Two teams that hung around in the NL West until the mid-point in the season finish up a series at Chase Field with no playoff implications on the line. Arizona and Colorado both found themselves atop the West before the Dodgers absolutely blew everybody out of the water and cruised to the easy crown. Each team today will throw a young arm that they are excited about moving forward. Jhoulys Chacin versus Randall Delgado is worth a watch if you want to see two of the more talented arms in the National League moving ahead.
Free Pick
Randall Delgado has logged his first 100 inning season, in what Arizona hopes to be a long and illustrious career. The 23-year-old from 
Panama took steps forward, seeing improvements in ERA and WHIP. Where Diamondbacks’ fans should really look at for inspiration is Delgado’s K:BB ratio. In his last year in Atlanta Delgado recorded 76 whiffs and 42 walks. This season Delgado has struck out a nearly identical 72 batters with less than half the walks (20). Command over a plus fastball and sharp breaking ball should make Delgado a future one or two in a decent rotation – at least that’s what Arizona is banking on. They did give up Justin Upton for him, after all. Delgado’s ERA at home is more than a run and a half better than it is on the road so he will have the luxury of pitching at the friendly Chase Field this afternoon. Believe it or not, Delgado hasn’t faced Colorado this season, despite being a division rival. Typically, I give the pitcher the nod in a situation like that and it shouldn’t be much different here with the relative unknown about Delgado in general.
Colorado may struggle early against Delgado but they also might not need to score five or six to win with Chacin on the mound. Jhoulys Chacin has teamed up with Jose De La Rose this season to be one of the more overlooked 1-2 punches you’ll find just about any year in baseball. Pitching in Colorado for a team that will finish below .500 makes it tough to get attention but the fact is that De La Rose leads the NL in victories and Chacin may be having the better season. Chacin is 13-8 with a 3.09 ERA and a WHIP just over 1.20. Great command and a very live arm have given Chacin all the tools he needs to take the next step and he has in fourth full season. The Venezuelan is just 25 despite logging just short of 600 innings in his career already. He will likely hit inning number 600 today. Chacin has allowed just six hits to Arizona in 12.2 innings of work this season and his road ERA is a tiny 2.10 this season.
The total is a full run too high in this one. You have two relatively weaker lineups going against two exciting, young and talented starters in a pitcher’s ballpark. There’s no reason for this total to be any higher than 8.0 and we have a 9.0 available. All signs point to the under.
Free Pick: Colorado/Arizona Under 9 (-115)
arizona diamondbacks • colorado rockies