All Rockies team 1965-2017, pitchers

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Looking for strong pitching performances in Colorado is like sifting through the rubble of a natural disaster to find something valuable. You have your work cut out for you. In looking through Colorado's baseball history, you will find the occasional good statistical season, interspersed with some bad ones. Like fruit that is getting too ripe, you have to cut away the bad spots to enjoy the good. So, get out your knives, here we go.

Starting pitcher: Jorge De Larosa Picking out the best Rockies starter is like picking out your favorite Star Wars storm trooper, they all look alike, it's also hard to distinguish between them. De La Rosa is, however, the Rockies all time leader in wins with a record of 86-61. Jorge has pitched in Colorado for 9 seasons and has an ERA of 4.35 during that stretch, which is excellent under the circumstances. Jorge has strung together four seasons in double digit wins, topping out at 16 twice. De La Rosa's best season was in 2013 when he went 16-6 with an ERA of 3.49. That's an edible bite of fruit.

Starting pitcher: Ubaldo Jimenez Here's the rare pitcher who actually was more effective in Colorado than other places. In 2010 Ubaldo even made the NL all star team. He was 19-8 that season with an ERA of 2.88. That was good enough for a WAR of 7.5. That followed a strong 2009 season when he recorded a WAR of 5.6. Ubaldo spent six seasons with the Rockies, running up a record of 56-43 with an ERA of 3.66. Ubaldo's total WAR for his 6 seasons with the Rockies was 18.6. For two seasons, Ubaldo was a very good starter for the Rockies.

Starting pitcher: Aaron Cook Aaron managed to last 10 years in Colorado while putting up an ERA of 4.53. That's a lot more difficult than it may sound. Cook's won-loss record for the Rockies was 72-68. His best season was 2008 when he went 16-9 with an ERA of 3.96. The following season, Cook went 11-6 with an ERA of 4.16. That's one of the better runs a Rockies starting pitcher has seen. For 2008-09, his WAR total was 7.2. Cook was a member of the 2008 NL all star team. A lot of guys don't strike out a lot of hitters, but Cook to it to an extreme, striking out only 3.8 hitters per 9 innings. Cook nails down this slot in large part due to his survival skills.

Starting pitcher: Jhouly Chacin Chacin is a case in point for the idea that won-lost records are highly overrated. In six seasons with the Rockies, Chacin went 38-48, but compiled an ERA of 3.78. For his time with the Rockies, Jhouly's WAR was a surprising 14.1. In 2013 Chacin had his best season, going 14-10 with an ERA of 3.47 and a WAR of 5.8. Chacin was also an effective in 2011 going 11-14 with an ERA of 3.62 and a WAR of 3.7. Once again, finding a Rockies pitcher who had more than two good seasons with the team is a tough proposition.

Starting pitcher: Tyler Chatwood Initially, Chatwood might seem like a real reach, and he might be, but when compared with most Rockies starters, he doesn't look half bad. The Cubs apparently came to the same conclusion. In 5 season with the Rockies, Chatwood was 34-35, but had an ERA of 4.18. Of course it seems like all Rockies ERAs are in Canadian, and then some. In Chatwood's case, if you squint real hard, you can see some promising stuff. For example, in 2016 Chatwood went 12-9 with an ERA of 3.87 and a WAR of 3.6. In 2013 Tyler was 8-5 with an ERA 3.15 and a WAR of 3.4. Putting up a WAR of 3.4 in 111.1 innings is a pretty good trick. Chatwood's future away from Coors should be interesting.

Relief pitcher: Brian Fuentes Out of all the choices for Rockies pitchers, choosing Brian Fuentes as the closer was the easiest. Brian is the Rockies career leaders in saves with 115. Fuentes was a strikeout guy averaging 10.3 per 9 innings with the Rockies and gave up only 7.4 hits. Brian was a three time all star with the Rockies and provided some stability at the back of the pen. Brian Fuentes, the best reliever in Rockies history.

Relief pitcher: Huston Street Street also had a nice three year run with the Rockies, picking up 84 saves. Huston stuck out 9.1 hitters per 9 innings while walking only 1.8. His WHIP was an almost microscopic, by Coors Field standards, 1.058. Huston Street takes a slot in this Rockies pen.

Relief pitcher: Jose Jimenez Jimenez saved 102 games for the Rockies in his four seasons with them. He peaked in 2002 with 41 saves. While won-lost records not a terribly important stat with relievers, Jimenez's won-lost record of 2-10 does detract from his overall value. He recorded the same won-lost record in the following season while saving 20 games. Still, Jimenez's body of work gets in the final slot in the Rockies pen.

So there are my picks for the beleaguered Rockies staff. How does it compare to yours?

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