Colorado Rockies name familiar face their Opening Day starter
Mar 19, 2024, 12:08 PM | Updated: 12:14 pm
Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
The Colorado Rockies get their season started on March 28 in Phoenix and Bud Black knows who he’s giving the ball to when it’s time to throw the first pitch against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Kyle Freeland will make his third Opening Day start for the Rockies as there’s hope the lefty has regained some of his past form. The team announced the news on Tuesday.
Freeland’s velocity from earlier in his career has returned this spring and it looks like he’s finally settled on a changeup. This has led the Denver native to 14 strikeouts and just one walk over his four Cactus League starts, good for a 3.21 ERA.
Freeland was a member of Team USA in last spring’s World Baseball Classic but followed it up with maybe the worst season of his pro career. That campaign saw Freeland start the Home Opener, something he’s done in front of his neighbors a few times. That appearance had him go into the seventh inning and not allow a run in what would be a Rockies win, one of the six he collected a season ago to 14 losses. His 5.03 ERA was the worst since a shortened 2019 season, with a strikeout rate at a career-worst.
Freeland, 30, has spent his entire career with the Rockies and only German Marquez has made as many Opening Day starts as him. This year it was a clear choice for Black to hand the ball to Freeland with Marquez and Antonio Senzatela recovering from Tommy John surgery and the Rockies appearing to have one of the worst rotations in baseball filled with innings eaters behind that. Likely, the main reason why so many see the Rockies having a disastrous season, maybe even worse than the 103-loss 2023 campaign.
The Rockies’ first battle will start with Freeland against third place in National League Cy Young voting from a season ago Zac Gallen and an 84-win Diamondbacks team that made a run to the World Series.
#Rockies Kyle Freeland has delivered a strong spring. Happy manager Bud Black believes in him as opening day starter. pic.twitter.com/q2sa3jKrQa
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) March 19, 2024
