Colorado Rockies news and links for Monday, August 12th, 2024
Franchise closers have been few and far between for the Colorado Rockies. Long gone are the days of Brian Fuentes and his four year reign as the Rockies’ closer, during which he posted three seasons of 30 or more saves. The Rockies have only had four closers in their franchise history who held the role for at least three consecutive seasons: the aforementioned Fuentes (2005-2008), José Jiménez (2000-2003), Houston Street (2009-2011), and most recently Daniel Bard (2020-2022). Outside of that the team has mostly had a closer by committee or a series of one-offs like unexpected All-Star Greg Holland in 2017.
With the 39-year-old shut down following surgery and at the end of his contract, the Rockies had once again been without a regular closer. For most of the 2024 season manager Bud Black had been turning to a variety of pitchers with limited success in the ninth inning. Jalen Beeks converted 9-of-16 save opportunities before being traded at the deadline to the Pittsburgh Pirates and Justin Lawrence converted two of his six chances. Interestingly, Tyler Kinley—despite a very difficult first half of the season—converted all six saves.
However, it now appears that the Rockies have settled on their closer for the rest of the season. What’s more, the man for the job has all the makings of a franchise closer for years to come.
24-year-old Victor Vodnik was acquired via trade last season along with starting pitcher Tanner Gordon in a deal that sent Colorado native Pierce Johnson to the Atlanta Braves. He pitched six scoreless innings for the Double-A Hartford Yard Goats before being quickly promoted to the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes, and even saw limited big league action by the end of the 2023 campaign.
Vodnik broke camp on the Opening Day 26-man roster to kick off 2024 and hit the ground running. He didn’t give up a single earned run over his first eight appearances of the year while working largely in the sixth or seventh inning.
Working with a three pitch mix anchored by a high velocity four seam fastball that can easily clear 100 MPH, Vodnik has put together a strong rookie season out of a Rockies bullpen that ranks as one of the worst in the league.
Vodnik easily leads the bullpen in innings pitched with 62 innings over 52 appearances—early in the season he was frequently called to pitch multiple frames—and he’s the only pure reliever in the bullpen with an ERA under 4.00 this season. 37 of Vodnik’s 52 outings have been scoreless.
In July as the bullpen continued to falter—especially in the later innings—Vodnik was suddenly thrust into duty more regularly in the eighth and ninth innings. He earned his first career save on July 6th against the Kansas City Royals. By the end of the month after 11 appearances with a 2.70 ERA, 13 strikeouts to just three walks, and an opposing batting average of .192, Vodnik had earned four total saves and had locked down the closing role.
Vodnik has shown he has the temperament to be a closer. He pitches with intensity and confidence, but also remains calm in high leverage situations.
“When we started pitching him in the eighth or a little deeper in closer games, it seemed like his poise improved, his calmness,” said manager Bud Black.
“That’s something I’ve been dealing with earlier in the season, just trying to stay under control, trying to breathe, trying to relax. But then knowing when to be that dog and go after it,” Vodnik further elaborated.
Vodnik also has something that’s extremely important when it comes to the late innings: the trust of your manager.
Vodnik came out of the bullpen on August 7th against the New York Mets with the game tied at two runs apiece in the top of the ninth inning. The goal was to lock things down quickly and give the Rockies the chance to walk off the Mets or at the very least take the game to extra innings.
A triple, two walks, and two singles later, the Rockies had lost with no extra innings needed.
Instead of pulling the rookie from the role, Bud Black credited Vodnik’s toughness and stated with confidence that he would bounce back quickly. Two days later Vodnik was back on the bump and earning his seventh save of the season. Two days after that when the Rockies mounted an extremely improbably comeback against the Atlanta Braves after being down 8-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Vodnik was quickly ready to go and earned his eighth.
“Nobody’s invincible,” Black told the media after the loss to the Mets. “I mean, look across every game that’s been played this season, you look at the guys that are pitching at the back end of the bullpen, there are guys who have hiccups, right? I mean, look at [the Mets’] guys, look at [Edwin] Díaz, a really good pitcher who has had his ups and downs.”
With less than two months to go in the 2024 season and the Rockies barreling towards another 100 losses, fans can take comfort in that a gem has been found. Victor Vodnik has the makings of a franchise closer and we are seeing him take steps towards that goal in real time.
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On the Farm
Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes 17, Sacremento River Cats 10
Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats 6, Richmond Flying Squirrels 1
High-A: Spokane Indians 2, Tri-City Dust Devils 1
Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies 9, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 2
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Injuries & Moves: Freeland (finger) exits early Sun; Jones nearing return | MLB.com
Rockies lefty Kyle Freeland exited his Sunday afternoon start early after aggravating a blister on his pitching hand. The blister developed during his last start. Meanwhile, Cal Quantrill had his next start pushed back to this Friday against the San Diego Padres at the earliest due to right forearm soreness. On the bright side, a confident Nolan Jones appears ready to return to the lineup and could do so as early as today against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“I like being in that company”: Doyle joins exclusive 20-20 club | MLB.com
One of the brightest spots of an otherwise difficult 2024 season has been the emergence of Brenton Doyle’s bat into that of a reliable big league contributor. Having officially marked off a 20-20 season, Doyle joins the ranks of elite company this season with Shohei Ohtani, Elly De La Cruz, and Bobby Witt Jr. He also joins the ranks of the Rockies legends of the past to have 20-20 seasons, including Larry Walker and Matt Holliday.
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