Lambert fulfilling potential after TJ surgery

This story was excerpted from Thomas Harding’s Rockies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The visiting clubhouse mood in Washington D.C. on Wednesday was worn. The previous night’s two delays -- one waiting for rain that didn’t come and the other when actual rain hit in the seventh inning -- and the ultimate gut-punch loss the previous night left the Rockies sleep-deprived and lethargic.

However, right-handed pitcher Peter Lambert, cut a kinetic as he strode through, bouncing on his toes and vehemently shaking a plastic bottle of water and energy mix. Even a clubhouse full of tired folks trying to shake a hangover of discontent was a jumping’ place compared to where he was this time last year.

That day, Lambert threw six innings and held the Nationals to one unearned run and three hits -- although the game ended in another loss, 5-4.

Lambert began the year at Triple-A Albuquerque with a low pitch count, became a long reliever in the Majors with fleeting success but an eye-opening three-inning start against the Tigers on July 1.

The Rockies sent him to Albuquerque to increase his pitch count. In his Major League return, Lambert held the Marlins scoreless for five innings to earn a win.

But last August, Lambert spent his mornings in the Major League clubhouse at Salt River Fields. During Spring Training, that room has 60 or so players participating in Major League camp. But in the dog days of summer, it’s empty, except for those on a comeback trail. There is another clubhouse that’s full of young Minor Leaguers that are trying to earn their way to the Major League clubhouse, but even a rehabbing Major Leaguer gets the spacious room.

Lambert had Tommy John surgery in June 2020. He was in the second year of a rehab that was touch-and-go. After just 13 innings (two in the Majors) over two seasons, he underwent a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection, which meant a lonely recovery and rehab. If there was a time that pain and loneliness would get to him, this was it.

Rockies director of pitching Steve Foster was concerned enough for a visit. But when he arrived, he found Lambert had the same enthusiasm he brought to the Majors on June 6, 2019, when he struck out nine and held the Cubs to one run in his Major League debut at Wrigley Field. And the precocious maturity that got him to the Majors at 22 had only increased.

“He was in the big-league locker room with one or two other guys,” said Foster, the Rockies’ pitching coach when Lambert first made the Majors. “It’s 110 degrees. The training staff, the conditioning staff and coaches are down here, but you’re alone. It’s a lonely place and it can break you.

“Peter, I believe, got stronger. That talk, he could handle. He’s mature. He’s gained some callusing, some mental toughness.”

Lambert, 26, appreciated the visit, not that there was much cause for worry.

“It was good to sit down and talk with somebody about it,” Lambert said. “I don’t think I ever really questioned it. And the Rockies always knew I wanted to be back.

“It’s just my elbow. It wasn’t a life-threatening injury. I’m still young.”