Is German Márquez The Pitcher The Rockies Need?

German Márquez will be the first to tell the Colorado Rockies that he needs to have a better season in 2023 than his 2022 season.

Márquez’s 2022 season was definitely his worst full season of his major league career, and the worst season overall since his 2016 rookie campaign.

It was not until the All-Star Break that Márquez started putting things together, although he still ended up turning in a 4.95 ERA and a career high 4.7 FIP over his 31 starts.

For the first months, I was struggling,” Márquez said of his season. “But I got everything working and I started getting my results,”

However, the 28- years old Venezuelan who is the ace for the Colorado Rockies rotation is ready to step up again for the 2023 season. 

“I feel like we have a lot of experience now, and we know how to pitch,” Márquez said. “From now on, you’re going to see how good we’re going to be.”

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Who is German Márquez?

Germán Márquez, born on February 22, 1995, is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher who has played only for the Colorado Rockies during his career. He made his MLB debut in 2016.

Márquez won a Silver Slugger Award in 2018 and was an All-Star in 2021.

He signed with the Tampa Bay Rays as an international free agent in July 2011, before on January 28, 2016, getting traded to the Colorado Rockies with Jake Mcgee in exchange for Corey Dickerson and Kevin Padlo.

HBD, Marquee 🥳 pic.twitter.com/avNS9TqiXS

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) February 22, 2023

Márquez Cactus League performance

Soon after reporting to Salt River Field at Talking Stick, Márquez tweaked his hamstring, which did not affect his Cactus League performance.

Márquez put up four appearances (three starts) over 17 innings and posted an ERA of 0.53 and a WHIP of 0.765.

Márquez showed some great control over his pitches by walking just two batters of the 64 he faced and struck out a total of 20 batters.

His amazing Cactus League performance earned him the Opening Day starting pitcher role for the Colorado Rockies.

Márquez had already been the opening day starter in 2020 and 2021 while Kyle Freeland was the opening day starter last season.

Being the third opening day start for Márquez meant that this would be the first in Colorado Rockies history.

In their 30 years as a team, the Colorado Rockies have had 20 different Opening Day starting pitchers, with only ten pitchers making two Opening Day Starts and only six making consecutive Opening Day starts.

Opening Day Start

Germán Márquez held the San Diego Padres to two runs and five hits in six innings during his Opening Day start.

Márquez said the atmosphere “was super exciting, but I told myself, like, ‘You have to calm down.’”

As for pitching to a lineup with three superstars in a row, he commented: “Believe me, it’s not easy. I’m going to do my best to make good pitches and tonight was great.”

Márquez faced Xander Bogaerts, who signed a $280 million, 11-years free agent deal in December with the Padres, who went 3 for 4 with two doubles in his San Diego Padres debut. Manny Machado, who finished second in NL MVP voting last year, had a sacrifice fly and a single, and finally Juan Soto, who just moved to the New York Mets from the Yankees.

Let’s not forget about the Padres fourth superstar, Fernando Tatis Jr, who will be eligible to be activated in just a few days after finishing an 80-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.

Germán Márquez 🆚 San Diego Padres

⚾ 6.0 IL
⚾ 5 H
⚾ 2 CL
⚾ 5K
⚾ 3.00 EFE#Rockies ganan 7-2 en la parte alta de la 7ma.#OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/TqZ63f639g

— Raúl Zambrano Cabello (@RaulZambrano7) March 31, 2023

Final Thoughts

This season will be a make or a break time for German Márquez.

After this season, the Rockies can either choose to pick up his $16 million contract for next season or spend $2.5 million to officially end Márquez era without him ever reaching his full potential.

Now 28 years old and still possessing elite stuff in terms of the velocity and movement on his fastball, curveball, and slider, he finds himself in a position where he has more to prove than ever.

On the other hand, if he can make the necessary physical and mental adjustments and return to form, the 2022 season will look more like an outlier compared to the rest of his career and Colorado will be more than happy to pay him, maybe even extend him.

A lot is riding on the next starts in the career of German Marquez. Even if he would rather pitch somewhere else, like many players do, he will have to prove he can still pitch in Denver if he wants to make that next big deal.

For now let’s just appreciate and hope for the best version of this fireballer, because when Márquez is at his best, he is incredibly fun to watch. Will he help the Colorado Rockies to have a successful season?

Credits on Featured Image: Ian D’Andrea, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons