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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Spring Training Hits & Misses: Game 15 vs. Cincinnati

Hits

The New Commercials are in!

And they're starring Rockies season ticket holders, which is a pretty cool concept.

Here's my favorite...

And this one is pretty cool, too!

Check out the rest at coloradorockies.com.

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Spring Training Hits & Misses: Game 14 vs. Chicago

Hits

Jhoulys Chacin

Chacin had another strong outing today, tossing three shutout innings (only 44 pitches). He was scheduled and certainly positioned to go longer, but a "small" blister on his right index finger put an end to his afternoon. He'll get treatment for that and should be fine for his next scheduled outing.

Wilin Rosario

The Rockies top catching prospect locked and unloaded his second monster home run of the week. The first was a 400 foot plus shot off San Diego lefty Alex Hinshaw on Monday. Today's was a two-run blast off former Rockie Rodrigo Lopez. Rosario's raw power is unquestionable, so it's really just a matter of adjusting to better pitching and staying disciplined. It sounds like he's making noticeable improvement in both areas so far.

Jordan Pacheco

Hit the go-ahead two-run home run in the sixth that ended up being the difference. Think he's having a decent spring so far? I'd say so.

Misses

Ben Paulsen sent to minor league camp

It's not so much a miss because Paulsen is leaving camp (we all knew that was going to happen eventually), it's a miss because Paulsen is leaving camp before the manager's kid, Chad Tracy. That kinda sends the message that Tracy is higher on the team's depth chart, and that's a message I'm not comfortable receiving at this point. I guess he has some more time to prove me wrong (losing a popup in the sun today was a bad start), but I'd rather see Paulsen get some more meaningful reps to help prove me right.

You can read the full list of first round cuts over at the Denver Post.

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