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MEDIA CLIPS – February 3, 2017 Young arms among Rockies' camp invites Veteran batters Denorfia, Reynolds also on non-roster list By Thomas Harding / MLB.com | @harding_at_mlb | February 2nd, 2017 DENVER -- Two fast-rising pitching prospects, right-hander Ryan Castellani and lefty Sam Howard, will make their first appearances in Major League camp this spring for the Rockies, who announced their non-roster invitees on Thursday. The group includes veterans Chris Denorfia, a right-handed-hitting outfielder, andMark Reynolds, who was the Rockies' primary first baseman last year. In all, the Rockies invited 22 players, including nine pitchers, to bring the total number to 62. Pitchers and catchers will have their first workout on Feb. 14, and the initial full-squad workout is Feb. 20. Castellani, who turns 21 on April 1, is a 2014 second-round pick out of Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix. He went 7- 8 with a 3.81 ERA and 142 strikeouts in 167 2/3 innings last season at Class A Advanced Modesto against older competition in the California League. Howard, who turns 24 on March 5, was drafted a round after Castellani out of Georgia Southern. Howard went 9-9 with a 3.35 ERA, and fanned 140 in 156 innings. In the latest ranking of top 30 Rockies prospects by MLBPipeline.com, Castellani was No. 12 and Howard was 20th. While non-roster invitations give the Rockies a chance to look at highly touted prospects before the Minor League season, this group also includes players who could help the big squad beginning on Opening Day -- especially pitchers. 1 Lefty Kyle Freeland, the No. 8 overall pick in 2014, is considered a prime prospect for a spot in the Major League rotation. He was ranked as the Rockies' 7th-best prospect. It will be Freeland's second Major League camp. A Denver native, Freeland appeared in two games (one start) last spring and posted a 3.52 ERA with four strikeouts and nine hits allowed in 7 2/3 innings before spending the season with Double-A Hartford and Triple-A Albuquerque (11-10, 3.89 ERA, 108 strikeouts in 162 innings). Three others who could be close to their Major League debuts are making second camp appearances: • Left-handed-hitting corner-infield prospect Ryan McMahon, 22, hit .242 with 12 home runs and 75 RBIs at Hartford and appeared in the Arizona Fall League. • Lefty starter Harrison Musgrave was in big league camp last year, and spent the year at Hartford and Albuquerque (combined 13-8 with a 3.64 ERA in 25 starts) • Lefty-hitting outfielder Michael Tauchman hit .286 last year at Albuquerque in his first Triple-A season. Righty reliever James Farris, obtained from the Cubs on Wednesday for right-hander Eddie Butler, also received an invite. First baseman outfielder Stephen Cardullo and infielder/outfielder Rafael Ynoa will be in camp this year after making Major League appearances last year. 2 Pint among Top 100 prospects with the best pitching arsenals By Jim Callis / MLB.com | @JimCallisMLB | 8:52 AM ET Brent Honeywell is the foremost practitioner of the screwball in the Minors. Yadier Alvarez's $16 million bonus was nearly twice as much as any other pitcher got during the 2015-16 international signing period. Riley Pint had the highest ceiling in the 2016 Draft. What do these three right-handers have in common? Among all the pitchers on MLBPipeline.com's Top 100 Prospects list, they possess the best combination of top three pitches (fastball, best breaking ball, changeup) plus control. Utilizing the 20-80 scouting scale, where 50 represents big league average, we grade each of a pitcher's offerings and his ability to locate them where he wants. Honeywell (Rays, No. 31 on the Top 100), Alvarez (Dodgers, No. 49) and Pint (Rockies, No. 51) all tied for first at 240. (As we did with the position-player version of the story, we'll issue a quick disclaimer. We understand that there's more to evaluating prospects than just adding up their tools. We consider other factors, such as track record of performance and how close or far they are from reaching their ceilings. This look is intended to be more interesting than scientific.) Honeywell is notable for his screwball, which rates as a 65, and also as one of just three pitchers on the Top 100 to earn a 60 for his control. He might have the deepest repertoire on the list as well, as he employs a screwball, a 92-97 mph fastball (we graded it as a 60), a solid changeup (55) and cutter and a curveball he mixes in to keep hitters off balance. A relatively unheralded second-round pick out of Walters State CC (Tenn.) in 2014, he's on the cusp of arriving in Tampa Bay after posting a 2.58 ERA with 286 strikeouts in 279 1/3 pro innings. Alvarez entered pro ball with much more fanfare after defecting from Cuba, costing Los Angeles not just his $16 million bonus, but also a matching tax penalty for exceeding its international spending pool. His arm speed and athleticism produce overpowering stuff: a 75 fastball that sits in the mid-90s and tops out in the triple digits, a 60 slider in the mid-80s and a 55 changeup and curveball. While his control merits only a 50 grade at this point, he showed more polish than expected in his pro debut and cut his walk rate to 2.5 per nine innings in low Class A late last season. Pint's profile is more similar to Alvarez's than Honeywell's. He may own the best pure stuff on the Top 100 -- a 75 fastball that parks at 94-96 mph and can reach 102, a 60 power curveball that he can morph into a harder 50 slider when he 3 wants and a shockingly advanced 60 changeup with fade -- which earns him Justin Verlander comparisons and made him the fourth overall pick last June. The caveat is that his delivery features considerable effort, detracting from his control (a 45) and command and leading to some concerns about his long-term health. Six right-handers finished close behind Honeywell, Alvarez and Pint with tools totals of 235. That group includes top-rated pitching prospect Alex Reyes (Cardinals, No. 6), who can make hitters look silly with his 75 fastball and 60 curveball; Lucas Giolito (White Sox, No. 12), who ranked first a year ago with a total of 260 before his velocity and control regressed last summer; and Michael Kopech (White Sox, No. 16), who made headlines by reportedly hitting 105 mph in a game in July. We cited Kopech as having the best fastball and Giolito as possessing the top curveball in our breakdown of the best individual tools on the Top 100. The other 235s belong to Francis Martes (Astros, No. 20), Anderson Espinoza (Padres, No. 25) and Jose De Leon (Rays, No. 33). Martes and Espinoza both feature 70 fastballs, with the former backing his up with a 65 curveball and the latter displaying a 60 changeup. De Leon is just one of four Top 100 pitchers to earn three different plus-or-better grades: 65 changeup, 60 fastball, 60 control. The highest-graded left-handers are Jason Groome (Red Sox, No. 41) and Kolby Allard (Braves, No. 53) at 230. MLBPipeline's top-rated 2016 Draft prospect, Groome has one of the best curveballs (65) in the Minors, a fastball (60) that peaks at 97 mph with armside run and more polish (55 control) than a typical high schooler. Allard, considered by many scouts to be the best prep pitcher in the 2015 Draft, has a similar profile with a better changeup (55) and a little less curveball (60). 4 Sam Howard, Ryan Castellani head list of Rockies’ spring training invitees Rockies pitchers and catchers report to spring training on Feb. 12 By Jim Callis / MLB.com | @JimCallisMLB | 8:52 AM ET Rockies pitching prospects Sam Howard and Ryan Castellani, along with infielder Ryan McMahon, head the least of 22 non-roster invitees receiving invitations to major league spring training camp. The list was announced Thursday. The left-handed Howard, 23, and the right-handed Castellani, 20, are considered two of the Rockies most promising young pitchers. The Rockies drafted Howard out of Georgia Southern in the third round in 2014, while Castellani was selected in the second round of the same draft out of Brophy Jesuit High School in Arizona. Though McMahon struggled last season with Double-A Hartford — hitting .242/.325/.399 with 12 home runs and 11 stolen bases over 534 plate appearances — he is considered a top prospect. He will likely see time both at third base and first base in his second major-league camp. Two other pitchers to keep a close watch on this spring are left-handers Kyle Freeland and Harrison Musgrave, both of whom advanced to Triple-A Albuquerque last season. Veteran first baseman Mark Reynolds, who signed a one-year, minor-league deal with the Rockies on Wednesday, also received an invitation to major-league camp. Rockies pitchers and catchers report to spring training on Feb. 12 at Salt Rivers Fields in Scottsdale. The first official workouts for pitchers and catchers is Feb. 14. The first full-squad workout is scheduled for Feb. 20. Rockies non-roster invitees Following is the full list of non-roster invitees, by position: Left-handed pitchers: Freeland, Howard, Musgrave and Jerry Vasto. Right-handed pitchers: Matt Carasiti, Castellani, James Farris, Johendi Jiminian and C.C.

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