Ace rising: Márquez dominant vs. Marlins

DENVER -- Almost all of Rockies starter Germán Márquez’s 76 pitches in six innings Friday night were nasty. He was especially salty on his last pitch -- a 97.5 mph fastball past Marlins first baseman Jesús Aguilar for his seventh strikeout.

Aguilar turned to question catcher Elias Díaz. It turns out he thought he saw a cutter. Aguilar followed up with Márquez, who motioned “no,” but signaled with his hand that his ball was cutting.

The offense, with a nine-run fourth inning that included C.J. Cron’s second home run of the night and homers by Charlie Blackmon and Díaz, also dominated the Marlins en route to a 14-2 victory at Coors Field. Ryan McMahon added a homer in the eighth.

Was it merely an August blowout between two teams with indistinguishable and underwhelming records? Or was it a preview of how the Rockies, with Márquez leading a robust starting pitching staff, plan to flex some muscle as soon as 2022?

Márquez, an All-Star, turned in his 15th quality start of the year and gave up fewer than three runs for the 15th time in 23 starts. With a 1.94 ERA, 61 strikeouts against 13 walks, and a .164 opponents’ batting average against in his last nine starts, Márquez’s challenge for 2022 and beyond might be truly lofty -- to earn “ace” designation from manager Bud Black, who says he is a “tough judge” of such a label.

“I don’t think too much on that,” Márquez said. “I just think of going out and helping my team and the numbers are going to show.”

Márquez is leading a rotation of ambition.

With Thursday’s return of Antonio Senzatela from a COVID-19 illness, the Rockies have all five projected starters healthy. Jon Gray could sign a new contract rather than test free agency. Kyle Freeland (Sunday’s scheduled starter) has posted a 2.15 ERA in his last eight outings after both an injury and a slow start. Austin Gomber hopes Saturday to pitch less like his four-run, one-inning start last Sunday at San Diego and more like he did while posting a 2.18 ERA the previous six starts. Colorado sits in fourth place in the National League West and many prognosticators may not have high expectations going into 2022, but the club believes the rotation is worthy of a surprise contender.

The Rockies are 49-61 for myriad reasons. Whether interim general manager Bill Schmidt becomes the full-time GM, or the GM is a new face, that person is in a position where simply waiting on prospects in the lower Minor Leagues is unfeasible.

But the hardest issue for any team to address is one that -- beyond addressing depth the way 29 other teams must -- is not on the to-do list.

“I've been reading a little bit about their performance as it relates to other starting staffs in the Major Leagues,” Black said Friday afternoon. “They've done a very good job of all the things you look for -- innings pitched, quality starts, durability, going [deep into games].

“I don’t talk about this much, I'll let you guys do it. But half their starts are here in Denver.”

Going into Friday, the Rockies’ 585 1/3 innings pitched by starters trailed, by two, only the Dodgers, and were one inning more than the Giants in the National League. In the difficult NL West, San Francisco is in first place and Los Angeles is in second.

Before Friday, the Dodgers led the NL with 57 quality starts, but the Rockies were tied with the NL Central-leading Brewers for second at 50, with the Giants right behind at 45.

The issue for Colorado this year has been the offense, which has lacked game-changing power. However, since the All-Star break, the Rockies are 9-10 and have hit 33 home runs, including nine in their last two games. Also encouraging was a road trip that included two four-homer games and one with three.

The task will be building the offense. Trevor Story’s free agency is a looming question mark. Cron is also a free agent the Rockies will be solidly in the running to retain. While McMahon, Brendan Rodgers and Sam Hilliard could be growing into their power, the task for the front office will be to bring in power upgrades.

“You’re starting to see some of the young guys really take a step forward,” said Cron, whose 16 homers are two behind McMahon for the club lead. “They’re starting to get a little more comfortable, starting to settle in.”

This pitching won’t be around forever. If nights like Friday are repeated enough, 2022 could be a surprise year. But that’s to be determined.

However, surprises based on pitching have precedent. In 2006, the Rockies led the NL in innings pitched by starters. Despite having finished 76-86, with shrewd offseason moves that filled offensive and bullpen holes, they went to the World Series in '07.

The bar is high and the moves must be decisive. But this rotation cannot be squandered.

“We have to pick our offense up, for sure,” Black said. “Whether that's acquiring some players to bolster that offense -- and guys who are here to play better than they've been and they've played this year offensively. That’s possible, to get bigger years from the guys that are here.”