Amid the dominant seasons of Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Aaron Nola, it’s easy to overlook the surprisingly stellar year of Rockies lefty Kyle Freeland. Unlike the aforementioned trio of National League aces, Freeland doesn’t have a miniscule ERA like deGrom, a shelf at home already full of trophies like Scherzer, or a top prospect pedigree like Nola. What he’s done, though, is perhaps more impressive: He’s figured out how to survive as a pitcher in Coors Field.
The unforgiving environs of Colorado’s mile-high stadium have bedeviled pitchers since the gates on Blake Street first opened in 1995.