Spring Training Hits & Misses: Game 20 vs. San Diego

Hits

Eric Young & Tyler Colvin

Charlie Blackmon is day-to-day with inflammation in his right big toe. That opens the door for both Eric Young and Tyler Colvin to gain some ground in their competition, and both responded with excellent games today. Young actually led it off with a rare home run and later added a triple to really elevate his spring slugging percentage. Colvin doubled twice, singled, scored once and drove in two to help the Rockies hang around in a game where the pitching struggled mightily.

Misses

Guillermo Moscoso

If you took a peak at the scoreboard for the Rockies fifth rotation spot before today, you saw that Moscoso was hanging right in there, and maybe even had a chance to grab a firm hold on the job with a good outing against San Diego. Now take a look again — or maybe you'd be better off not to — because Moscoso's outing today likely bumped him down a peg or three.

3 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 3 K

Granted, just about every starter across the board in Arizona and Florida will post an ugly outing or two, so I guess Moscoso (and the rest us) might be best off just washing our hands of this one and putting the focus on how he rebounds his next time out.

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Spring Training Hits & Misses: Game 19 vs. San Diego

Hits

Jonathan Herrera and friends

Last week I told you to just assume Herrera was doing good things until you heard otherwise, but I can't help but acknowledge his big two-run triple tonight. It was actually a good offensive night all around for the Rockies starting lineup. Aside from Carlos Gonzalez — who will probably make up for this at a far more important time — every spot in the order contributed an RBI or run scored (Wilin Rosario pinch ran and scored for Ramon Hernandez, who left with a bruised knee after a HBP) in the first four innings.

Misses

Jhoulys Chacin

3 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 2 K and 70 damn pitches.

Tonight was one of those nights where Chacin struggled to locate, missed few bats and the ball was carrying well, so the disappointing line is not all that difficult to figure out. I don't think there's anything here to be overly concerned about big picture unless the blister was a lingering problem. If so, he may need to take a few days off which would set back his progression towards opening day. Otherwise, just chalk it up to Arizona in mid-March.

Edgmer Escalona

Escalona pitched well in 25 appearances with the Rockies last season and had been pitching well this spring until tonight. But tonight was not good (0.2 IP, 5 R (3 ER), 3 H, 3 BB, HR) and for a guy WITH options remaining in a crowded arms race, he needed this night to not happen. A good bounce back effort will be required.

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Spring Training Hits & Misses: Game 18 vs. Los Angeles

Hits

Juan Nicasio

Aside from the rugged third inning where he dealt with traffic and was ultimately victimized by a good swing from a professional hitter — Howie Kendrick's three-run homer — Nicasio was excellent against a relentless, World Series contending Angels lineup this afternoon. And what I liked more than anything was the way Nicasio finished it. After allowing the home run, Nicasio closed it down with back-to-back 1-2-3 innings, and punctuated it with an overpowering strikeout of Albert Pujols.

Honestly, the strike three pitch was so good it gave me chills.

Andrew Brown

I knew little about Brown coming into camp, but I've learned recently that he hits right-handed and he's pretty strong. After an impressive game on Saturday that included a home run and double, Brown backed it up with an opposite field blast this afternoon. He's looking like solid AAA insurance.

Misses

Top of the order

Dexter Fowler and Marco Scutaro combined to go 1-for-6 today and are hitting .080 and .130 on the spring respectively. Am I worried? Well, I'd lying if I said I wasn't a little worried about Fowler. This is a big year for him, and for all the stuff we read about how hard he worked this offseason, it hasn't paid off for him just yet. I'll be patient for another week or so, but you have to wonder how patient the Rockies will ultimately be. Charlie Blackmon and Tyler Colvin will give them options if things don't eventually turn around.

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Spring Training Hits & Misses: Game 17 vs. Seattle

Hits

Jordan Pacheco

With only four innings of play in the books, Pacheco's two walk day was easily the best among Rockies players offensively. He also gunned out an attempted base stealer named Chone Figgins (fast), so he definitely made the most of the limited action.

Misses

Mother Nature

The people of Arizona may disagree with me because they obviously needed the rain, but come on, it's a rare chance to watch some spring training action live and she ruined it. She could have waited at least another two hours!

Got Their Work In

Tyler Chatwood

Chatwood's outing highlighted why the Rockies like him — three scoreless innings to start — while also reminding them why the 22-year-old will need some extra minor league seasoning before contributing. His fourth inning was little rough around the edges, and not exactly smooth on the inside either.

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Spring Training Hits & Misses: Game 16 vs. Los Angeles

Hits

The Home Run Trio

The Rockies feel like they have quality depth in their outfield, and some of that depth was on display today as three outfielders who more than likely won't open the season with the big league club were able to connect for a home run.

The first came from 27-year-old Andrew Brown, who parked a Ryan Tucker offering in the sixth. He also doubled on the afternoon and dropped a looping flyout where he called off Troy Tulowitzki and couldn't finish the play. Next time he'll know better and just let the all-star make the play. Anyway, Brown is the longest shot of the three to ever play with the Rockies, but he looks like he'll be good organizational depth and a better than average insurance policy if injuries begin piling up, especially for a team is short on right-handed outfielders.

The second came from Tyler Colvin, who I'm really, really pulling for to make an impact with the Rockies this season. He would need a couple breaks to make the team right off the bat. And quite honestly, I don't want to see anyone going down to make room for him, but I really like his raw power and his ability to play all three outfield spots and first base. The Rockies will too.

Finally, there was the biggest home run of the game -- a walk-off shot from Tim Wheeler in the ninth. As we know, Wheeler broke out in a big way last season at AA Tulsa and really raised his stock around baseball. Whether or not the Rockies ultimately have a place for him will be an interesting question for a few months down the road, but I think he's going to help the Rockies out one way or another (in Denver or in a trade).

Jeremy Guthrie

He walked his first two batters of the spring today, but aside from that he was his usual solid, top-of-the-rotation self. Keep penciling him in for around 200 innings on the pitching side.

On the offensive side, Guthrie contributed to his own cause with an RBI groundout. A really nice piece of hitting for a guy who's done little of it in his big league. But it's not really a surprise. Guthrie is a good athlete and he has a lot of pride, so while he'll be overmatched more times than not, it won't be for the lack of effort. He's not a guy that will simply mail those at-bats in during the season.

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