Starting pitcher Jon Gray is the crux of the Colorado Rockies rotation in 2019. The 27-year-old flamethrower will take the mound Sunday afternoon against the Miami Marlins and is looking to start the most critical season of his career off on a strong note.

At one point considered the Rockies’ best pitching prospect, Gray is loaded with the potential to be one of the most dominant starting pitchers in the league. After three seasons in the big leagues that have yielded mixed results, the 2019 campaign is a career-defining season for Gray.

Colorado’s starting rotation was one of their biggest strengths in 2018 and the main reason the club managed to return to the postseason for a second consecutive season. If the Rockies want to surge further into the postseason this season, they need improved production from the back end of their rotation, specifically Gray.

Prior to the season, Gray started two consecutive Opening Day’s for the Rockies and was the frontman of the club’s rotation. After a tumultuous 2018 season in which he finished with an earned run average (ERA) over five and was left off the Rockies’ postseason roster, there is uncertainty surrounding Gray’s ability moving forward.

If Gray manages to flash back to his 2017 form when he pitched to a 10-4 record with a 3.67 ERA, the Rockies rotation will be improved exponentially and stronger over the course of the season.

Outside of Kyle Freeland and German Marquez, the Rockies pitching staff is a bit of a mixed bag featuring a general lack of stability. Adding another reliable starter, potentially Gray, would improve the team for the long haul as they seek to return to the postseason again.

A lackluster opening start for Tyler Anderson only adds to the pressure.

Gray claims to feel stronger both mentally and physically entering this season following an offseason in which he reinvented himself as a pitcher.

“Last year and the year before it was more of a thing where it was like ‘I don’t know what I am going to have today because I don’t know why my stuff isn’t working’,” Gray said in Spring Training. “I (didn’t) know what to do. But now I understand (how) it works (and) if there is a problem I can go straight to it and fix it. I feel like I am in a way better spot.”

Gray, along with other members of the Rockies’ pitching and coaching staff trained at Driveline this offseason. Driveline is an analytically and data-driven workout facility that helped Gray regain command of his slider and overall confidence in his ability on the mound.

“I thought that would be the perfect opportunity to go get my slider back,” Gray said. “(When) I went up there and threw my slider, they (told) me what’s wrong with it and how I can get it back. I was able to get a lot out of it.”

Gray is 2-2 with a  5.40 ERA in five starts against the Marlins in his career. Sunday’s start is the first of many critical starts for Gray this season and will be pivotal in deciding his future with the club. 

Should he improve in 2019, Colorado will have one of the best and deepest young starting rotations in baseball, a trait that will play well throughout the season and improve the club come each run in October.