Jon Gray works against the Mariners in the fourth inning Tuesday at Coors Field. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)
Tuesday for the Rockies at Coors Field was abbreviated. The rookie right-hander threw just 77 pitches through four innings against the Mariners, .
Gray allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits. But he didn’t get the hook because of his performance. Manager Walt Weiss pulled Gray early because the Rockies are trying to protect the health of their prized prospect.
“We have the big picture in mind, when talking about bumping innings from one year to the next,” Weiss said after the game. “We don’t want to overwhelm him.”
Gray, a hard-throwing right-hander, threw a career-high 124 innings last year in Double-A. And he was shut down late in the season because of fatigue. With Triple-A Albuquerque this season, Gray threw 114 innings.
Weiss said the Rockies will increase his innings workload this year by about 20-25 percent over last year. That leaves him about 30-35 innings with the Rockies through September. He used four on Tuesday.
“It’s pretty restrictive,” .
Against the Mariners, Gray threw 33 pitches in a two-run first inning. That’s too many. But he tossed 44 over the next three innings.
“The first inning was certainly a factor, how extended he got,” Weiss said.
Gray was also heating up. He threw three 96-mph fastballs to the first batter he faced, Austin Jackson. And he touched 97 mph in the first inning.
“I saw a couple ‘7s in there too,” catcher Nick Hundley said. “Don’t be shorting him one.”
Gray’s go-to is his fastball. So the Rockies, at leaast in the early stages of Gray’s career, want to protect his arm. For better or worse.
“He’s a prototypical power pitcher. He establishes the fastball,” Weiss said. “That’s going to be important moving forward. Being able to get outs with your fastball is important, especially here.”
Gray wanted to continue pitching Tuesday.
“I really felt like I had a lot more,” he said. “It was a little different. I don’t know if it was adrenaline. But I really felt I could have gone a lot longer.
“There’s always that competitive side. But you have to trust the coaches know what they’re doing. I’m all about it, but definitely the fighting side of me wants to go back out.”
The rookie Gray, though, will follow the Rockies’ plan.
“Taking care of your body is No. 1,” he said.
Tags: fatigue, Jon Gray, Walt Weiss
