Spring Training Hits & Misses: Game 13 vs. Arizona

Hits

Juan Nicasio

As Bob Apodaca told the guys on KOA before the game, it's time to stop looking at Nicasio as a comeback story because that story is pretty much complete. Now it's time to evaluate him as a pitcher, and as a pitcher, Nicasio was rock solid tonight allowing only one unearned run on three hits over four innings. The only little blemish or concern was his inability to put a handful of hitters away, which elevated his pitch count. But that's quite a minor thing at this stage. Overall a very impressive and encouraging outing.

Carlos Gonzalez

His first inning three-run home run off Josh Collmenter will get the attention, but I was happier to hear his RBI single off left-hander Wade Miley. The Rockies need CarGo to get back on track against southpaws in 2012, so any progress/success there is worth mentioning. Also, it's safe to assume he's going to keep the bat companies busy again after tonight's original piece of lumber was unable to survive the punishing contact of both hits.

Jonathan Herrera

Three more hits for the pesky utility man. Is it even worth mentioning anymore, or should we just assume Herrera is handling his business in March?

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Spring Training Hits & Misses: Game 5 vs. Kansas City

Hits

Drew Pomeranz

Make that back-to-back strong outings to start the spring for Pomeranz. In today's outing he threw three scoreless innings, allowing two hits, walking one, and striking out three. To break it down a little further, he forced three groundball outs, picked the speedy Lorenzo Cain off first, and teamed up with Ramon Hernandez to have another speedy runner, Mitch Maier, thrown out attempting to steal second.

Good stuff all the way around for Pomeranz individually, but that about covers the good for Colorado today.

Misses

Josh Outman

Outman's day was a miss, no doubt, but not the total miss it looked like it would be after his first inning. That first inning, which was the game's fourth inning, included the Royals plating four runs on five hits, with Yuniesky Betancourt's home run greeting him on just his second pitch. His second inning didn't start much better with a walk and single leading it off, but Outman did bear down at that point to retire six in a row.

Again, not a good outing, but you definitely take note of his ability to collect himself and finish his three innings of work strongly. How a pitcher finishes his outing after a rough start is one of the few things you can actually take away from these spring games, so I wouldn't say Outman harmed his chances of making the team based on this. But he definitely needs to bounce back with a more complete performance his next time out.

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Spring Training Hits & Misses: Game 2 vs. Arizona

Hits

Nolan Arenado

Baseball player. Good at-bats all day. Fine defense. We're two games in and I'm already ready to pencil him into the Opening Day lineup.

Will it happen? Not likely.

Should it happen? People smarter than me will say no, but I just know the idea is to have the best players on the field when the season starts, and I have a difficult time believing he won't be the best option at third base. We shall see.

Christian Friedrich

Big first outing for Friedrich as he looks to reestablish himself as a top level prospect and future fixture in the Rockies rotation. Over his two innings of work, he allowed one hit while striking out two, and according to Troy Renck, worked quickly and calmly throughout. For now, consider Friedrich a real longshot in the starting rotation mix, but that could easily change to sleeper if he strings a few more outings like this together. A little consistency will go a long way for him.

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Spring Training Hits & Misses: Game 1 vs. Arizona

Hits

Baseball

Boy was it nice to be able to hear the crack of the bat and the pop of the glove. Baseball. Is. Back!

Drew Pomeranz

28 pitches over 2 innings for Pomeranz. He allowed 1 hit (a single) and a walk in the first frame but buckled down to escape without damage. His second inning was a very clean 1-2-3. Good start for him as he attempts to hold off several less talented pitchers for a spot in the rotation.

Nolan Arenado

His bat gets most of the attention but there's little doubt Arenado is developing into a big league caliber defender at the hot corner as well. He proved that on Saturday with a diving backhanded stab on a hot shot that appeared ticketed for the left field corner. Not only did Arenado field the ball cleanly to prevent a run from scoring, he also made the strong throw across to get the out.

He is the goods.

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