The rookie starter showed potential in eight starts but was hit hard
Welcome to the 2024 edition of Ranking the Rockies, where we take a look back at every player to log playing time for the Rockies in 2024. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the lowest rWAR and end up with the player with the highest.
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No. 52, Tanner Gordon, -1.1 rWAR
The Colorado Rockies pitching staff struggled with walks plenty in 2024. They also struggled with a lack of strikeouts, particularly in the starting rotation, which makes each walk a little more dangerous having to rely on groundball outs to avoid danger. Due to various injuries and circumstances, the Rockies hoped to remedy that problem with a rookie pitcher in the form of Tanner Gordon.
Acquired from the Atlanta Braves along with reliever Victor Vodnik in exchange for Pierce Johnson last season, Gordon was initially called up by the Rockies to make his big league debut on July 7 against the Kansas City Royals at home. He showed off some decent chops in his first game, going 6 1⁄3 innings while allowing five runs on eight hits, but what defined him was the 62 strikes he threw out of 78 pitches.
The ability to throw strikes was quite prevalent through Gordon’s eight starts with the Rockies. In 34 1⁄3 innings he threw 607 pitches, with 69% of them being strikes. He recorded 26 strikeouts against just six walks, both of which were quite promising for the Rockies rotation and was a trend he had shown in the minors all season.
Gordon started the season with the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes out of spring training but was immediately sidelined with an injury that caused him to miss the start of the 2024 season. He made 13 total starts in the minors this season, 11 of which were in Triple-A. Pitching for the Isotopes, Gordon posted a solid 4.45 ERA over 54 2⁄3 innings in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He recorded 44 strikeouts against 13 walks and had a 67% strike rate.
Featuring a decent four-pitch mix, Gordon is able to attack the zone, but there is a reality where being in the zone too much can also lead to problems.
Gordon found himself giving up a lot of contact as he made more starts for the Rockies.
He had just two starts in which he allowed five or fewer hits, and that accounts for the three hits he gave up against the Arizona Diamondbacks where he lasted just 2⁄3 of an inning. He averaged 13.9 H/9 and had a 1.718 WHIP, both of which are the highest marks in his career dating back to pitching for the Indiana Hoosiers in college in 2019.
Being in the zone too much can lead to mistakes that other teams can punish, resulting in an 8.65 ERA. Gordon gave up 34 total runs, and the big damage came in the form of 10 home runs, nine doubles and three triples. Opponents slugged no less that .500 against any of his pitches while opponents had a .356 AVG against him in total. He battled against a 31.6% hard-hit rate while giving up a fly ball 33% of the time.
It may seem counterintuitive to say a pitcher threw too many strikes, but what that really means is that he threw too many bad strikes that ended up being too hittable over the plate. Pounding the zone is a good thing, and it’s a skill that Gordon excelled at, but there is still room for growth.
It remains to be seen how Gordon fits into the Rockies’ plans for 2025, but at the very least he is a solid depth option for a team always in desperate need of pitching. Gordon has had no issues with control of his pitches, but not he must show that he can command his arsenal better, utilizing better sequencing and attacking hitters more precisely.
He has the raw abilities to be successful in the big leagues, but there is still room for growth and 2024 was a definite learning experience for him.
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