MEDIA CLIPS – April 18, 2016

Arenado homers twice as Chatwood quiets Cubs

By Thomas Harding and Cody Stavenhagen / MLB.com | @harding_at_mlb | April 17th 2016

CHICAGO -- Nolan Arenado homered twice and Rockies right-hander Tyler Chatwood threw seven stellar innings to outduel Cubs left-hander for a 2-0 victory on Sunday at Wrigley Field that turned out to be historic.

Arenado lofted a fourth-inning Lester pitch into the basket in left field for a home , then went deep in the ninth against reliever Justin Grimm. It was the first time in the 24-season history of the Rockies that they've won a game 2-0 solely on solo home runs, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Chatwood gave up two hits and struck out seven, helping the Rockies slow the Cubs' lineup for the second time in three days and giving Colorado the weekend series win.

"Overall, it was a big team win and series win, and that was our focus coming in," Chatwood said.

Lester went 7 1/3, surrendering four hits and striking out 10. His only hiccup was against Arenado, who improved his homer total to six. However, Arenado said Chatwood was the driving force.

"Last night, I said, 'Chatty's on the bump, so we've got a good chance to win this game,'" said Arenado, who became the first player in the Majors to hit two solo homers in a 2-0 victory since the Red Sox's Mookie Betts against the Rays last

May 5. "It's huge, big for our confidence. It's a big series win for us."

Miguel Castro and Jake McGee finished Chatwood's work in the eighth and ninth as the Rockies won for the fourth time in five games. Colorado improved to 7-5, and the Cubs moved to 9-3.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Taking his shot: A day after going 0-for-4 on his 25th birthday against Jake Arrieta, Arenado entered Sunday 1-for-9 in the previous two games -- the only hit being a rare (for him) bunt single. But he bounced back in a big way with his second 1 two-homer game in five days. He also had two home runs in a seven-RBI performance against the Padres on

Wednesday.

"[Arenado] is one of the best hitters and the best defensive third basemen in the league for a reason, and he obviously beat us today, so you have to tip your hat to him," Lester said.

No history, still no runs: With two outs in the fifth, Jorge Soler ended Chatwood's bid for a perfect game with a walk, and Javier Baez followed by ending the no-hitter with a single to left. With two on and two out, David Ross grounded out to end the inning.

"I think he made big pitches when he had to," Ross said. "That's why he's one of their front-line guys. Kept us off balance and worked the corners really well."

Unflustered: Lester surprised Chatwood and the Rockies with a to right-center to open the sixth. But Chatwood buzzed through the top of the order, with fly balls from Dexter Fowler and Ben Zobrist sandwiching a of Jason

Heyward. The 100-pitch effort was the second strong start in three games for Chatwood, who before this season hadn't pitched in the Majors since April 29, 2014, because of a long recovery from Tommy John surgery.

"Being away for as long as he has, and to pitch like he has, is pretty amazing," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "To shut down that lineup like he did, you can't throw the ball any better than he did."

Don't leave early: The Cubs didn't go away without some suspense. Heyward hit a double with one out in the ninth, and

Zobrist hit a ball to the warning track for the second out. After Anthony Rizzo got hit by a pitch, Kris Bryant came up with a chance to win the game, but struck out swinging.

"It's just good to be in that opportunity late in the game," Heyward said. "We don't quit. We're not going to quit. Just trying to make every team earn a win."

NOT STREAKING, BUT CONTRIBUTING

Rockies right fielder Carlos Gonzalez, in a difficult left-on-left matchup with Lester, saw his career-best hit streak end at 21 games (dating to last season) and his season-opening run end at 11 games. But before the Cubs had their first baserunner, he had a dazzling defensive play -- a sliding catch near the foul line to rob Anthony Rizzo of extra bases.

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QUOTABLE

"Nolan finds a way to win just about every day. He's involved in all the wins we have, either defensively or offensively. We don't ever want to take him for granted. We've certainly seen plenty of it." -- Weiss, on Arenado

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS

Rockies starters entered Wrigley with a 6.94 ERA in the season's first nine games. But Chad Bettis, Christian

Bergman and Chatwood combined for a 1.00 mark (two earned runs in 18 innings).

WHAT'S NEXT

Rockies: The Rockies have won 12 of their last 19 games against the Reds. Righty Jordan Lyles (0-1, 11.25 ERA) will try to find his groove and maintain the Rockies' when they face the Reds at Great American Ball Park on Monday at 5:10 p.m. MT.

Cubs: The Cubs begin their first Central series with starting against the Cardinals, the team he left for the Cubs in free agency. Lackey (2-0, 5.68 ERA) will start against the Cards for the first time in the regular season Monday at 7:09 p.m. CT at Busch Stadium.

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Chatwood calms nerves with brilliant start Righty blanks Cubs over 7 frames in third game back from TJ surgery

By Thomas Harding / MLB.com | @harding_at_mlb | April 17th 2016

CHICAGO -- The Tommy John surgery that kept Rockies right-hander Tyler Chatwood out of the Majors from April 29,

2014, to April 6 this year -- his second such operation -- is no longer an event that brings nervousness when he remembers it. It's much closer to just a line in his bio.

On Sunday, Chatwood was perfect for 4 2/3 innings and held the Cubs to two hits in seven innings in a 2-0 victory at

Wrigley Field. For Chatwood -- who underwent the first operation on his right elbow while in high school -- the 100-pitch, seven-strikeout performance had more to do with winning a series than celebrating arm health.

"I think it's up there after the last two years," Chatwood said. "But the biggest thing is to come in here and win a series against a really good team."

It was his 13th career start of seven or more innings, his fifth since joining the Rockies in a trade with the Angels (for catcher Chris Iannetta) after the 2011 season.

Rockies manager Walt Weiss said, "Chatwood was outstanding. Think about the fact he's been away for a long time, a couple of years. He's pitching very well for us. His first few outings for us have been outstanding. To shut that lineup down, that's quite a feat."

Chatwood (2-1) located his cutter early, clearing the way for his two-seam and four-seam and changeup.

Through four spotless innings, he threw first-pitch strikes to eight of the 12 batters.

"He had a set plan and he wasn't getting away from it," Rockies catcher Tony Wolters said.

Chatwood needed Carlos Gonzalez's sliding catch to rob Anthony Rizzo of extra bases to open the sixth. With two outs,

Chatwood walked Jorge Soler and gave up a Javier Baez single to left before forcing David Ross into a fielder's choice.

Chatwood labored some in the sixth, when opposing Jon Lester doubled to lead off before Chatwood induced a

Dexter Fowler popup, fanned Jason Heyward and worked a fly ball from Ben Zobrist.

But Chatwood needed just 10 pitches in the seventh, which allowed Weiss to hand the ball to Miguel Castro and Jake

McGee, who had an eventful ninth, to finish the shutout. Chatwood finished with 14 first-pitch strikes against 24 batters faced, and 63 strikes total.

The difference in his lone loss of the season his last time out was the two two-out homers Chatwood allowed to the

Giants' Hunter Pence and Trevor Brown. With a dangerous Cubs lineup, Chatwood didn't have time to be haunted. 4

"All I'm worried about is executing the pitch I want to throw," Chatwood said. "You can't really control what happens after the ball leaves your hand. We had some really good defensive plays behind me and Tony called a really good game."

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Arenado's 2 homers a belated birthday gift Slugger powers Rockies to series win day after turning 25

By Thomas Harding / MLB.com | @harding_at_mlb | April 17th 2016

CHICAGO -- Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado turned 25 and a day on Sunday. That extra day turned into a special occasion -- his second two-homer game in a week -- in a 2-0 victory at Wrigley Field as his team took two of three from the Cubs.

"I don't even like my birthday anymore," Arenado said. "I like the day after my birthday."

Facing reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta turned Saturday into a birthday bummer. But the celebration ramped up Sunday, highlighted by his offJon Lester in the fourth, and his breathing-room shot off Justin Grimm in the ninth.

With the wind blowing in, the first homer barely reached the basket in left. No atmospheric condition could stop the second one.

On Wednesday, Arenado hit two home runs and drove in a career-high seven runs -- one shy of the club record -- in a 10-

6 victory over the Giants.

So, this has been a weeklong celebration. From Sunday to Sunday, Arenado went 11-for-31 (.355) with five of his six homers and 13 of his 16 RBIs. With rookie teammate Trevor Story having earned the first week's National League Player of the Week Award, Arenado is putting up a good argument for keeping the honor in Rockies hands. (The official award period runs Monday to Sunday, when he was 9-for-28 -- .333 -- with four homers and 12 RBIs).

Arenado was happier with series victories this week over the Giants and Cubs, who were among the Majors' hottest teams.

"It's huge, big for our confidence," Arenado said. "A weekend series against the Cubs and they threw a lot of their best arms. To be able to compete the way we did was huge."

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Story not looking in need of day off Rockies phenom leading Majors in K's as well as homers

By Thomas Harding / MLB.com | @harding_at_mlb | April 17th 2016

CHICAGO -- Rockies Trevor Story swung over a bouncing curveball from the Cubs' Jake Arrieta to end the third inning Saturday with Dustin Garneau stranded at third. Story looked hapless doing so. However, at the start of the at-bat, there is a clue why Story does not look like an overmatched rookie in need of bench time.

Arrieta started him with a 95-mph sinker. Story was right on the pitch but, mainly because Arrieta has been pitching with uncommon mastery these days, the late movement meant the ball grazed the bat and didn't go flying to the outfield.

Instead of feeling confused and sorry for himself, Story knew and understood that he had a pitch to hit. It simply didn't work out.

Story hit seven home runs in his first six Major League games and entered Sunday leading the Majors in that category. He also led the Majors in with 20, eight in the previous two games. But with the schedule being kind to the Rockies with days off, manager Walt Weiss said Sunday morning that Story didn't look like a guy needing to sit to regain his wits.

More important, Story was still taking confident swings and sticking to a plan that had produced a .314 batting average.

"You've got to trust your eyes on that," Weiss said. "I don't know if there's a blanket policy for something like that. You deal with the individual and you make your decision accordingly. Typically with young players, I'm going to look for spots to protect him. I'm going to do that with Trevor.

"I still think he's competing real well and he's still a dangerous bat at the top of our lineup [in the No. 2 position]. So I'm going to continue to run him out there."

The strikeouts in the first two games at Wrigley Field were at least partly due to solid Cubs pitching by Kyle Hendricks and

Arrieta, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner. But Story isn't feeling that he's striking out because he's not good enough. After Saturday's game, here's what he learned:

• The strike-three curve was understandable. "I hadn't seen his curveball until that one," Story said.

• He put the misread on the first pitch on his shoulders, saying, "You can't miss your pitches with a guy like that."

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Story finished the game with an opposite-field double off Travis Wood in the ninth, which backed Weiss' contention that

Story is hitting with a plan and not flailing. Six of his seven homers have been pulled to left, but the other homer and six of his other seven hits have gone to either the opposite gap (both triples, which were nearly homers) or right field.Story's two triples

Worth noting

• Right-hander , who has thrown two injury rehab starts at Advanced Modesto in his return from an abdominal strain, will join the team Monday in Cincinnati and could soon be activated to rejoin the rotation.

• Outfielder Ryan Raburn was bruised Saturday after tripping on the Cubs' bullpen mound in left-field foul ground while chasing a windblown foul ball. Weiss didn't use him as a starter but said he was available Sunday.

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Lyles looks to find rhythm in Cincy opener

By Thomas Harding / MLB.com | @harding_at_mlb | April 17th 2016

Rockies right-hander Jordan Lyles hopes for more of an even keel when he faces the Reds at Great American Ball Park on Monday night.

Lyles has started twice and hasn't made it to the fifth inning. The first time he coughed up an early lead and lasted just 3

1/3 in a home loss to the Padres. Lyles had another lead his last time out but couldn't get past 4 2/3 against the Giants.

The Reds juggled their rotation for the series, and will go with righty Dan Straily (0-0, 3.24 ERA in three relief appearances). They're pushing Alfredo Simon (0-1, 12.15) to Tuesday.

Things to know about this game

• The Reds are expecting center fielder Billy Hamilton back in the starting lineup . He missed Saturday to rest his surgically repaired shoulder, and didn't start Sunday because Cardinals starter Michael Wacha was not a good matchiup.

• Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado has hit safely in six of his last seven games. His fourth-inning home run Sunday off Jon Lester was his first hit out of the infield in the three-game series with the Cubs. His only other hit was a rare bunt single.

• Since the Reds went 5-1 against the Rockies in 2012, the Rockies are 12-7 in their matchups.

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Colorado Rockies 2, Chicago Cubs 0: Tyler Chatwood pitches a gem at Wrigley Field Two swings of the bat from Nolan Arenado were all the Rockies needed to grab a series win in Chicago.

By Jordan Freemyer / Purple Row | @jfreemyer | April 17th 2016

Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Tyler Chatwood put together the team's best start on the mound this season and Nolan

Arenado hit a pair of home runs as the Rockies got a 2-0 win over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Chatwood pitched seven shutout innings, allowing just two hits and a walk and striking out seven in the game, throwing 99 pitches, 64 for strikes. He retired the first 14 Cubs he faced before walking Jorge Soler with two outs in the fifth.

By the time of that Soler walk, the Rockies already had a 1-0 lead courtesy of Nolan Arenado'sfifth home run of the season, a solo shot that just made it to the basket in left field against Cubs starter Jon Lester.

After the walk to Soler, Chatwood allowed a single to Javier Baez and a double to Lester, but no Cubs reached third base against the Rockies starter.

After Chatwood exited with a 1-0 lead, Miguel Castro retired Chicago in order in the eighth and Arenado gave the Rockies some insurance with his second home run of the game, also of the solo variety, against Cubs reliever Justin Grimm in the ninth.

Rockies closer Jake McGee made things interesting in the ninth, allowing a double to Jason Heyward and hitting Anthony

Rizzo with a pitch, but struck out Kris Bryant to end the game and earn his third save of the season.

Facing a team that was 8-1 entering the series, Colorado got its second series win in two tries away from this season and improved to 7-5 in 2016. Much of their success in Chicago was down to the starting pitching, which allowed just two runs in 18 innings of work with 18 strikeouts against a team that led the majors in runs per game before the

Rockies came to town.

The Rockies will look to continue their road momentum tomorrow in Cincinnati as Jordan Lyles takes the mound against the Reds.

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A long opening week leaves the Rockies with a good idea of what they have in the Two swings of the bat from Nolan Arenado were all the Rockies needed to grab a series win in Chicago.

By Bobby DeMuro / Purple Row | @BobbyDeMuro | April 17th 2016

From their opening game last Thursday through a loss late Saturday night, the Modesto Nuts (3-6) will be credited with nine completed games and a rainout that'll be made up in June. But those early affairs have thus far included one 11- inning matchup, another that lasted 13 frames, and a ridiculous 17-inning marathon, so forgive the Colorado Rockies'

High-A affiliate if it feels like they've been playing just a little bit more than the regular schedule.

Nevertheless, here they are, playing straight through without their first scheduled day off until next Monday, April 25—and here we are, breaking it all down as best we can in this, the first of the Nuts' weekly reviews that will appear on Purple

Row.

With that, I'll be covering nearly 50 Modesto games this summer, and we're fortunate to have a very good relationship with the Nuts. Although every weekly review won't be nearly this in-depth—it'll depend on the number of games I'm able to cover in a given week—you can expect consistent player interviews, scouting videos, and other related content on the

Nuts coming your way all summer. I have a lot of (hopefully) compelling stuff in the works.

If you'd like to see something in particular, or you feel there's an angle you'd like me to investigate, comment on this post, reach out to me on Twitter, or send me an email. I want your feedback! (Just not the mean stuff, thanks.)

Leading off: News and notes, April 7-16

Date H/A Opponent Result Date H/A Opponent Time (MT)

Apr 7 @ Stockton L, 2-13 Apr 17 vs Stockton 2:05 pm

Apr 8 @ Stockton W, 8-3 Apr 18 vs Bakersfield 8:05 pm

Apr 9 @ Stockton Ppd. Apr 19 vs Bakersfield 8:05 pm

Apr 10 @ Stockton L, 2-4 Apr 20 vs Bakersfield 8:05 pm

Apr 11 @ Bakersfield L, 7-8 (11) Apr 21 @ San Jose 8:00 pm

Apr 12 @ Bakersfield W, 13-3 Apr 22 @ San Jose 8:00 pm

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Apr 13 @ Bakersfield L, 3-4 (13) Apr 23 @ San Jose 6:00 pm

Apr 14 vs Stockton W, 5-2 Apr 24 @ San Jose 2:00 pm

Apr 15 vs Stockton L, 10-12 (17) Apr 25 OFF

Apr 16 vs Stockton L, 6-8 Apr 26 @ Visalia 7:00 pm

Starting things off, the Nuts made their first roster move of the year on Saturday night: Josh Michalec has been reassigned to extended after two bad outings to begin the year in Modesto. In his place, Logan

Sawyer was added to the Nuts' roster just before first pitch yesterday, according to the team's broadcaster, Keaton

Gillogly.

Forrest Wall is doing what we know Forrest Wall can do, slashing .381/.447/.571 over his first nine games, with three doubles, a , a homer, and twelve RBIs. That includes a five (!) hit performance during the Nuts' 17-inning Friday night affair. Watch video of Forrest Wall from spring training here.

Collin Ferguson, Shane Hoelscher, and Max White are accounting for the Nuts' early power, each knocking two home runs in the first week of the season. Ferguson has added three doubles; Roberto Ramos has four more doubles, but the big lefty has yet to homer. Watch video of Hoelscher from spring training here.

Luis Jean has gotten off to a slow start at the plate (just 3-for-17), but he did throw a couple of innings in the Nuts' Friday night 17-inning contest — and according to reports, he was touching 92 mph on the mound. Amazing.

On the mound, lefty Sam Howard is doing what we've come to expect of him in his young career; he's 1-0 with a 2.79

ERA in two starts, striking out 12 and allowing just ten baserunners in his first 9.2 innings pitched. Read one of our earlier interviews with Howard here.

Lefty reliever Jerry Vasto is also doing what we've come to expect of him already this summer. Coming out of the bullpen, the hard-throwing southpaw has allowed just one unearned run on five hits and no walks to go along with five strikeouts over his first four appearances of the summer. Watch video of Vasto from spring training here.

Spotlight On: Nuts 1B Roberto Ramos

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Roberto Ramos didn't raise many eyebrows in his first tour of in 2014, so when he started the 2015 season at rookie-level Grand Junction again, that seemed the sensible move for the big left-handed power hitter. But after just nine games in the Pioneer League—where Ramos doubled three times and hit three more home runs—the Mexican- born California resident was quickly promoted to Low-A Asheville. There, he was critical in the Tourists' playoff run, slugging 14 doubles and ten more home runs in just 46 games, and finishing with a .341/.413/.610 slash line and a 1.022

OPS over 164 at-bats.

"When he came to Asheville last year, he surprised a lot of people," says Ryan Castellani, shaking his head in amazement when I ask the pitcher about Ramos. "When he showed up, he was one of the main reasons we got to the playoffs. He played like half a season and had a lot of bombs, including some crucial ones down the stretch, and now coming to a hitter’s league, I’m excited to see what he can do in some of these small parks and push us towards the playoff race here."

The home runs last summer were nice—and it was finally a coming-out party for the 6'5", 220 lb. first baseman—but

Ramos was all business last summer and it seems like he's remaining all business in the .

"I was just trying to get the job done and be on base," Ramos says when I ask him what changed for him last year. "We were in the run for playoffs, and obviously all we were thinking about was winning, and trying to help the team win. I wasn't trying to hit a home run every time, I was just trying to drive in runs every time and help the team make it to the playoffs."

But what changed for Ramos, really? We can talk maturity, confidence, or even the improved approach — I mention these buzzwords to the big lefty and ask him to go a little bit deeper. Surely, something specific changed Ramos' career trajectory in Asheville, right?

"I was just trying to stay within myself, because I finally figured out that I don’t need to do too much," Ramos admits. "The more you play, the more at-bats you get, the more comfortable you feel at the plate, and of course when things are going good you feel real comfortable at the plate. I was feeling comfortable last year."

It's funny, too; Nuts outfielder Max White's immediate assessment of Ramos' ability coming into 2016 nearly mirrored how the first baseman analyzed his own year in Asheville.

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"Just as long as he tries to stay within himself, man, that kid's huge and he’s got stupid pop," White says, shaking his head just like Castellani did. "As long as he stays within himself and doesn’t try to overdo that pop, I think he’ll do just what he did last year."

The transition from last year to this year is a tenuous one for anybody; a few months off of regular season game activities all but kills any rhythm a player develops, especially in Ramos' case considering how white-hot he was to finish 2015. Add to that a higher level—in a league ideal for power hitters, but dangerous if sluggers change their approach to only hit home runs—and Ramos has some challenges ahead. Curious about this, I asked him straight-up how he was going to remain honest to his approach when parks like Bakersfield's have a 354-foot wall in dead center field.

"That’s exactly what went on last year, you’ve got a short porch in right in Asheville, and you just can’t let that get in your head, you know?" Ramos counters. "Everybody says this is a hitter’s league, and everybody tries to get out of their shoes swinging, so you basically have to stick to your approach."

"The same thing goes for Modesto," he adds. "A lot of people talk about how the ball doesn’t fly in Modesto, so you’ve just got to stick with your approach. Besides, if you hit a good ball it’s going to go out just about anywhere."

Regarding Ramos' last sentence, Castellani agrees.

"He just has this pop," Castellani says, obviously proud of his teammate. "He’s just a big, intimidating body that comes into the batter’s box, and they are just instantly aware of it. He creates that, he backs everybody else up, he helps everybody else out in the lineup because they want to pitch around him, and that creates guys on base and more RBIs for other guys."

"You should pick up his bat one day, it’s like a tree trunk," the pitcher adds, laughing. "He swings such a big bat. We were driving to Stockton last week and there was one of those big flatbed trucks carrying the long redwoods, and Lee Stevens, our hitting coach, is like, ‘hey Ramos, your bat order is coming in!’"

Catching up with: RHP Ryan Castellani

Castellani is far and away my favorite interview subject—in an organization full of approachable and polite young men, no less—in large part because of how openly and eagerly he talks about his teammates, as we've seen with Ramos (above).

If you want to know about a player from a third party, go right to Castellani; it's nearly infectious how proud he is of his teammates, and he's a thoughtful, well-spoken young man who understands the game in a way that belies his age. 14

Of course, another thing sets him apart, too: he's a damn good pitcher. On Monday night, our No. 19 PuRP tossed five innings in the first start of his season, allowing two runs on five hits (including four infield singles) and two walks while striking out nine batters. Of the 24 batters he faced, he threw 16 first pitch strikes, and came away with 54 total strikes in his 85-pitch outing. His sat 91-93 mph all night, with offspeed offerings in the low-80s.

Nerves were a factor for Castellani, to say the least; the righty told me he was "amped up" in a first inning where he allowed three hits and a run before settling down to strike out the side in the second. Later in the game, at two different points, he retired five straight Bakersfield hitters. For Castellani, that came down to a new kind of preparation he hadn't had before in his professional career.

"It’s funny, this was the first time ever that I got to pro ball and I got a scouting report," he admits of his Monday night start.

"It was huge, it helped so much. And it was just executing the plan put together by all of us, it was great."

In vintage Castellani form, though, he doesn't credit himself for his strong start as much as he credits catcher Dom Nunez.

"I loved it, it felt great," he says when I ask about the comfort level working with the well-regarded catcher. "I just saw

Nunez’s glove and wherever he set up, I felt like he was there, I was there, and I was going to throw it there."

We've seen Castellani on video before, of course, but below is a short clip of him from Monday night's start to give you a better idea of his mechanics from a perspective more in line with the hitter.

As you might expect with it, because of his mechanics and arm angle, when Castellani runs into trouble or command problems (which, granted, haven't happened a whole lot), it's from getting too rotational and throwing across his body, rather than coming straight down through his delivery and right to the plate.

"I was happy [on Monday] because towards the end of spring training, I was actually pulling off a little bit on the fastball away, and I was cutting it," he admits when I ask him about it. "But here, I just focused on staying through it, and [Nunez] just stuck every ball there. It was sweet."

"It’s a little bit of doing too much trying to force the ball there, as opposed to the last time we talked, where we talked about picking home plate up, move it, and throw a fastball right there," he continues. "That was just a mental adjustment.

Obviously you can’t pick up home plate, but it’s that visualization of 'I’m just throwing straight. I’m throwing right to him, in as straight a line as possible, and I know where it’ll end up, because I can trust that.'"

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Castellani will get another shot to trust his stuff this afternoon in his second start for Modesto. We'll also have more from him later this week in a separate feature.

JESUS TINOCO, RHP

Jesus Tinoco started the Nuts' third and final game in Bakersfield, the Kids' Day affair on Wednesday, April 13. The game—which the Nuts ended up losing in 13 innings—was more or less without incident early on, and Tinoco threw the ball pretty well. In 5.1 innings, he allowed three runs on ten hits, but only walked one. He struck out just two hitters, though a big part of that was his tendency to fall behind in counts; he threw first pitch balls to 12 of 23 hitters he faced, including the first five batters of the game.

In the early going on Wednesday (above), Tinoco (who threw 88 pitches, 57 for strikes) was working at 89-92 mph, but after the second inning his velocity dropped to the 86-89 mph range. Nevertheless, he appeared to have hard run on his fastball, offspeed pitches that he trusted in tough counts (including a slider that sat from 81-84 mph), and enough sink on his offerings to leave Bakersfield pounding the ball into the ground pretty consistently. Either way, it's a sharp improvement from his first start back on April 7, when he allowed eight runs on seven hits (including two home runs) in less than two innings of work.

YENCY ALMONTE, RHP

By far, —who started the Nuts' April 12 game in Bakersfield—was the most impressive pitcher I saw this week that I wasn't expecting. Castellani is always impressive, of course, but he's a known entity around these parts;

Almonte, who the Rockies acquired in the Tommy Kahnle trade this winter, was relatively unknown coming into this week.

That has changed for me now, and it should also change for you.

In that Bakersfield game (above), Almonte was working his fastball 95-97 mph throughout, with great life and generally good command. Combine that with a breaking ball in the mid- to upper-80s, and Almonte clearly has power offerings that should make you drool when he's right.

At points, he ran into the bouts of wildness that every 21-year-old in High-A experiences, be it from slight mechanical miscues or overthrowing his hard stuff, but generally, Almonte was impressive on Tuesday night. In that start, he allowed three hits and four walks—and no runs—in 5.1 innings, fanning nine hitters in the process, and throwing 43 of his 73 pitches (58%) for strikes.

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MAX WHITE, OF

We'll have much more on Max White in an in-depth feature I've been working on that should run very soon (hopefully tomorrow morning!), but I thought it'd be worth it to get his video report up now just so you can get a look at him on the field. Of course, we've seen some of Max White on video before, but here he is (above) in game action.

Without saying too much more about him (don't want to spoil the feature!), he's succeed in the early going in Modesto, going 9-for-28 (.321) with a triple, two home runs, eight RBIs, six walks, and four stolen bases to his name. The 2012 second round draft pick, who toiled for three seasons in Low-A Asheville before his promotion to Modesto this year, has figured something out in professional baseball. Gee, maybe that's the angle of his upcoming interview...

HELMIS RODRIGUEZ, LHP

A member of starting rotations at every professional level up through Low-A Asheville in 2015, Helmis Rodriguez has been relegated to the Nuts' bullpen with the addition of Tinoco and Almonte from outside the organization in the last year.

The Venezuelan left-hander is still pitching like a starter, though; not only have his two outings in 2016 each nearly lasted five innings, his deliberate pace and multiple pitch offerings make him an ideal swingman who figures to most likely get some starts later this summer as depth is inevitably tested.

In the video (above), Rodriguez tossed 4.2 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and no walks while striking out two batters in Wednesday morning's 13-inning affair in Bakersfield. As a weird quirk, in one of his innings—coincidentally captured on the video—Rodriguez allows three bunt base hits and then proceeds to pick off two runners. Cal League, baby!

Rodriguez was throwing in the upper 80s this week in Bakersfield, and figures to be one of those lefties that can pitch for quite a while, in part thanks to his handedness. He's got a funky delivery, as you can see in the video, so perhaps there is an opportunity long-term for him to be a lefty situational reliever coming out of a bullpen, too.

WES ROGERS, OF

We just did a big piece on Wes Rogers that you should read; we have also captured him on video before, too. In other words, you have no excuse not to have seen Wes Rogers content on this website already... Rogers (video from

Bakersfield, above) continues to impress with the Nuts; he's hitting an even .400 after Saturday night's loss, and probably most encouraging to the Rockies, he's drawn eight walks in eight games for Modesto. 17

★ ★ ★

Jon Gray made two rehab starts for the Nuts this past week; I wouldn't expect him to make any more in Modesto, at least for this injury, as he should be back in Denver very soon. Beyond that, it'll be business as usual for the Nuts this coming week. I'll only be at one game this week—Wednesday night, when they host Bakersfield—as opposed to an entire series, so expect a slightly smaller week in review seven days from now, as well as a couple other Nuts- and minor league- related pieces coming very soon to Purple Row.

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Early evaluation of Rockies pitching staff reveals mixed results

By Isaac Marks / Purple Row | @IsaacSMarks | April 18th 2016

Who here remembers Franklin Morales? You know, the erratic lefty that was on the team for five years? No? Let me refresh your memory.

Morales was signed by the Rockies as an amateur free agent in 2002 out of Venezuela. He was impressive early in his minor league career, making it as high as No. 30 on Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects list in 2007. Morales made his debut that same year at age 21 and had tantalizing results, posting a 3.43 ERA in eight starts covering 39⅓ innings during the regular season. He blew up in the postseason (10 innings, 11 runs allowed, four walks, six strikeouts) and never recovered; Morales posted an ERA of 5.55 from 2008-2010, rotating between the bullpen and the rotation before being traded to Boston mid-season in 2011. His advanced statistics weren’t much better; he walked 6.1 batters per nine innings and managed an ERA+ of just 85 over that same span. Morales returned to the team in 2014 and was bad then, too.

He epitomizes how the common man views the Rockies pitching staff; there’s some talent on the roster but Coors Field and the Rockies' history of development overrides that talent, thus creating the Franklin Morales’s of the world. In honor of

Frankie Mo, I’ve created a new evaluation of the Rockies' pitching staff: the Morales Line. Who is above it and who is below?

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As you see in the above chart, there are only five Rockies who are under the Morales Line: Miguel Castro, Jake McGee,

Chad Bettis, Tyler Chatwood and Bone Lagoon, er, Boone Logan. While that’s not super surprising and a few guys will drop under (Jorge De La Rosa, Chris Rusin, Chad Qualls?) with a few more solid appearances, these first few weeks have been pretty bad from the mound. Like, worse than Franklin Morales bad.

But not all is lost, friends! Jon Gray is on his way after some promising rehab starts in Modesto and Christian Bergman had a great spot start on Saturday, giving us a glimpse of what we could expect from him moving forward, albeit in a relief role. Logan should stay under if he’s used correctly as a LOOGY (it’s a 50/50 chance of that happening); Chatwood and

Bettis are having impressive starts and are continuing where they left off; and Castro and McGee look great on the back end of the bullpen. Four aren’t enough to stay under the Morales line, which should be everyone’s goal.

Five Things that are Good or Bad

1) This is what we should expect from Trevor Story.

Story’s power output in week one was outstanding and incredibly fun, but this week we saw what we should expect from him: gap-to-gap power with a lot of missed swings. Story struck out a lot in the minors; he recorded 468 Ks over 368 games from 2013-2015 and produced an overall line of .279/.350/.514 last year in Double-A and Triple-A. That sounds about right.

2) Tyler Chatwood: Real or nah?

Guys, Tyler Chatwood is good. I’m convinced he’s good. Maybe not second or third starter good, but he’s a guy you’d find in the back of the rotation for a contending team; someone who will keep you in games and throw out a gem once in a while. Let’s see how this season plays out, but Chatwood could turn out to be pivotal for the Rockies' future.

3) The Rockies won a series at Wrigley. Really, they did. And beat Jon Lester. Really.

The Rockies, until this weekend, had not won a series on the North Side since 2006. That calls for a celebration of some kind, right?

4) Speaking of Lester, the Rockies were caught stealing twice against him.

That is really bad considering how a) Lester refuses to learn a move to first; and b) if you know you aren’t going to get picked off, how the hell do you get thrown out? Mind = blown. Still won though, so that’s good.

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5) Jon Gray is on the way (and Jeff Hoffman might not be far behind)!

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m still really excited about what Gray can do. I’m not giving up until we’ve had years of failure and, to this point, he’s given us things to be excited about. Sure, there’s work to be done, but that’s what happens when you’re a rookie (DON’T FORGET HE’S STILL A ROOKIE. HE CAN GET BETTER I PROMISE).

Hoffman has been lights out this year for Triple-A Albuquerque, only allowing two runs and four walks in 13 innings to go along with nine strikeouts. He’s been efficient and is keeping opposing batters off the basepaths. If Jordan Lyles continues to struggle, Hoffman deserves at least some consideration.

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Rockies win series against Cubs at Wrigley behind Nolan Arenado, Tyler Chatwood Chatwood pitches seven innings Sunday as Rockies defeat Cubs

By Patrick Saunders / The Denver Post | @psaundersdp | April 17th 2016

CHICAGO — The music bounced off the walls in the cramped and dingy visitors clubhouse at Wrigley Field on Sunday afternoon. The smiles were everywhere and the mood festive.

Why not? Behind a superb, seven-inning start by Tyler Chatwood and two solo home runs by Nolan Arenado, the Rockies beat the Chicago Cubs 2-0 to clinch the three-game series.

"This was huge. It's really big for our confidence. To come here for a weekend series in front of big crowds against their arms, it says good things about us," said Arenado, who wrote a small piece of history with his two home runs. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Rockies had never before won a 2-0 game with two solo homers.

Certainly, a three-game weekend series against the previously red-hot Cubs is not a true litmus test. It's far too early in the season for that. Plus, the Rockies have to prove themselves again beginning Monday, when they open another three- game set at Cincinnati. And a 10-day, nine-game road trip through St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Boston next month will be a more severe measuring stick.

Still, manager Walt Weiss is excited about his team, which improved to 7-5.

"If you take it back to the previous series, the Giants came into our place as probably the hottest team in baseball, and we won that series," he said. "So to come in here and beat the hottest team, that's a nice week right there."

The best news was that the Rockies outpitched the Cubs. That rarely happens for Colorado, which had not won a traditional three-game series at Wrigley since 2006. (The Rockies did win a two-game, weather-shortened series here in

2011.) Over the weekend, three Rockies starters combined for a 1.00 ERA.

Chatwood pitched perhaps the best game of his career. The right-hander, who has come back from two Tommy John surgeries, gave up just two hits and one walk while striking out seven. He threw 100 pitches, 63 for strikes.

"This game is up there," Chatwood said when asked where Sunday's game ranked in his career. "But this was a really good team win, especially to win the series against a really good team."

Chatwood, who had a no-hit stuff, said his cutter was working really well. He improved to 2-1 and has a 2.79 ERA after three starts. He was was perfect through 4 ⅔ innings before Jorge Soler drew a walk. Javier Baez then broke up the no- 22 hitter with a sharp single to left. Suddenly, the Rockies' 1-0 lead was on the line, but Chatwood induced David Ross to ground out to short.

"We don't usually win games like that, where the pitching is tight," Arenado said. "But 'Chatty' did an unbelievable job today in a tight game. This was fun, so intense, with the big crowd and everything."

Hard-throwing right-hander Miguel Castro, acquired last July from Toronto in the trade, set the Cubs down in order in the eighth.

"He's been very good," Weiss said of Castro. "He can pitch to righties and lefties, and he's got that change to throw to lefties, and he can beat bats with his velocity. I'm not worried about matchup with him. For the most part, we just put him in and let him go."

The save didn't come easy for closer Jake McGee. Jason Heyward drilled a one-out double to the right-field corner, and then Ben Zobrist just missed hitting a two-run homer to left before Gerardo Parra caught the ball on the warning track.

Then McGee plunked Anthony Rizzo, bring up the dangerous Kris Bryant. With Cubs fan roaring, McGee struck out

Bryant for his third save.

Cubs starter Jon Lester dominated the Rockies, too, striking out 10 over 7 ⅓ innings. The Rockies reached him for just four hits and two walks. Arenado finally broke the ice with a solo home run off with two outs in the fourth.

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Nolan Arenado back in power zone for Rockies with two homers vs. Cubs Third baseman bashes 2 solo homers in 2-0 victory over Cubs

By Patrick Saunders / The Denver Post | @psaundersdp | April 17th 2016

CHICAGO — Nolan Arenado is back in the zone.

He hit two home runs Sunday in the Rockies' 2-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs, the seventh multihomer game of his career and the second within the last five games. His 16 RBIs lead the majors.

His first home run Sunday came off Cubs lefty Jon Lester. Arenado drove Lester's first-pitch 89 mph fastball into left field.

With the wind blowing in at Wrigley Field, Arenado's homer barely got out, but there was enough power to lift it into the basket above the dormant ivy.

"When I first hit it, I thought it was gone," said Arenado, who now has six homers. "But then the wind got it, and I saw that

(left fielder Jorge Soler) was camped, so I was like, 'Oh, no!' But thank God it went into the basket.

"The next one (off reliever Justin Grimm), I thought I hit pretty good. I felt like I've been jumping at the ball a little bit too much. Today I was really focused on staying back and staying on my back leg, and it really worked out."

Story's story. Rookie shortstop Trevor Story continues to strike out a lot. He whiffed twice Sunday, bringing his season total to 22, most in the National League. But he also also hit seven homers and has a .294 average, and he ripped a first- inning single to left field off Lester.

Manager Walt Weiss said he's not worried about Story's mounting strikeout totals. And while Weiss might give the rookie a day off soon, he doesn't think Story has hit the wall.

"Typically with young players, I'm going to look for spots to protect them, and I will do that with Trevor," Weiss said. "I still think Trevor is competing really well, and he's still a dangerous bat at the top of our lineup. That's why I've continued to run him out there.

"He's been pitched tough by a couple of guys here lately, but I still think he's competing well in the (batter's) box."

Weiss said he "doesn't want to make too much" of the strikeouts.

"I think he still has a plan and he's still sticking to it," Weiss said. "I think that showed up in his last at-bat (a double

Saturday)."

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Gray watch. Weiss said the team has not decided when right-hander Jon Gray will rejoin the rotation. After pitching two rehab games for high Single-A Modesto, Gray is expected to rejoin the team in Cincinnati on Monday, but he's not yet on the Rockies' pitching schedule.

"We need to get him here in front of us, and then we will make a decision in the next couple of days," Weiss said.

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Trevor Story's game-used Rockies jersey sells for $12K at auction

By Darren Rovell / ESPN.com | April 17th 2016

The jersey worn by Colorado Rockies rookie shortstop Trevor Story at the team's home opener on April 8 against the San

Diego Padres sold Sunday night for $12,250.

The jersey, sold by on its auction site, was worn by Story when he hit his fifth and sixth home runs of the season in just his fourth game.

The No. 27 jersey worn by rookie Trevor Story in his two-homer home debut with the Rockies fetched more than $12,000 at auction Sunday. MLB

Story set the record for most consecutive games with a home run to start a career with four. That same stretch also tied the mark for best start to any season. His seven home runs through his team's first six games broke a record previously held by , and .

The nine-day auction had 117 bids.

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Arenado homers twice, leads Chatwood, Rockies over Cubs

By Associated Press / ESPN.com | April 17th 2016

CHICAGO -- Tyler Chatwood really had something to talk about after his performance at Wrigley Field.

Chatwood kept showing progress in his return from a second Tommy John surgery, pitching seven sharp innings as the Colorado Rockies slowed the Chicago Cubs 2-0 Sunday.

Nolan Arenado backed Chatwood (2-1) with two home runs.

Chatwood gave up two hits, struck out seven and walked one. He missed all of 2015 and most of 2014 because of his elbow injury.

"Got to be up there after the last two years, but the biggest thing is we were able to win a series against a really good team," he said.

The Rockies took two of three for their first series win at Wrigley since 2011. The Cubs were trying to reach 10 wins in the first 12 games for the first time since 1969.

Chatwood, Miguel Castro and Jake McGee combined to hold the Cubs to three hits. Chicago had been averaging 6.45 runs per game, second in the majors.

"Chatwood was outstanding," manager Walt Weiss said. "To shut down that lineup, it's quite a feat."

The Cubs tried to come back in the ninth. Jason Heyward doubled with one out and Anthony Rizzo was hit by a pitch with two outs before McGee struck outKris Bryant for his third save.

Chatwood threw 100 pitches in his third start since April 29, 2014.

"I feel good when I'm out there," he said. "I'm able to recover really well, which is big for me."

Arenado hit a two-out homer into the left-field basket off Jon Lester (1-1) in the fourth and a two-out drive off Justin

Grimm in the ninth. He has six home runs this season and seven career multihomer games.

"Today, I was really focused on staying back and staying on my back leg and it worked out," he said.

The Rockies had four hits against Lester, who struck out 10 in 7 1/3 innings. He also led off the sixth with a double -- his first career extra-base hit -- to make him 5 for 100 at the plate.

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"At the end of the day, I didn't execute one pitch and it ended up costing us," Lester said.

Chatwood retired the first 14 hitters, striking out six, until Jorge Soler drew a two-out walk in the fifth. Javier Baez followed with a single for the Cubs' first hit. David Ross grounded into a forceout to end the inning.

"I was able to locate my cutter, and fastball command was good to lefties," Chatwood said.

CARGO

Rockies star Carlos Gonzalez went 0 for 4, ending an 11-game hitting streak this season and a career-high 21-game hitting string dating to 2015.

ABOUT STORY

Weiss expressed little concern over rookie Trevor Story's recent struggles. Story leads the majors with seven home runs, but is 3 for 16 with 10 strikeouts in his last four games.

"I still think he's competing really well and he's still a dangerous bat at the top of our lineup," Weiss said.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Rockies: RHP Jon Gray (abdominal strain) is expected join the team in Cincinnati this week, when the team will likely decide whether he's ready to return to the rotation or make another rehab appearance. He made two rehab starts with

High-A Modesto since going on the disabled list April 3.

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The Rockies cap off an extremely successful week of baseball

By Aniello Piro / Mile High Sports | April 17th 2016

The Colorado Rockies have won two of the three games in each of their past two series, and they did it against two of the best teams in baseball.

The Colorado Rockies managed to take grab series victories against both the and Chicago Cubs, each of which are either the leaders or tied for the lead in their division.

“If you take it back to the previous series, the Giants came into our place as probably the hottest team in baseball, and we won that series,” Manager Walt Weiss told Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post. “So to come in here and beat the hottest team, that’s a nice week right there.”

A nice week indeed as the Rockies improved to 7-5 on the season and are now tied for first place in the National League

West.

“This was huge.” said Nolan Arenado “It’s really big for our confidence. To come here for a weekend series in front of big crowds against their arms, it says good things about us.”

The Rockies over the past two series have played solid baseball, doing a little bit of everything to notch back to back series wins.

The Rockies have won in blowout fashion, as well as in close contested contests, doing the little things along the way.

The bats have been hot and the pitching has sufficed, which has resulted in the team winning four of their last six games.

The team has a team batting average of .290, which is good for third best in the majors thus far.

The pitching staff has done just enough to win games, despite being ranked as the poorest staff in the big leagues by ESPN.com, owning a combined era of nearly seven, almost a full run higher that the second poorest staff in the game.

The Rockies are notorious for getting off to a sizzling start, but returning to mid-season form by the month of May.

The Rockies will look to keep rolling as they head to Ohio to take on the Cincinnati Reds. 29

The Reds are projected to be one of the worst team’s in the big leagues, which should give the Rockies another opportunity to get a series victory.

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Rockies batting average is tops in baseball, ERA still worst but improving

By Casey Light / Mile High Sports | April 16th 2016

With a 6-1 win over the red-hot Chicago Cubs on Friday and a command pitching performance from Chad Bettis (2-0,

2.95), the Colorado Rockies continued to climb the MLB rankings in batting average and dig their way out of the bottom of the league standings in ERA.

Bettis allowed just three hits over six innings, walking three and striking out four, but most importantly allowing no runs as the Rockies handed the Cubs only their second loss of the young season. Chad Qualls allowed Chicago’s only run in relief, but Boone Logan was perfect in the eighth and Justin Miller struck out the side in the ninth to secure Colorado’s sixth win. The 6-4 Rockies are a half-game behind Los Angeles for the NL West lead.

The combined effort by the pitching staff dropped Colorado’s team ERA below 7.00 for the first time since .

At 6.57, the Rockies’ team ERA is still the worst in baseball and nearly a full point behind Atlanta (5.59), who finally won its first game of the season on Friday.

While the Rockies have struggled on the mound in the first two weeks of the season, they’ve kept above .500 by slugging their way to 64 runs (fourth in MLB) with a .296 team batting average. Their combined batting average is the best in baseball. Colorado added 10 hits against the Cubs on Friday.

Colorado’s offensive outpouring has been led by Carlos Gonzalez, DJ LeMahieu, Gerardo Parra, Nolan Arenado and rookie shortstop Trevor Story.

Gonzalez is batting a team-high .390 (among regular starters) with 16 hits, three of them home runs. LeMahieu and Parra have a combined nine doubles and 16 RBIs and both are hitting above .300. Arenado leads the team in RBIs with 14

(after slugging his way to a career-high seven against San Francisco on Thursday), and Story leads all of baseball with seven home runs. As a team, Colorado is tied with Baltimore with 20 team home runs, also the best in baseball.

Colorado continues its three-game series on Saturday and Sunday in Chicago before heading to Cincinnati for three.

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