Struggles Plague Rockies Righty Germán Márquez This Season

Germán Márquez has struggled mightily to begin this season. After a stellar 2021, injuries and inconsistency have made it a long road. After a 2022 season in which he finished with a 4.95 ERA in 31 games, he played a combined five games the next two seasons. Finally, Márquez reached spring training this season with a healthy elbow for the first time in several seasons. However, while his health is not an issue, this season is a great sign; he has struggled mightily.

Germán Márquez Struggling This Season

It has been a historically bad season for the Colorado Rockies. Following two consecutive seasons in which the Rockies finished with 100+ losses, the 4-25 Rockies are on pace for a third. While the offense has been a major culprit, every facet of the team shares blame. After a solid first start, Márquez has not been good. In six games this season, Márquez is 0-5 with an ugly 9.82 ERA and brutal 15:12 K: BB ratio in 25 2/3 innings pitched.

Márquez struck out batters in his best seasons at a high rate and consistently went deep into ballgames. When he has struggled, walking has been a major issue. Walks have once again reared their ugly head for Márquez. Márquez has issued at least one BB in six consecutive starts. Marquez gave up three and six walks in starts against the Kansas City Royals and Athletics, respectively. Since a six-inning shutout against the Philadelphia Phillies to begin the season, Márquez has allowed at least five earned runs in his last four starts. While he is good at avoiding the barrel, he has struggled in almost every other category.

Behind The Numbers

Per Statcast, Márquez has allowed a 4.2%-barrel rate, good for the 81st percentile in Major League Baseball. Márquez’s two home runs allowed are tied for the lowest among Rockies’ starting pitchers. But Marquez is consistently getting battered by hard hits. Per Statcast:

• 48.6% Hard Hit rate, 13th percentile
• 91.2 avg exit velo, 18th percentile
• 20.3% whiff rate, 17th percentile
• 14% K rate, ninth percentile
• 38.9% groundball rate, 33rd percentile
• -8 pitching run value
• 95% fastball velo, 66th percentile

Limiting the long ball is a major part of succeeding at Coors Field. But Márquez is not missing bats, and when opposing batters do make contact, it’s hard contact. While Márquez’s fastball velo is on par with his last full season in 2022, several other areas point to why he is struggling more this season. Per Statcast, there are several categories in which Márquez performed better in 2022.

• 23.2% whiff rate, 27th percentile
• 19.3% K rate, 25th percentile
• 48.6% groundball rate, 75th percentile

Combined with low homers, he has succeeded with a high groundball rate and consistent Ks in his career. Both categories have gone down 10% and 5% since 2022, respectively. Without an effective way to get out of innings, opposing lineups are feeding off of Márquez.

Culmination of Issues in LA

His ugliest start of the season came against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 16 in an 8-7 Rockies loss. After Colorado took a rare 1-0 lead, Márquez failed to get out of the first inning. Márquez struck out Mookie Betts in between mammoth homers to right by Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman. Understandable against two of the best players in the MLB.

But the inning imploded after Márquez got Teoscar Hernandez to fly out to second. After Michael Conforto reached on an infield single, a pitch hit Tommy Edman, and Max Muncy walked. Andy Pages followed with an RBI single that scored two Dodgers before Austin Barnes hit an RBI double that scored two more. Once Ohtani came back up and recorded his second RBI of the inning against Márquez, reliever Angel Chivilli entered the ballgame.

All the issues plaguing Márquez appeared in this inning. His lack of control when a pitch and a BB hit him followed a single to load the bases. The Dodgers are too good not to take advantage of those opportunities and punished Márquez for it. Now facing a 4-1 deficit with two runners on second and third with two outs, he just needed to get by the Dodgers’ ninth-hole hitter in Barnes.

After three pitches, Márquez had Barnes at 1-2. This is where opposing batters used to be in trouble, as Márquez had a back-breaking curveball to rely on to consistently get Ks. Instead, a knuckle curve right in Barnes’ breadbasket got hit to left field, and the inning continued. Márquez pitched like an ace for Colorado in 2021. Now, he is trudging through a tough season. The BB rate is up, the groundball rate is down, and the hard hits are in bulk. Can Márquez ever get back to the All-Star form he showed in 2021?

Outlook for Márquez Moving Forward

Injuries truly are a shame. Márquez had proved to be a gem for the Rockies since coming over in the Corey Dickerson trade with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2016. Starting pitchers who can consistently be effective in Colorado are a rarity. The Rockies found two of them at the same time, Márquez and LHP Kyle Freeland. Freeland and Márquez, leading the rotation, led the Rockies to their last postseason appearance in 2018.

But after 2021-22, in which Márquez threw 361 2/3 innings, his elbow wore out, and he had to get Tommy John. Some worried that Márquez would never suit up for the Rockies again. It appeared that it was trending in that direction when, after just one game last season, Márquez was immediately shut down because of a stress reaction in his elbow. But he rehabbed in the offseason and got through a full spring training healthy. Lending hope that perhaps he could perform well this season on the heels of his first normal offseason in years.

But it has not gone that way so far. It is probably unfair to hope for him to reach that form again. Missing nearly two seasons of baseball is very hard to come back from. But that hope is needed for a hapless Rockies rotation that is a part of a team trending to have the worst record in franchise history. It was a treat to watch Márquez dominate in 2021, a season in which he became just the eighth Rockies pitcher to make an All-Star Game. He is in the record books in almost every Rockies’ pitching category, just recording his 1,000th career K in his last start against the Royals. The first Rockies pitcher to do so in franchise history. He is easy to root for, and a fanbase without much of anything to root for is hoping they can get a sliver of that Márquez again. Only time will tell if they will.