The Rockies have designated left-handed pitcher Ken Roberts for assignment in order to clear space on the 40-man roster for fellow lefty Jason Gurka, tweets Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post.
Roberts, 27, made his Major League debut for the Rox in 2015, appearing in nine games and totaling 9 1/3 innings with a 5.79 ERA and a five-to-two K/BB ratio. A longtime farmhand of the Rockies, Roberts was selected in the 25th round of the 2010 draft and posted strong minor league numbers until reaching Triple-A for the first time this season. However, while Roberts has an unsightly 5.12 ERA in Triple-A this year, he’s posted an outstanding 28-to-4 K/BB ratio in 31 2/3 innings there. He’s surrendered a surprising and uncharacteristic 14.2 hits per nine innings in a very hitter-friendly Albuquerque environment due to a freakishly high .443 BABIP. While poor luck and a hitter-friendly environment probably aren’t solely to blame for his Triple-A struggles, there seems to be good reason to expect that Roberts would not continue to allow hits at such an alarming rate.
Gurka, also 27, is a former 15th-round pick of the Orioles (2008). He’s worked to a more palatable 2.86 ERA with 7.6 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 in 63 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this year. Opposing lefties have hit .208/.310/.264 in 2015 versus Gurka, who will also be making his big league debut when he first takes the mound for the Rockies.
Not surprised they dfa roberts. Little surprised though they called up gurka minus how good of a year he is having in triple a