Bartolo Colon, SP
Bats/Throws: R/R
DOB: May 24, 1973 (42 on Opening Day)
Contract: One-year, $7.25 million
2015 Recap
“Big Sexy” had another decent year on the mound in 2015, eating innings (and more) at the back of the rotation. The 42 year-old with a seemingly rubber arm posted a 4.16 ERA, 3.84 FIP, and 3.94 xFIP over 194.2 innings of work.
Bartolo Colon certainly had some bad nights on the mound. On four occasions, he allowed seven runs or more. Part of this (and this is just my theory) is that he doesn’t have the power that his younger counterparts do to bail him out on an off night. However, he has also shown he can dominate a game. His impeccable efficiency allows him to go deep when his stuff is on. He went six innings or more in 23 of 31 starts and went eight or more frames four times.
The way I look at it is this: Most of the time, he is as good as any back-end starter in baseball. But he’s also 42, so when he doesn’t have his best stuff, it can get incredibly ugly. That’s just the reality when you deal with a pitcher who relies almost exclusively on control of his pitches.
For a 42 year-old to pitch almost 200 innings and do basically whatever Terry Collins asked of him is a victory. His overall numbers weren’t great, but the Mets got their money’s worth.
2016 Projections
Marcel – 176 IP, 4.09 ERA, 6.4 K/9, 1.6 BB/9
Steamer – 148 IP, 3.86 ERA, 6.35 K/9, 1.26 BB/9
ZiPS – 157.2 IP, 4.11 ERA, 5.94 K/9, 1.43 BB/9
This year should be a little bit different for Colon than the past two years. Hopefully sometime in June or July, Zack Wheeler will return from Tommy John surgery, pushing Colon out of the rotation and into the bullpen.
Colon has very little experience as a relief pitcher, but he showed he can be a change of pace in relief. Wedging him between hard throwing pitchers like Harvey and Familia could give hitters some trouble. And as we’ve seen, leadoff walks late in games can often be the difference between winning and losing. Colon almost never does that, keeping his cool in any situation. Colon has seen it all. Having someone like him on a young and inexperienced team is priceless.
Nothing was out of the ordinary last season for Colon. His HR/FB and BABIP were slightly elevated, so perhaps his 4.16 ERA was a little inflated, but not by much. His strikeout rate dropped a bit, but so did his walk rate. He continues to be a freak of nature and outside of his age, there is no reason to expect that not to continue.
