Jake McGee Poised To Be Colorado's Closer In 2016

McGee now brings his lively lefty electricity a mile above sea level for a 2016 campaign in Colorado. His fastball is his bread and butter (throwing a two or four seamer 90.5% of the time last year), though it is worth noting that his average velocity had sat above 96 MPH in ’13 and ’14 but dropped into the mid 94s last year. Perhaps this can be attributed to his injuries, as he did visit the DL twice in 2015. This is a worthy concern for McGee owners going into this year, as no one likes to see a pitcher deal with an elbow injury (loose bodies removed) or end his season with a knee surgery. He’s healthy now though, and when he was on the mound for the Rays, he was dominant. Showing off great command of the zone with an impressive 1.93 BB/9 alongside an 11.57 K/9, he turned in the 11th best K/BB ratio of relievers with at least 30 IP (6.00). Coors Field isn’t a place for a faltering fastball, but if he is healthy and brings the heat with a strong arm and the same control we’ve come to expect out of him, his great peripherals (2.20 SIERA) point to great potential for McGee as he anchors the Rockies’ bullpen.