Freeland’s ERA is a disappointing 7.13. His record so far this year is 2-6. His last win for the Rockies came on April 18th against Philadelphia. Colorado has been patient, hoping Freeland would be the ace they saw last year, but it hasn’t happened.
The way Freeland is tossing the ball, isn’t going to help the Rockies win. It is time for him to work on his game in Triple A. Colorado can’t wait any longer for Freeland to find his game again.
If he is sent down soon, he can work at his pitching for a few games with the Albuquerque Isotopes. The coaching staff can assist him with his throwing motion and location. This in turn could give him the boost he needs. The batters he would face aren’t Major League Baseball talent yet but some of them will be called up. After working in Albuquerque he will be called back up. It might also save his season and give the boost Freeland needs to be back to being a dominant pitcher once again. ffff
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