MEDIA CLIPS – March 24, 2018

Freeland fires 6 innings in final spring start Rockies lefty allows 2 runs to Reds, building up to 76 pitches

By Thomas Harding / MLB.com | @harding_at_mlb | Mar. 23rd, 2018

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Friday was Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland's turn to flip on the regular-season light.

After spending much of the spring honing a cleaner delivery and making himself throw offspeed pitches, Freeland held the

Reds to two runs in six innings in an 8-2 Cactus League victory at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick.

With the exception of not placing a couple of pitches in the right location to Billy Hamilton -- and giving up a triple and a double as a result -- Freeland's performance resembled some of his better games from last year, when tied with teammate German Marquez for the MLB lead in rookie wins with 11.

Freeland threw strikes on 55 of his 76 pitches and induced seven ground-ball outs. He escaped the first inning by inducing a double-play grounder from Eugenio Suarez.

In 33 games (28 starts) last year, Freeland induced 17 double-play grounders, which tied him with teammate Antonio

Senzatela for 17th in the . Neither was in the rotation the whole season.

"The defense behind me is one of the best in the business," Freeland said. "I'll take ground balls all day."

Freeland continued a solid run by the Rockies' rotation that began Monday with a dominant 6 1/3 innings from righty Jon

Gray, the presumed starter for Opening Day next Thursday at Arizona.

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"I watched Jon's start on TV, and it was pretty amazing," Freeland said. "He was consistent with all his pitches. He was throwing up in the zone. He was doing really well. That kind of trickles down to everybody else. The bar has been set, and we need to reach and get above that."

At his best, Freeland forces weak contact.

"His glove-side command -- away to the lefties, in to the righties -- was very good," Rockies manager said. "I liked the fact that he threw a number of changeups. We've still got a ways to go with that, but he's getting better, he's getting more confident in it."

Well, it counted to him

In the fourth inning, after Nolan Arenado knocked a two-run homer off Reds righty Homer Bailey, Carlos

Gonzalez followed with his first homer of the spring. It was Gonzalez's sixth Cactus League game after signing with the

Rockies mid-spring.

"There are way more important things right now when it comes to Spring Training, but you want to have results -- once in a while see the ball go over the fence," Gonzalez said. "But my focus is to stay healthy, feel good, see the ball well and make sure my mind is in the right spot. All those things are there for me."

Innovative broadcast

AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain broadcast the game, with Jenny Cavnar receiving her first play-by-play assignment, alongside former Rockies players Ryan Spilborghs and Cory Sullivan. Regular play-by-play broadcaster Drew Goodman had the day off.

"Today was a lot of fun," Cavnar said. "Our group brings a lot of versatility to a broadcast. We've been wanting to try something where it wasn't necessarily traditional. For Cory and myself, we don't get the chance to get to be in the booth quite often."

The broadcast was different in front of the camera and behind the scenes.

"For me, taking the lead on play-by-play -- a first for me -- was definitely fun, just to get to talk with those guys,"

Cavnar said. "But the real credit goes to who was in the truck -- Alison Vigil was our producer, Erica Ferrero was directing

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and Krista Madrill was doing chyron [on-screen graphics]. I look around and I'm starting to see more familiar faces in this business, people that look like me rather than working with all guys all the time.

"It's cool not because they're female. It's cool because they're all really good at their jobs. For the next generation of women that are growing up, I'm often asked how did I get my job, 'I want to be a sideline reporter. I want to be on TV.' But to note, there are so many jobs in baseball -- male or female. It's really neat that we all got the opportunity as females on our staff to do a broadcast together."

Enough already

Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta has been solid offensively this spring -- batting .333 with a 1.443 OPS in 14 games. But it has come with some pain. Reds righty Zack Weiss hit Iannetta with a pitch Friday, the sixth time he's been plunked this spring.

Cuevas optioned

Right-handed-hitting outfielder Noel Cuevas, who batted .364 in 33 Spring Training at-bats, was optioned to Triple-A

Albuquerque on Friday. The Rockies still have decisions to make on what looks like two bench positions, with first baseman Ryan McMahon and outfielders , and Mike Tauchman still in camp.

Cuevas, 26, plays all three outfield positions and adds to the club's depth. His chances to make the club narrowed when infielder Pat Valaika, last year's main righty pinch-hitter, made a fast recovery from a left oblique injury.

Up next

Gray will make his final spring start on Saturday night, against a Cubs split squad in Mesa. First pitch is scheduled for

8:05 MT, and the game can be seen live on MLB.TV and MLB Network.

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Arenado more than a one-man highlight reel Rockies' third baseman relies on instincts to make must-see plays

By Thomas Harding / MLB.com | @harding_at_mlb | Mar. 23rd, 2018

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Nolan Arenado is not a look-at-me guy. It's just that you can't help but cast your eyes his way.

Even before last season's Rockies returned to the postseason for the first time since 2009, Arenado was a regular on the highlights.

Arenado, the first third baseman with five Gold Glove Awards in as many Major League seasons, seems to find a way to raise the highlight bar, even if that isn't on his list of goals.

"I think about just making my plays, being aggressive, and being me," said Arenado, whose exploits have a hashtag:

#NolanBeingNolan. "I don't want to try to top anything. When you try to do too much, you start trying to do things out of the ordinary. That's when errors start to happen. I'll just let it happen."

A new season dawns in six days. For the first time in Arenado's career, he'll be playing for a team that's facing higher expectations. Although the Rockies felt their young pitchers were talented enough to succeed last season, the trip to the

National League Wild Card Game (when the Rockies lost to the D-backs, 11-8) was a surprise to the baseball world at large.

And Arenado became more than the Rockies' one-man highlight reel of defensive plays. With 130 or more RBIs in each of the past three seasons, Arenado is a two-way star who has become the team's face, the way and Troy

Tulowitzki were when Arenado entered the Majors in 2013.

"It's happened the last three years. People are like, 'How are you going to lead?'" Arenado said. "I'll just continue to do what I do. There's always pressures to seasons and you want to perform, but I'm not going to let those doubts or those fears take over. That's why I work hard, so I can overcome those fears and I can go into these games very confidently."

It's more than confidence that allows Arenado to bat down a grounder, retrieve the ball from his belly and throw from his back. (It bears yet another look.)

"I anticipate the ball coming to me. That's all I really think about," Arenado said. "I really don't think about diving, throwing from my knees or anything. I try to let that happen and let the instincts take over. 4

"They do look cool. They don't feel good, but they look good on ESPN. So hopefully I can continue to do that."

Rockies manager Bud Black enjoys being amazed, but not surprised, at what Arenado can do.

"It just sort of comes out," Black said. "During the course of a game there are going to be a lot of different plays. When

Nolan plays, he has great instincts for where a ball is going to be hit. It just seems he has a knack to make plays.

"But he practices these things. In the morning, early, on our practice fields, he's working on practicing great plays."

What Arenado doesn't do is put extra into a play to make it look better.

"I never play this game to look good," he said. "I mean, look at my facial hair.

"I think about helping the team win and doing my job."

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Rockies’ Fab Four — DJ, Nolan, CarGo and Chuck — ready for possible last hurrah With free agency looming, quartet knows time to win big is now

By Patrick Saunders / Denver Post | Mar. 23rd, 2018

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The foursome of Nolan Arenado, , Carlos Gonzalez and DJ LeMahieu have combined to play in 3,389 games with the Rockies. They have strode to the plate 13,920 times and swatted 404 home runs with C/R on their batting helmets.

They have created memories that will last a lifetime and bonds that will never break, no matter which uniform they wear.

“CarGo, Charlie and DJ, they’re some of my best friends,” said Arenado, an all-star third baseman. “I have been very fortunate to play with those guys.”

But this likely is their last season together. The four don’t want to talk about that, but it’s clear they want to do something special this season, which for the Rockies begins Thursday night when they play the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase

Field in Phoenix.

“I don’t think anybody is looking at this as the last hurrah,” said Blackmon, the gnarly-bearded center fielder, leadoff slugger and defending National League batting champion. “We’re doing a really good job of staying in the moment. I don’t think anybody is looking beyond this year and peeking at what might happen next year.”

Maybe that’s because it’s too painful to talk about.

This quartet has shared a lot together, including climbing the ladder from the minors to the big leagues, years of losing once they got to Denver and, finally, a trip to the postseason last year, the first playoff berth for the Rockies since 2009.

These four are so tight, CarGo refers to them as “my brothers.”

Blackmon, now engaged to Ashley, was a roommate of LeMahieu’s until LeMahieu married Jordan in 2014. Even then,

Blackmon was kind of, sort of, still a roomie. He started leaving clothes at the LeMahieu home in Atlanta, and stockpiling stuff in the bathroom.

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“A lot of times of times I would go home with DJ after working out and we’d have a video game sleepover, and Jordan would make us chicken enchiladas,” Blackmon recalled with a grin. “So I guess I’m going to have to consider myself the official third wheel of that marriage. I should get a T-shirt that says that.”

Blackmon, 31, and LeMahieu, 29, became full-time Rockies in 2013 and are scheduled to become free agents for the first time at the end of this season. Gonzalez, a 32-year-old right fielder whom Arenado calls “my mentor,” was a free agent until he recently signed an $8 million contract to return to . But the contract is only for one year, so CarGo will be back on the open market next winter.

Arenado, meanwhile, is slated to become a free agent after the 2019 season. It will take the biggest deal in Colorado sports history for the Rockies to retain the 26-year-old star. second baseman Jose Altuve recently signed a seven-year, $163.5 million deal, but Arenado’s next contract could dwarf that.

Like Blackmon, Arenado deflects the conversation away from what is likely to happen to the Fab Four.

“Hey, I’m aware that this could be my last chance to play with Charlie and DJ and CarGo,” Arenado said. “But we have six months of baseball ahead of us, and it’s a long grind. I’m going to enjoy every moment I have with them and try not to think about those things. I do think about what our goal is, try to accomplish that and just go out and win baseball games.”

Gonzalez, who’s been with the Rockies since 2009, thinks the 2018 team can go beyond the one-and-done, wild-card playoff loss to Arizona last fall. He wants to experience a “real” playoff run.

“Man, my first year here, we made the playoffs and we should have beaten Philadelphia in the division series,” he said. “I thought that was going to be the case every year. I thought, ‘Man, this is fun, this is a great, great group.’ But that just shows you how hard it is to compete every year. Guys get hurt or move on. Things happen.

“Now we have another group with a lot of talent. We have an open window, we have a chance. We worked our way into the postseason last year, but we didn’t finish our business. So we just have to keep proving people wrong.”

LeMahieu the instigator

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From the giddy days of spring training to the dog days of late summer through the chilly nights of September — baseball players spend more time with their teammates than they do with their families. That makes for interesting dynamics and gives birth to stories that will resonate for years to come.

LeMahieu, a two-time Gold Glove second baseman, is quiet to the point of being stoic. He’s the rock of the Rockies.

“He’s does everything right,” Blackmon said. “Whenever I have doubts about what I should be doing, I look to DJ. DJ is my litmus test. If I’m doing what DJ is doing, I’m doing the right thing. There is a lot to be said for someone who goes out there with the right attitude every day. The same mentality — always locked in. He doesn’t cash in a whole week if he’s not feeling it.”

But, believe it or not, LeMahieu has a dark side.

“He’s an instigator,” Arenado said.

Case in point: It was LeMahieu who rescued Blackmon from the side of an Atlanta freeway on a brisk January morning in

2016, then took a photo of the moment and posted it on Twitter, much to Blackmon’s everlasting chagrin.

“My gas light was on in my Jeep when I left to go work out that morning,” Blackmon said, referring to the beat-up 2004

Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo that he drove in high school and that now has more than 160,000 miles on it. “I knew it was almost empty, but I like to push it.”

He didn’t make it.

“It was crazy cold that day and I was on the side of the freeway,” Blackmon said. “It wasn’t safe. So I called up DJ, ’cause

I knew he was probably behind me. He was.”

As Blackmon poured gas into his Jeep, LeMahieu sat in the warmth of his car and snapped a picture with his iPhone.

Twitter Ads info and privacy

“It was too good to pass up,” LeMahieu said with an impish grin. “It was the perfect picture at the perfect time. I thought, ‘I have to share this with everybody.’ ”

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Blackmon’s and Arenado’s relationship is a curious one. They have known each other since Arenado was 17, but they have, as Arenado puts it, “absolutely nothing in common except baseball.”

“I surf and hit the beach and all of that,” said Arenado, who was born and raised in Southern California. “Chuck’s from the

South (born in Dallas, raised in Georgia) and he likes to fish and hunt.

“I’ll say, ‘Dude, let’s go to San Diego and just chill and hang out on the beach.’ He’ll say, ‘Man, I don’t want to do any of that!’ Then, we’ll be somewhere and he’ll be like, “Hey, let’s go fishing!’ And I’ll be like, ‘Dude, I don’t want to go fishing!’ ”

So how does the Rockies’ dynamic duo spend time together?

“We never end up doing anything,” Arenado said. “We end up going to dinner and talking baseball. He’s always telling me,

‘Man, you’ve got to stop thinking about baseball all the time.’ But then we’ll be at dinner and I’ll bring up baseball and

Chuck can’t help himself. So we end up talking about baseball.”

An obsession with baseball

Arenado is obsessed with the game. Blackmon sees it as his mission to lighten up Arenado and expose him to a world beyond the diamond.

“I know how to press his buttons and I know what bugs him, so I’ll say something to get under his skin,” Blackmon said. “I will have my fun with him and them leave him alone and let him stew over it for the rest of the day.

“But other times, Nolan just needs a hug. I mean, sometimes he can’t walk down the hallway without stopping three times to take a dry swing with his bat.”

Arenado pleads guilty as charged, but he said Blackmon sometimes takes the needling to the extreme.

“This one time, I wasn’t hitting,” Arenado recalled. “He came up to me and said, ‘Hey, Nolan, you know what your problem is? You know why you’re not hitting right now?’ I said, ‘Why, Chuck?’ So he said, ‘Nolan, you’re not ready to hear it yet.’ ”

As Arenado told the story, he became more agitated.

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“I was like, ‘Really dude?! You’re going to stand there and say that and then not tell me why I’m struggling?!’ I was so mad. I was like, ‘Dude I’m never talking to you again.’ Then I talked to him the very next day. But he never told me. He just likes to irritate me. He’s such a jerk. We argue all of the time. He’s like one of my brothers.”

Then Arenado looked around his corner of the Rockies’ clubhouse at Salt River Fields. Just a few feet away were the lockers of Blackmon, LeMahieu and CarGo.

“These guys mean a lot to me,” he said. “I love them. I love them a lot.”

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Kyle Freeland back to his groundball self in a final Cactus League start for the Rockies “I got groundballs when I needed them and weak contact. It’s a good game plan,” Freeland said. “It’s my game plan.”

By Nick Groke / Denver Post | Mar. 23rd, 2018

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Kyle Freeland settled into his skin Friday at Salt River Fields and the second-year left-hander looked every bit the groundball machine that netted him the second-best ERA in the Rockies’ rotation last season.

The 24-year-old Denver native cruised through his final Cactus League start of spring training in the Rockies’ 8-2 victory over the Reds. Colorado manager Bud Black was ready to cap Freeland at 90 pitches, but he needed just 76 to navigate six innings. He gave up two runs on six hits.

“It was part of the whole mix of getting ahead and staying ahead and focusing on that,” Freeland said. “When you do that, your pitch count is low.”

Freeland pitched one of the Rockies’ best games of 2017, when he flew through 8 1/3 innings against at before allowing a hit. He is not a thrower. His tendency is to weasel hitters into weak contact and groundballs.

“I’ll take groundballs all day long,” he said. “With the defense we have behind us, why not? It’s one of the best in the game.”

Against the Reds, Freeland forced seven groundouts, including inducing a double-play against Eugenio Suarez in the first.

Last season, in his rookie stretch, Freeland’s 54.6 percent groundball rate ranked ninth in baseball.

“I got groundballs when I needed them and weak contact. It’s a good game plan,” Freeland said. “It’s my game plan.”

Gray’s start reverberates. Freeland said he was bolstered by his rotation mate, , who threw 6 ⅓ scoreless innings and struck out nine Monday against the Rangers. Gray’s pitching performance led to a standing ovation from

Texas fans in their own park.

“I watched Jon’s start on TV. It was amazing,” Freeland said. “That trickles down to everybody else. The bar was set. We need to reach it and get above it.”

Freeland probably will pitch next in San Diego against the Padres, if the Rockies’ current rotation holds. Gray, who will pitch a brief tuneup Saturday in Mesa, Ariz., against the Cubs, will likely be the Rockies’ opening day starter on Thursday. 11

“You’ve seen the starts since then,” Colorado manager Bud Black said. “That’s what you like to see in the last week of spring training.”

CarGo catching up. Carlos Gonzalez pulled a solo homer in the fourth inning off Homer Bailey, his first shot of the spring after re-signing last week to a one-year deal. The veteran right fielder showed up to camp in shape, Black said, but the

Rockies are trying to catch him up to game speed.

“Physically, he’s fine. The game at-bats, we’re trying to catch up at the end,” Black said. “Bat speed looks good, his overall timing looks good. He’s in a good spot.”

Gonzalez will start again Saturday and then play in the Rockies’ three remaining Cactus League games.

Footnotes. Gerardo Parra, too, is catching up after returning from hand surgery last month. But “he’s a veteran. he’ll be fine. He’s a big-league hitter,” Black said… The Rockies optioned outfielder Noel Cuevas to Triple-A Albuquerque…

Jenny Cavnar handled play-by-play duties on the Rockies’ AT&T Sports television broadcast Friday and with a nearly all- woman crew, including producer Alison Vigil, director Erica Ferrero and duet operator Krista Madrill.

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Colorado Rockies: Ranking Nolan Arenado among MLB’s third basemen

By Christian Espinoza / Rox Pile | Mar. 23rd, 2018

A few weeks back, Steve Phillips told MLB Network Radio that his top three third basemen in baseball right now are Kris

Bryant, Josh Donaldson and Nolan Arenado of the … in that order. I think Phillips might be going against general consensus for no real reason beyond a few basic offensive stats and an eye test. In a really solid article, Jake Misener over at Cubbies Crib took a little deeper, more insightful look at Kris Bryant going head-to-head with

Nolan Arenado.

With these articles in mind, I thought I would take a swing at “power ranking” the league’s best third basemen going into the 2018 season.

No. 5 – Alex Bregman

There isn’t a ton of elite-level third basemen going into the 2018 season. Manny Machado is a shortstop now. Justin

Turner just injured his wrist. I’m giving the edge to Alex Bregman over Anthony Rendon just based on postseason success.

So, with that said, going into his third season in the majors, Bregman will continue to elevate himself as a top tier third basemen. It is wild that a lot of Bregman’s performance simply relies on something that you can’t find on Baseball-

Reference or FanGraphs… pure swagger.

That is not to say the talent and ceiling aren’t there though … because they are. His clutch hitting in the World Series wasn’t just a single stroke of luck. His sophomore season started off a bit rough offensively and defensively, which could be attributed to the lack of at-bats and field time last spring, as he played for Team USA behind Nolan Arenado in the

World Baseball Classic. However, as you can see below, he obviously adjusted and greatly improved during the second half of the season.

First or Second Half Split G GS PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 1st Half 84 79 329 289 40 74 21 1 8 27 8 33 56 .256 .338 .419 .757 2nd Half 71 69 297 267 48 84 18 4 11 44 9 22 41 .315 .367 .536 .903 Provided by Baseball-Reference.com

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For a player who is so early in his career, he carries himself at the plate like a veteran, indicated by his contact percentage at 85.7%, third among third basemen from both leagues according to FanGraphs. As a career shortstop converted to third baseman, he grew into his own by the end of the season defensively as well. This is the season where

Alex Bregman puts it all together for an elite year.

No. 4 – Jose Ramirez

Jose Ramirez has quietly progressed to become one of ’s finest hitters. Baseball-Reference has

Ramirez at a .318 average with 29 home runs, 83 RBI and an OPS of .957 in 2017. He also led the American League with

56 doubles. Ramirez isn’t just a free-swinging extra-base machine. The switch-hitting Ramirez has a superior eye for contact, leading his third base compadres in contact percentage, according to our friends at FanGraphs.

He isn’t just a great hitter though. Jose Ramirez is a pure athlete through-and-through. This is reinforced by his ability to play multiple positions throughout his five seasons in the league. While he spent a lot of time filling in for the injured Jason Kipnis last season, the majority of his games are played at third base.

It also says something about Jose Ramirez to be the best player on the Cleveland team that won over 100 games last season. He started third base for the American League All-Star team. Ramirez also finished third in the American League

MVP race.

No. 3 – Josh Donaldson

In the audio clip that started this article, Phillips mentioned that Josh Donaldson isn’t properly rated as one of the top third basemen in the league. I don’t know what he means by that. Since Donaldson was called up with the Oakland Athletics in

2012, he has the second highest WAR rating, only behind Mike Trout, according to FanGraphs. He won the American

League MVP in 2015, finished fourth in the 2013 and 2016 American League MVP.

However, when talking about top three talents at a single position, there isn’t going to be much to separate guys…but there is still some separation.

Standard Batting Year Tm Lg G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+

2017 TOR AL 113 496 415 65 112 21 0 33 78 2 76 111 .270 .385 .559 .944 144 Provided by Baseball-Reference.com

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Looking at his overall body of work in 2017, Josh Donaldson had a down year compared to Bryant and Arenado. That’s not a knock on his production. Donaldson had a great year … just not as great when put in a line with the top two on the list. Some of his down production could be blamed on a leg injury he suffered in the early spring.

Going into the 2018 season (also a contract year), there isn’t a single thing that would indicate Josh Donaldson won’t perform at an elite level.

No. 2 – Kris Bryant

We are essentially debating preference when ranking athletes that perform at this high of a level. Kris Bryant is a star third basemen, without any doubt. However, this last season, it was clear the had a bit of a hangover. It is also worth mentioning that Bryant was coming off a MVP season, and expectations were extremely high. So, let’s take a look and see how he did from an offensive standpoint from his MVP season in 2016 to this last season.

Standard Batting Year G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ 2016 155 699 603 121 176 35 3 39 102 8 75 154 .292 .385 .554 .939 146 2017 151 665 549 111 162 38 4 29 73 7 95 128 .295 .409 .537 .946 143 Provided by Baseball-Reference.com

His overall numbers took a bit of dip from a production standpoint in 2017. Knowing this, I think it may be hard for a casual onlooker to see that Kris Bryant got even better as a hitter this last season. Bryant lowered his and increased walks, batting average, on-base percentage and on-base plus slugging. He’s becoming more patient and disciplined. He will be a force this season … and we haven’t even seen him put this all together yet.

No. 1 – Nolan Arenado

I am not going to pretend that Nolan Arenado is light years ahead of Kris Bryant. He is not. Their offensive styles are just a little different.

Bryant is clearly more disciplined. Arenado swings a little harder. But Coors. I know, I know. When comparing players who play at Coors Field versus those who don’t, OPS+ is the only stat that matters, right? Well, Baseball-Reference has

Bryant beating out Arenado slightly with a 143 OPS+, compared to a 132 OPS+, respectively. Arenado hit for a higher average, more power, and more runs driven in.

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Standard Batting Year G R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ 2017 159 100 187 43 7 37 130 3 62 106 .309 .373 .586 .959 132 Provided by Baseball-Reference.com

I do think we are splitting hairs when comparing the elite, offensive talent of Bryant and Arenado. However, Arenado and

Bryant are not even in the same barbershop when compared defensively. That’s where I give the edge to Arenado over

Bryant.

In fact, there aren’t many defenders of any position in the MLB that can compare to Nolan Arenado. Last season alone,

Arenado had 20 DRS to Bryant’s 1 DRS, according to FanGraphs. He’s won five Gold Gloves and a Platinum Glove during his short career. We may be witnessing a once in a lifetime defensive talent.

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Bud Black plans to get creative with his bullpen

By Drew Creasman / BSN Denver | Mar. 23rd, 2018

SCOTTSDALE – Far too much has been made about the environment in which the Colorado Rockies play.

Sure, Coors Field inflates offensive numbers, but the way the ballpark is given as much lip service and any individual player, it can be easy to think that every single thing that happens on the diamond in Denver is dramatically different to everywhere else.

It isn’t.

Round ball, round bat. Ninety feet to first. And, good execution usually wins out.

But the marathon nature of a baseball season does present some unique challenges for a team that plays in a place where cheaper offense is easier find.

Bud Black has been reticent to accept any premise regarding anything unusual that needs to be done in order to combat some of the negatives that can come with his home park. But in his second year at altitude, he is admitting to one major change that must be kept in mind.

Managing the bullpen over the course of a long homestand—or a long season—is going to take some added creativity.

This begins by understanding, no matter how much cash was spent, that other people are going to have to get the final three outs.

“Out of the gate, we ran into that last year with Greg [Holland],” says Black. “Used him the first two days, and he was not going to pitch the third day. He was not going to pitch three days to start the season. So you can probably suspect similar plans.”

That’s not too unusual, it’s just more common for Colorado.

“Just from the physical nature of altitude,” Black said.. “But that’s where the players, our discussions daily about, ‘How you feeling? How you doing? How’s the arm?’ and their honest feedback to us is so critical and important to our decision

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making. All these factors go into it. Last year, as an example, with opening series, I just don’t think it’s the right place to throw a closer, or any pitcher, three days in a row. Doesn’t necessarily need to be the closer.”

That’s why Jake McGee had to close out the home opener, by striking out the side no less.

“We had a save situation against the Dodgers. 2-1, Freeland’s game. And McGee got the save, as opposed to Greg throwing five out of six days. So, a lot of it is straightforward, common sense how to use guys. But there’s other times we like to think, even though it’s three in a row it’s still common sense, it isn’t a big stretch. It isn’t like a, ‘Whoa, you’re using him three days in a row?” Black said.

Black was asked if McGee was the go-to guy again in 2018.

“Or Shaw. Or Ottavino. Or Dunn. Or Rusin.”

He’s not short on options.

“Your eyes sort of tell you certain things about how they’re throwing, the pitcher’s conversations with us about how they’re feeling. These are all daily discussions, where based on the physical, is probably the thing that stands out the most.

Mentally, most pitchers are really pretty good. Most players are. So, it’s the physical part. This is a conversation where I have to trust the player, know the player that, ‘Hey, going three days in a row today is fine. He feels good. His pitch count’s been down the last week.’

We will likely see some starters come out of the ‘pen and lots of different guys get shots in different roles based on everything from general health to who has the hot hand. Some players prefer hard, defined roles, but this Rockies team knows that anyone could be called upon at any time.

On one hand, Black has a lot of information to keep in the matrix of his mind. On the other hand, the comfort he feels with the depth that is available takes a lot of the pressure off to make a “right” decision.

He may have to walk out to the mound and take the baseball from one pitcher in preparation to hand it to another more than most managers, but at least he feels fully confident every time.

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BSN Exclusive: Forrest Wall looking to rebuild prospect status in 2018

By Rich Allen / BSN Denver | Mar. 23rd, 2018

After running into a Wall in 2017, he’s looking to turn the corner in 2018.

Forrest Wall, the 35th overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft, has hung in low-level limbo for the past three seasons, in no small part due to an injury-shortened 2017 campaign to compound his 2016 season’s struggles. Now, it’s all about damage control and reclaiming his place as a top prospect in the Colorado Rockies organization.

Wall, now 22-years-old, entered 2017 after the weakest campaign of his short career with the and was asked to transition from the keystone to center field. Repeating at Class High-A, it was an important season for Wall to prove his worth.

Instead, after making an astounding and noteworthy diving catch at his new position, Wall lost 2017 altogether, injuring his right shoulder and going under the knife. And as the season vanished into thin air, so did an important development stage with it. At one point a top-six prospect in the organization — behind Brendan Rodgers, Jon Gray, David Dahl, Jeff

Hoffman and Ryan McMahon but ahead of guys like Kyle Freeland and — Wall tumbled nearly 10 places in the rankings, even with major graduations.

Now, as he prepares to break camp in 2018, he and the Rockies organization are confident he’ll be ready to jump back into the fray. BSN Denver caught up with Wall for an exclusive interview to get an update on where this uber-talented player currently stands.

“The toughest part, I think from my perspective, was that it was obvious he was starting to turn a corner offensively last year in High-A right when it happened,” said Rockies Director of Player Development Zach Wilson. “But, I don’t think there’s any doubt he’ll get right back on track and I think he’s ready and able to have a really good year this year, wherever that ends up being.”

After slashing a lackluster .264/.329/.355 in 2016, Wall was just a tick under .300 with an OBP 61 points above that through 22 games in Lancaster when he was injured. While minor league statistics must be taken with a grain of salt, he was squaring up the ball much better in 2017 than he had in the previous season, reaching a third of his previous extra- base hit totals in a sixth of the games played.

Wilson is confident that he’ll be able to pick up that level of production thanks to his rehab process and the position of readiness it put him in entering spring training. Wilson noted that Wall accepted the reality of his situation quickly and did what he needed to do to get healthy.

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Wall, in turn, knew that he still had work to do to keep what skills he could before he started picking up some action in instructional league play in October before resuming all activities in November.

“I didn’t want to sit at home and rehab, I obviously knew I was missing a lot of at-bats,” Wall said. “So, I did some things. I did a couple drills. But, I mean, I was in a sling. I set up a machine and I had it with a red dot and a green dot, so I was able to kind of see and still track pitches. It definitely doesn’t compare to a game and getting at-bats, but I tried to do as much as I could.”

Apparently, every little thing helped, as the level of production has been there for Wall since the first day of camp. He has shown Wilson, and the coaches and front office, what persuaded the Rockies to make him a rare first-round second baseman draft choice.

“The same old Forrest that we know,” Wilson said. “A guy that can run. A guy that is continuing to improve in centerfield, as we added that to who he is. And a guy who is swinging the bat like he’s capable of doing: line drive, gap-to-gap, doesn’t try to do too much with occasional power. He’s the Forrest that we know and love, and now he’s the healthy

Forrest that we know and love.”

And a more versatile and powerful Forrest, as well.

While it’s yet to be seen wherein the system he will start the season, it would not be surprising to see Wall start his third straight season at High-A. While that isn’t ideal from a development standpoint, he’ll still be under the average age of the level, even if he stays there all season. Plus, the added adversity could only help to develop him mentally as he looks to rebound in 2018 and restore his status.

Guys who can play middle infield and center and hit for power are beyond rare so getting back on track, which Forrest

Wall apparently has, could mean big things for him and the Colorado Rockies.

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Trevor Story improving his plate discipline to push Rockies to their ‘final goal’ in 2018

By Aniello Piro / Mile High Sports | Mar. 24, 2018

With Opening Day just a stone’s throw away, there is an undeniable buzz surrounding the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies hope to build on their head-turning performance in 2017 by returning to the postseason and competing for the first World

Series championship in franchise history.

Last season was an excellent year for a majority of the Rockies. Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon finished fourth and fifth in National League MVP voting, respectively. DJ LeMahieu won a second Gold Glove Award. Gerardo Parra was a

Gold Glove finalist and hit a career-high .309.

Shortstop Trevor Story, however, struggled to find a groove in a sophomore season that was boom or bust at the dish.

After a rookie season that put his name on the map, primarily due to his early season power surge, there were high expectations for Story to be a threat in the middle of Colorado’s lineup in 2017.

Story did blast 24 home runs for the Rockies last season, but he also struck out a whopping 191 times — the fifth-most baseball and tops in the NL. Story’s power numbers are impressive; nearly half (59) of this total hits (120) last season were for extra bases. But Colorado needs more than a .239/.308/.457 slash line from him.

Entering his third season in the majors, Story has made a concerted effort to cut down on those strikeouts. He believes improved discipline at the plate will help push the Rockies back into the postseason, and hopefully beyond.

“We are excited,” Story said of the Rockies entering 2018. “We are confident; we had a good year last year. We made it to the playoffs; that was one of our goals, but it wasn’t the final goal. [Last year was] good stepping stone for sure, hopefully we can carry that over to this year.”

For Story, a large part of cutting down on those strikeouts centers around his plate approach. Story previously would jump out in front in his at-bats. His success swinging at first pitches last year posted a.462 batting average; however, when the count was not in his favor, he struggled immensely. Story hit just .165 with 101 strikeouts when behind in the count.

Changing his approach, he knows, will be critical to improving on last season’s .239 batting average overall.

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“A lot of it is approach-wise — the mental side of it.” Story said. “That experience is big. I feel like I’ve had some really good times, and I’ve had some bad times. To learn from both of those, just knowing myself and what makes me be the best player are things that I’ve learned about myself.”

Story came on strong at the end of last season and managed to increase his walks in the month August, registering 11 — by far his highest monthly total in 2017. Story also settled into a bit of a groove in September/October when he hit .269; however, his strikeouts remained an epidemic with 68 from Aug. 1 through the end of the regular season.

Both Story and Rockies manager Bud Black are confident that the 25-year-old can iron out his issues at the plate and develop into a solid, all-purpose hitter in the coming season.

“Yes,” skipper Bud Black said when asked if Story can balance his game offensively. “Is it going to happen overnight? No, but I think we saw it gradually happen in the second half of last year.”

“What we saw the last two months was a version of Trevor Story that was better than the first half, and I think that will continue,” Black said. “I think Trevor’s challenge and goal, what he has in his mind, is to close that gap between the walk and the strikeout and the strikeout to the at-bats, and that will come with time as he continues to really see big league pitching, what big league pitchers are trying to do to him, his approach each and every night through a particular situation, all those things are improving … I think he’s in a real good spot to move forward,”

Story has impressed so far in Spring Training with a batting average of .370 and an OPS of 1.127. He has continued to work on utilizing the entirety of the field to his advantage.

“I think it’s important to use the whole field,” Story said. “I think that’s what the best hitters do and it’s tough, but that’s something that I’m working towards for sure.”

After a phenomenal rookie season that was cut short due to injury and a second season that was hindered by the infamous “sophomore slump,” Story is ready to bounce back and push the Rockies forward in 2018.

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Back with Rockies, Carlos Gonzalez a force and a mentor

By Associated Press / Daily News | Mar. 23, 2018

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Carlos Gonzalez smiled at the thought of being back with the Colorado Rockies.

Gonzalez spent nine seasons with the Rockies, becoming a three-time All-Star. He left as a free agent after the World

Series, then returned to the Rockies in mid-March with a $5 million, one-year contract — a huge cut from his previous deal for $80 million over seven years.

"It was very different than in years past, my first time in free agency," the 32-year-old Venezuelan outfielder said Friday, speaking in Spanish. "There were a lot good players sweating it out, and everyone knows how it all went down, but the most important thing is to be able to get back to playing baseball."

Gonzalez learned some things about the business side of baseball during a free-agent market that was the slowest since the end of the 1994-95 strike.

"Really glad to back here again," Gonzalez said. "Not many players have the opportunity to be with the same team for a decade."

Gonzalez hit .221 with just six home runs and 22 RBIs in the first half of last season but batted .314 with eight home runs and 35 RBIs after the break. He was 2 for 5 with an RBI in the Rockies' NL wild-card game loss to Arizona.

Gonzalez is projected to play right field and hit in the middle of a batting order that includes NL batting champion Charlie

Blackmon, former NL batting champion DJ LeMahieu and Nolan Arenado.

"Some of the guys called me during the offseason and told me they missed me," Gonzalez said. "I just try to put up good numbers and try to be a good teammate, and really my main goal is to help those guys become superstars, like Nolan,

DJ, Blackmon, (Trevor) Story. These are all guys I have watched grow from the first year they were here."

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Gonzalez is beloved in Denver, popular and respected in the Rockies clubhouse. Teammates were outspoken about the void created by his absence at the outset of spring training.

"At the end of the day, the most important thing is that my teammates showed me they care. It definitely makes me feel good," Gonzalez said. "I've spent many years in a place that welcomed me with open arms from the start."

Gonzalez is more than happy to mentor the younger Rockies.

"He's a really good player and veteran, and a good person, too," outfielder Raimel Tapia said in Spanish. "He helps me with defense and batting because he's done it well his whole career. He's always really happy and full of energy, and he tells me I'm going to be good if I work hard."

The mentoring part comes from inspiration from accomplished big leaguers such as Carlos Beltran, from whom Gonzalez sought advice during the free agency period.

"Like they say, 'Pass the baton,'" Gonzalez said.

Rockies manager Bud Black says Gonzalez brings both a competitive and calming influence.

"His presence here makes us a better team, first and foremost, on the field, if he plays like he's very capable of playing,"

Black said. "He's a guy that connects with all the members of the team, so there's a leadership there that goes beyond what he does on the field."

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Rockies look to reel in playoff spot for 2nd straight season

By Associated Press / Fox Sports | Mar. 23, 2018

DENVER (AP) Charlie Blackmon didn’t need much baiting: The lure of a fishing contest in the middle of spring training was incentive enough.

So the quirky Colorado Rockies outfielder/avid outdoorsman slipped into some waders and grabbed his fishing rod for a game to see which player could most accurately cast at cans set up on the turf.

Anything for team bonding.

Next on the line is an even more prized catch – reeling in a postseason berth for a second straight season. The Rockies are driven by an 11-8 loss to Arizona in the NL wild card game that halted their season.

”We have all the pieces that we need to be very competitive,” Blackmon said. ”We’re well positioned to play better than last year.”

Hard to argue. Manager Bud Black’s lineup features an NL batting champion in Blackmon , along with a power-hitting, smooth-fielding third baseman in Nolan Arenado. The team added a veteran catcher in Chris Iannetta and brought back popular clubhouse leader Carlos Gonzalez on a one-year deal.

They won’t be sneaking up on teams this season, especially in a formidable NL West division that got better across the board.

”Pressure in a way, but it’s good,” said Arenado , who’s coming off a season in which he hit 37 homers and won his fifth straight Gold Glove. ”The fans are going to come out right from the get-go.”

To accompany all that offensive firepower, the Rockies revamped their relief corps by signing Wade Davis ($52 million for three years) and Bryan Shaw ($27 million for three years), along with re-signing Jake McGee ($27 million for three years).

”The bullpen is underrated,” said Blackmon, the leadoff hitter extraordinaire who’s known for his bushy beard and mullet- style haircut. ”They’re really, really good. It’s exciting to me to know that if we have a lead late, we have a really good chance to win that game.” 25

About the only questions hover around the starting rotation, where a lot will be expected out of second-year players Kyle

Freeland and German Marquez. Veteran right-hander Chad Bettis keeps showing signs of returning to form after going through treatments for testicular cancer, while Jon Gray will be counted on to be the ace of the young staff.

”We need to take one step at a time and make sure we’re all getting ready and take care of what we need to take care of,”

Arenado said.

Here are things to look for as the Rockies try to build on an 87-75 season:

BEST CASE:

Colorado has never won the division. This could be the year the team challenges the for NL West supremacy.

”We’re excited but at the same time have to work hard,” Gonzalez said. ”This is a tough division, loaded and full of talent.

We know we’re talented, too.”

WORST CASE:

Colorado has never been to the postseason in back-to-back years. This team could stumble back if the young pitching staff doesn’t find a rhythm. Or if the Rockies rest on their past achievements. Or read their press clippings (they’re a trendy pick by many).

”It makes me hungrier,” Arenado said.

BOUNCING BACK:

Outfielder/first baseman was limited to 95 games by injuries in his first season with Colorado. He wound up hitting .274 with seven homers. This spring, he’s been tinkering with his swing.

”Hopefully this allows me to get to the barrel a little bit further out front and put the ball in the gaps and use Coors Field to an advantage,” Desmond said.

BOUNCING BACK, II:

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Trevor Story hit 24 homers last season, but also struck out 191 times. He spent time working out with Arenado in the offseason.

”He’s always working, always hitting, finding ways to get better,” Arenado said. ”He’s a huge key for us.”

LEADING OFF:

Blackmon is coming off a splendid season where he won the NL batting title with a .331 average. His 102 RBIs from the leadoff spot set a major league record, two more than Darin Erstad’s total with the Angels in 2000.

Don’t be surprised to see Blackmon in the No. 3 spot in the order at times in 2018.

”With Charlie’s aptitude and how he sees the game and his role in the lineup, it’s easy for him. He’s sharp baseball-wise,”

Black said.

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Rusin Ready for Any Challenge That Arises

By Tracy Ringolsby / Inside the Seams | Mar. 23, 2018

Chris Rusin is the Rockies pitching staff’s version of the Swiss Army Knife.

When in doubt, call on Rusin.

He may not pitch many complete games, but he is the game’s complete pitcher.

And he has become a fixture on the Rockies staff.

Three years with the Rockies, he has started, pitched long relief, and handled situational calls out of the bullpen. It is how the lefthander likes it.

“It’s good to be versatile, give options for the club to fit me in where ever they need me,” he said. “If they are missing a piece I can slide in there. I’ll do whatever I can that will help me in my career.”

He has become a fixture in the bullpen since the arrival of manager Bud Black, but in the two years before he did make 29 starts. He even pitched two complete games, which is one more than any other Rockies pitcher has pitched in the last three years.

The results, however, were uneven. He was either really good – 17 quality starts out of 17 games in which he pitched six or more innings – or struggled – a 10.59 ERA in the 12 starts of less than six innings compared to 2.64 in his 17 quality starts. He relies more on finesse than power, and when he does not hit his spots there are problems.

That is why when he returned from a four-week stint on the disabled list on Aug. 2, 2016 he assumed a permanent role in the bullpen, and since then he has a 2.75 ERA to show for 77 appearances.

And he embraced it.

“Same approach,” Rusin said in asked the difference in the role of a starter and reliever. “I don’t get caught up in what inning I come in, whether we are ahead, tied or behind by a lot. I just want to have the mindset of getting people out. I want to be as efficient as possible and get people out. It’s been working so I want to keep that mindset.”

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It has been working, and Rusin enjoys it, even if he doesn’t know from one game to the next whether he’s going to be used in a situational role or a long role. In 94 relief appearances since joining the Rockies in 2015 he has worked three or more innings 14 times, and less than an inning 17 times.

“My first year (in Colorado),"Rusin said, "I went through some struggles and I was like, `My back’s up against the wall. It might be my last chance so I’m going to give it my all and trust my stuff.’ From that point on, I found success and was able to trust my stuff because it worked when I found the strike zone and had the correct movement.”

He finds his variety of pitches to fit better for him as a reliever than a starter.

“I am able to use all my pitches right when I go in the game,” he said. “As a starter I can’t throw the whole kitchen sink at them in the first inning. Being able to throw different combinations from the first batter until I came out of the game. I don’t have to hide any pitches. That helps. I know how to get quick outs.”

And he finds being on call every night helps him feel a more of part of what’s happening.

“You’re involved in more games,” he said. “As a starter you pitch once every five days. As a reliever you can pitch back- to-back-to-back for two or three innings, take a day off and come back. So, you feel more included in what is happening every day.”

In his first six years in pro ball, after being signed by the Cubs as a fourth-round draft choice, he made only 24 big-league appearances. And after being a waiver claim by the Rockies in September of 2014, he found himself back in the minor leagues, again, other than a one-day call up as the 26th man for a make up doubleheader, before getting called up on

May 26, 2015. Other than four appearances on rehab assignments after being on the disabled list, he has been in the big leagues ever since.

But he hasn’t forgotten the challenge of getting to the big leagues in the first place.

“I don’t want to get complacent and comfortable because I wants to have something to work for and always try and get better, not like, `I made it and I can just relax,’” Rusin said. “I am always trying to get better and look for the next step to improve on.

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“The game is always changing. People are always getting better. I have to find different ways to be good and perfect those ways.”

It is an approach that has worked well for Rusin so far. No sense changing now.

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McMahon Turned Adversity into a Strength

By Tracy Ringolsby / Inside the Seams | Mar. 22, 2018

SCOTTSDALE, Az. – The late Hal Keller had a very simple philosophy on player development.

“You never know how good a player can be until you see how bad they can be,” Keller would explain. “There’s a lot of failure in baseball. The good players take it as a challenge.”

Rockies prime prospect Ryan McMahon is what Keller would classify as a good player.

The game humbled him, big time, at Double-A Hartford in 2016, and he didn’t flinch. He reaffirmed his high-profile stature as a prospect in 2017, splitting the season between Hartford and Triple-A Colorado Springs.

And this spring he has shown the growth that has him in big-league camp in the last week of spring training, still a factor in the Rockies ultimate decision about who is on first, even after the team re-signed outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, which resulted in a shuffling that has veteran Ian Desmond available at first base.

McMahon, however, has accepted the challenge, and in the final week of the spring the first base position has become the most intriguing in camp.

The discussions have started as to whether the left-handed-hitting McMahon can claim primary playing time at first, which could move Desmond back to left field, and an occasional first baseman, with Gerardo Parra, who moved from right field to left field with the return to Gonzalez, become a fourth outfielder.

Not that McMahon has gotten caught up in the world of what if.

“All I can control is how well I play and not the situations I’m in,” he said without a hesitation. “And I know Jeff (Bridich, general manager) and Bud (Black, manager) are going to make the best decision for what the team needs. I’m happy with how I’ve done and whatever happens from here, either way, I’m pleased with how I came in and what I accomplished.”

What a difference two years make.

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McMahon was one of the organization’s prime prospects in the spring of 2016, too, but that summer became the true test of his mental toughness. His fourth year in pro ball, the Rockies second-round draft pick in 2013 out of Mater Dei High

School in Santa Ana, Ca., struggled for the first time in sports.

The youngest American player in the Eastern League he had to rally to hit .242. He struck out what remains a pro career high 161 times. His on-base percentage (.325) was where he was used to having his batting average.

“Not to say I was cocky, but I was like, `Yeah. This is going to be easy. I’m going to hit .280, .300 every year with 12 to 20 home runs in the minor leagues and then get called up,’” said McMahon. “Then came a reality check. This game is very humbling. It’s a hard game. It just gets harder and harder as it goes along.

“No now just having good days, I appreciate them more. Having those bad days, I don’t dwell on them. I’m able to move past them. I think it helps me mature as a person honestly.”

It is not, after all, what McMahon ever faced in his youth.

“In little league, high school, you play ball and get your hits and don’t realize (the challenge of struggling),” he said. “It definitely helped me mature.”

It was one of those summers in which even when things would go well it didn’t seem right.

“I would have a hot streak and I could tell something wasn’t right,” he said. “I’d kind of trick myself into getting back into the so-called slump. I hate using that word.”

Truth is that’s the kind of “failure” that helps separate the real players from the pack.

“That’s all part of the process of becoming a big leaguer,” said Black. “By going through all those experiences, it sets you up to be ready when the (big-league opportunity) comes. You know you are going to be ready to take on the challenges.”

McMahon responded to the challenge of 2016.

He returned to Hartford at the start of the 2017 season, and after hitting .326 with a .390 on-base percentage and .536 slugging percentage in 49 games he was promoted to Triple-A Albuquerque and responded by hitting .374 with 14 home runs and 56 RBI in 70 games. HE had a .411 on-base percentage, and .5612 slugging percentage. 32

And different in 2017 from 2016”

“I showed up and every day was a new day,” he said. “It was more a mindset. Sure, there were physical changes, making sure my bat path was shorter, and taking a more controlled swing. But honestly, in the end, it was more the mindset.

Talent only gets you so far.”

McMahon always had the talent.

Now he has the mindset to go with the talent.

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