Blach 'cherishing' another chance to prove himself

ST. LOUIS -- On Friday, the Rockies started a pitcher who had been designated for assignment by multiple other teams this season, and on Saturday, they started a pitcher they designated for assignment this season.

It’s fair to say they’ve had to search far and wide for innings eaters to swallow outs in this maddening season of injuries and underperformance.

Like Chris Flexen the night before, Denver native Ty Blach showed flashes of effectiveness. Blach held the Cardinals to four runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out two batters over 4 2/3 innings in a 6-2 loss at Busch Stadium. He and Cardinals starter Steven Matz certainly didn’t dawdle while getting their outs. The game was played in just two hours and 27 minutes.

One question for this late-season evaluation period is whether the Rockies can uncover a hidden gem who might help them do more than just get through 2023, one who could be part of their rebuilding plans in '24 and beyond. Based on Blach’s and Flexen’s performances thus far, that could probably best be answered with a shaky maybe.

Yet nothing is more crucial for the Rockies in these remaining couple of months than figuring out how they’ll prevent runs in future seasons, so they’ll at least keep tabs on the two journeymen in the coming weeks. Among MLB teams, Colorado ranks 29th in ERA and 29th in WHIP.

And the pitchers themselves both continue to fight to keep their careers on track, whether that’s part of a Rockies rotation that includes Kyle Freeland, Peter Lambert and Austin Gomber or on another team.

“I tell the guys all the time that every game’s a test. These guys, Flexen and Ty, they’ve been around and they want to prove their worth,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “They want to continue to prove to us they can be part of this, and, I think for veteran pitchers, you’re always looking to make sure other people are noticing, too. Every player’s getting watched, every player’s being scouted and evaluated, and I think veteran players understand that more than anybody.”

Blach, 32, has bounced around since having some decent seasons with the Giants in 2017 and '18, but he underwent Tommy John surgery in '20, a procedure that can take pitchers 18 months or more to fully recover from. These last couple months of this season could be his last chance to prove he can get Major League hitters out.

“Any time you get an opportunity to take the stage on a big league baseball team, it’s a great opportunity to show what you can do,” Blach said. “I’m just blessed to have another chance. I had a tough start to the year, and so for me to be back here, I’m just cherishing every minute of it and trying to do with it what I can.”

There is more to run prevention than pitching, of course. The Rockies have had a rough time catching and throwing batted balls effectively this season as well, judging by their No. 25 ranking in Outs Above Average. But they do have some athletic young outfielders, including center fielder Brenton Doyle. He made a full-extension diving catch on the warning track to take potential extra bases away from Nolan Gorman in the second inning.

Doyle got a bit of a sluggish jump, but made up for it by covering 79 of 82 feet in 4.6 seconds, according to Statcast data, just shy of an elite sprint speed with 29.4 feet per second. He laid out to catch a ball hit 106.5 mph that had a catch probability of just 45% off the bat.

The Rockies would like few things more than for Doyle, who is batting .199 with a .593 OPS, to hit well enough to hold down center field for them in coming seasons. The tools certainly are exciting. This season, Doyle ranks in the 95th percentile in OAA, the 97th percentile in arm strength and the 98th percentile in sprint speed.

After the catch, Doyle experienced something that’s fairly unique: applause from the home/opposing team’s fans. He couldn’t hear it at first because of the adrenaline still coursing through his body, but then he began to hear fans yelling, “Great catch!”

“It was one of those plays that were flight or fright, and I decided to do ‘flight’ and dove for it and it was a pretty cool catch,” Doyle said. “I know this city is notorious for loving their baseball, and it’s good to get recognized on an opposing field.”

The Rockies also got a circus catch from right fielder Nolan Jones, who leapt into the protective netting down the right-field line to catch Dylan Carlson’s foul drive in the fourth inning.

To complete the symmetry, left fielder Jurickson Profar made a sliding catch to take a potential double in the corner away from Lars Nootbaar in the eighth.

Offense was scant for the Rockies on Saturday, as they managed just seven hits. Ryan McMahon belted his 19th home run into the seats in right field in the eighth inning for his 100th career home run, a milestone for the 28-year-old.