Now that Jeremy Guthrie is a member of the Colorado Rockies following the Monday morning trade with the Baltimore Orioles, where does the pitcher fit in with the current rotation picture? Guthrie is certainly a candidate to start Opening Day for the Rockies, as Troy Renck of the Denver Post points out. This makes sense since there really are no guarantees in the rotation right now outside of Jhoulys Chacin.
The Rockies traded last year's Opening Day starter, Ubaldo Jimenez, and are looking for several starters to take a step forward out of a group of 15 guys. Guthrie and Chacin will most certainly be the top two pitchers in the rotation to start the season, but Drew Pomeranz will be looked on to step things up should be break camp in the team's rotation.
Guthrie was the Orioles Opening Day Starter from 2008-2009 and 2011, so he's no stranger to having a spotlight on him during a day that eventually becomes just one game on a 162-game schedule. Guthrie isn't a huge strikeout guy (5.52/9 career) and his fly ball tendencies (roughly 60 percent) aren't exactly screamers for success at Coors Field, but his career BABIP stands at .273 and his ability to pitch 200-plus innings play in his favor.
Pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 19.
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