Colorado Rockies Should Move Juan Nicasio To The Bullpen

May 1, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies pitcher Juan Nicasio (12) walks off the field during the sixth inning against the New York Mets at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Once the Colorado Rockies promoted Juan Nicasio to the big leagues back in 2011, they were hoping to get a quality starting pitcher. However, things haven’t gone as planned and the righty is struggling even when healthy. Colorado has given the native of the Dominican Republic plenty of chances to prove his worth as a starter, but it needs to end soon.

Nicasio, 27, has shown flashes of being a top of the rotation pitcher, but he can never put a string of starts together with consistency. For example, back on May 24th against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field, Nicasio pitched six strong innings of shutout ball, giving up just two hits while striking out five. The very next game, he would struggle with pitch count and ended up getting roughed up by the Cleveland Indians. He would last just 4 2/3 innings, giving up five earned on nine hits.

Nicasio is slated to start in this weekends series against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park, and is easily coming off of his worst outing of the 2014 season. Juan struggled with command and was missing his spots, giving up 10 earned runs on 11 hits through 3 2/3 innings. He would serve up three home runs to the Braves which was a career high.

Juan has been dreadful over his last three starts as he saw his ERA rise from 3.61 to 5.70. The opposing teams have collected 31 hits, 22 runs in Nicasio’s 13 2/3 innings. How do the Rockies expect to compete for a playoff spot when a pitcher is pitching as terrible as Juan?

Simple solution for Colorado when a pitcher like Brett Anderson come back. Slide Juan Nicasio into the pen like they did with Franklin Morales.

Morales has benefited since moving to the pen and his numbers prove it. The southpaw has pitched 5 1/3 innings, giving up five hits and no runs. His command has been better than expected as well, walking just one batter over that span while striking out two.

However, Nicasio has never been the type of pitcher who fares well the first time through the lineup. On pitches 1-15, the opposition is hitting .417/.427/ .722 with 30 hits in 72 at-bats, collecting 8 doubles, 1 triple, 4 home runs, and 16 RBI’s.

Colorado bullpen has been terrible to say the least and adding Juan into the mix could improve it.

Nicasio is slated to start Sunday afternoon against the San Francisco Giants.