Rockies Prospect Primer Outtakes
By Tyler Maun / MiLB.com
The Rockies experienced a seven-win jump from 2015 to 2016, and a similar improvement could put them in the hunt for the postseason in 2017. Colorado’s farm system has long been touted as one of the best and deepest in the game, and though many of its brightest stars in recent years are now Major League contributors — like pitchers Jon Gray and Tyler Anderson, shortstop Trevor Story and outfielder David Dahl — Colorado still boasts a wealth of talent all the way down to its lowest Minor League levels.
Interviewed for our Prospect Primer, Rockies senior director of player development Zach Wilson discussed our highlighted platers and others at length last week in Scottsdale.
More on top pitching prospect Riley Pint:
“I think it’s been a fairly smooth transition [from high school to pro ball]. He has tremendous intelligence. He’s got a ton of aptitude. He’s got his ears wide open right now, so he wants to learn. He wants to get better. I think it was a little easier for him because he spent the whole offseason here [in Arizona]. He was able to gain a level of comfort as a young player that some other guys, whether in this organization or others, sometimes don’t get because they don’t get to be in the environment that he was in this offseason. He was around everybody from [2015 first-round pick] Mike Nikorak, who was also here almost all offseason, to [Major Leaguers] Tyler Chatwood and Chad Bettis, who live here. To be around that every day, I think, certainly shortened the learning curve, not just from a baseball perspective but just from a maturing as a person perspective, too. I think that was all very good for him, and he’s come into camp, and you can tell he’s grown up over the offseason. He’s always been a mature kid, but you can see the maturing kind of happening quickly. That’s been good to see.
“I think again, because of who he is and the intellect that he has and his ability to be coachable, we were able to move pretty quickly on [mechanical adjustments]. Towards the end of the Grand Junction season, we let him just pitch some, which is an important part of the process too. … He’s understanding how to control especially his legs, which are tree trunks. When you’re almost 6-foot-6 like he is and still growing into his body and learning how to control his body, he’s been able to do that fairly quickly. I’ve been impressed by kind of how easily and how smoothly and how quickly he’s been able to tighten down certain aspects of his delivery.”
On the offseason progression of 2015 first-round pick Mike Nikorak, who struggled in his debut season and was injured at the end of last year:
“I think it’s a night-and-day difference. Again, him just being down here has helped significantly in terms of his growth as both a person and a player. There was a lot of work done with his arm action. There was a lot of work done, again, in trying to lock down a repeatable delivery. He’s able to stay over the rubber longer now. He’s able to get the ball out sooner and allow his arm to catch up. He again has been really impressive over the last three weeks here as he’s thrown bullpens and some live BPs, a ton of strikes. The big misnomer out there was that he was like 89–91 [miles per hour] now. In instructional league, he was back to 94–96, and a lot of that is due to his arm track, his arm swing and his arm action. I give (Grand Junction pitching coach) Ryan Kibler and (pitching coordinator) Doug Linton and (director of pitching operations) Mark Wiley all the credit in the world. They really honed in. And Mike, really, at the end of the day deserves a lot of credit because he worked his tail off to get to the point he’s at. He’s poised for a very good year here.”
On whether Nikorak, who has made all 15 of his Minor League starts with Rookie-level Grand Junction, could benefit from an assignment to a different level:
“It’s a delicate balance because at the end of the day, the players have to control what they can control. Regardless of where they’re at, it’s about the process. At this stage of the game, it’s not about the results. Young players have to learn that because they just came from a place that stats did matter, whether it was high school or college or wherever else. Getting back to making sure they’re just following the process is definitely a part of what we’re doing. Mike and guys like Mike, they’re so headstrong that I don’t think it really matters to him. I think he is completely focused on waking up every day and getting better. That’s a step he has taken forward, which is a big one for any young player.”
On communicating the message of process over results to young players:
“It depends on the guy. Sometimes it’s difficult. Once they start to understand to obsess over process and not obsess over results, they start to get it. This is the honest truth, when I tell guys, ‘I have no idea what your stats were in Grand Junction, and I truly don’t. I know what you did. I know what your development plan looks like. But I have no idea what your stats were,’ they’ll give me a look. ‘I don’t know how many strikeouts out you had. I don’t know how many walks you had, but I could tell you verbatim what your development plan says.’ I think when we say it enough and then we follow up on it, I think that’s when they get it. You look at guys like Harrison Musgrave. He had almost a 6.00 ERA in Grand Junction. That next year, we skipped him over (Class A) Asheville, and he dominated in (Class A Advanced) Modesto. So it’s not about the results at this level. Results matter when you get to ‘The Show.’ That’s when they matter. What matters now is doing what you can that day, controlling what you can that day to get better. When you play to get better as opposed to playing or pitching to get promoted, that’s when the results show up.”
On Tyler Nevin’s recovery from a severe hamstring strain:
“Rest early is definitely important. You’ve got to let it heal, and those type of soft tissue injuries, especially hamstring, take a long time just to heal. That was definitely a part of it.
“He’s out there doing what he does. He’s in great shape. His swing looks great, and he’s just normal everyday activity now. I know he’s ready, certainly, to go out and perform, but I think he’s put himself in a position to have a good ‘17.”
More on Colorado’s top position player prospect, shortstop Brendan Rodgers:
“We showed him second base last year. He still has things to do at shortstop, too, but he’s going to continue to develop at second. He’s a very fundamentally sound player, but now starting to understand the intricacies of both of those positions, particularly second base that he hasn’t done, around the bag, footwork, quick first steps, taking the right angles when you’re in the six hole or — if you’re playing second base — in the three/four hole. That type of stuff is where I think he’s going to make some strides this year.”
On talking to hitters about Colorado’s addition of offensively friendly Lancaster as its Class A Advanced affiliate:
“I think it’s important to discuss it. For me, it might even be more important than our pitching. I have no doubt that our pitching is going to develop there. Again, I’m not worried about numbers there, but our pitching process is so tight and streamlined right now that we’re just going to go in there and do what we do. Offensively, yeah, it’s going to be easy to get caught in that trap at times of ‘OK, I’m going to hit the ball in the air, and let’s see what happens.’ But we’ve got the right staff there in place. I think we certainly have the right foundational philosophy in place to make sure that doesn’t creep into players’ minds. But we’ve got to pay attention to it because you can definitely get lost in that if you’re not paying attention to it.”
On right-handed pitching prospect Ryan Castellani’s success:
“Because of the depth of pitching that we’ve created, especially at the upper levels, some of those guys at the lower levels that aren’t named Riley Pint get lost [outside the organization]. That’s unfortunate because not only is there Castellani, there’s [Yency] Almonte and there’s Peter Lambert and there’s even guys like Parker French. They just get lost in the shuffle, but the Castellanis in the world belong right in with the same names of [German] Marquez and [Antonio] Senzatela and [Jeff] Hoffman. He’s in the same group of guys. I’m OK with people flying under the radar, but we are paying as much attention to him internally as we are any of these other guys.”
On pitcher Antonio Senzatela, who made just seven starts last year due to injury and suffered through personal tragedy when his mother passed away from cancer in Venezuela:
“If you know Senzatela as well as I do — and we’ve been through a lot together — one of his biggest assets is that he’s tough. Particularly when he’s up on that mound, whenever he’s dealing with things that have to bring out the fight in him, he’s one of the toughest guys you’re ever going to be around. One of the kindest, most polite, respectful people you’re ever going to be around, but when he has to fight, he’s fighting. It doesn’t shock me to see what he’s doing right now. He’s been the Senzatela that we all know. He’s been 94–96 [miles per hour]. He’s been spotting his fastball with some fuzz on it with a very good slider and a quality changeup. He’s fully healthy. He’s fully back. He’s the Senzatela that we’ve all seen, and I think last year he did get lost because he wasn’t pitching. I think he had eight total starts in Double-A? And he dominated, so he got lost in that shuffle of pitchers just because he wasn’t pitching. You didn’t see him in the stat line. But this guy is a real guy in every sense of the word.”
On Senzatela’s work with the Major League team impressing new Rockies manager Bud Black in camp:
“It continues to just build his own confidence but also builds the organization’s confidence in a couple different ways. These guys they’ve been hearing about, that Buddy [Black]’s been hearing about, these are legit guys. On top of that, regardless of where he starts this year, this guy’s put himself in a position where he can help us sooner than later. For the staff and for ‘Senza’ to know that and understand that, I think that’s good on both ends.”
On shortstop Garrett Hampson, a 2016 third-round pick from Long Beach State:
“He’s got the athleticism and just the natural kind of feel for the game to be able to move around the diamond. He’s such an advanced player, feel for the game, I think the sky is the limit for Hampson. He’s a great teammate. He’s a winner. He’s so fundamental in everything he does, and he can really hit. I think he’s one of those guys where he’s going to keep climbing the ladder very steadily here, and before you know it, he’s in the big leagues and is contributing. It was a great pick.”
On 2016 South Atlantic League MVP Brian Mundell, a first base prospect:
‘Mundy,’ first of all, he’s a tremendous leader. He’s a tremendous example for the entire organization. I think that’s what separates him. It’s one of his big separators. The bat speed, the bat path, the leverage, all of that is real. He’s a no-doubt big leaguer at some point here. His biggest focus is going to have to be two things: not ever changing who he is or what he does. His approach at the plate right now is outstanding. Again, and I don’t worry about this with him, but Lancaster can make guys change their approaches. He needs to stay consistent with his approach, which is middle of the field, and hit the ball on a line. Being a big, strong guy, his line drives go further than most guys. That is in addition to really honing the first base craft. He’s only been playing first base for a year and a half. To continue to understand, a lot of it with him is just going to come down to reps, game reps, which is very hard to replicate [in practice]. It’s going to come down to just focusing in on the little things of playing first base. From the way he came in here over [at first] to what he looks like now, it’s night and day. This guy looks like a real first baseman. I think with game action, that’s only going to improve. Defense over offense now is the focus for him.”
