Blue Jays and Rockies meet in Tulowitzki’s homecoming: Full series preview

The Toronto Blue Jays are heading to Coors Field. This should be fun.

The Colorado Rockies currently sit 36-39, well back of the San Francisco Giants in the NL Central division but keeping pace with 41-36 Dodgers. Not surprisingly, the Rockies’ bats have been the story in 2016.

Colorado’s 397 runs ranks second in baseball behind only the Boston Red Sox. Their 102 home runs put them fifth, just behind the Blue Jays who sit third with 110, and they rank in the top four when it comes to batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.

All of this without Troy Tulowitzki anchoring the lineup, who will be making his first trip back to Coors after the 2015 trade. Tulowitzki had spent his entire career with the Rockies, and ranks highly on many of the club’s all-time leaderboards.

Career WAR:  3rd  (39.1)
Batting AVG:  8th  (.299)
On-Base %:  8th  (.371)
Games Played:  4th  (1048)
Hits:  5th  (1165)
Home Runs:  T-5th  (188)

Impressive numbers considering that Todd Helton and Larry Walker make up the few names ahead of him in many of those stats.

Not surprisingly, Colorado’s pitching has left much to be desired. Their 5.07 team ERA is the third-highest in baseball and their opponent’s batting average of .278 is the second worst league-wide behind only the Minnesota Twins.

Across the Diamond: Chicago White Sox

If Nolan Arenado played in New York, he’d be the toast of baseball. The third-baseman boasts a .963 OPS with 21 home runs, working in tandem with the incredible Trevor Story who has sent 19 balls over the wall.

Second-baseman DJ LeMahieu is as solid as they come, batting .327 with some pop and an on-base percentage of .395. Both Charlie Blackmon and Carlos Gonzalez are enjoying excellent seasons at the plate, too, with 12 and 16 home runs respectively.

When it comes to the Rockies’ bullpen, they’ve been searching for answers all year long. With Jake McGee still on the disabled list, Carlos Estevez has taken over the closer’s role but sports an ERA of 4.28.

Now, on to the game-by-game pitching matchups. On the surface, they should favour Toronto.

Next: Game 1: Staff ace takes on Colorado's young gun