Colorado Rockies: 3 Things You Should Know on March 17

Mar 15, 2017; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, AZ, USA; Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story (27) throws to first base in the third inning against the Milwaukee Brewers during a spring training game at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 15, 2017; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, AZ, USA; Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story (27) throws to first base in the third inning against the Milwaukee Brewers during a spring training game at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

In the midst of March Madness, we are reminded that mental toughness is huge in sports. It’s no different in baseball, and March has hit the Rockies hard with injuries. The Rockies will be forced to grind out the season’s opening month.

Reinforcement numbers were already low, but after Wednesday’s action, the reserve situation got even worse. Promising reliever Rayan Gonzalez left a Spring Training game with a forearm issue. You read more about the injury in yesterday’s post. What the blow to pitching depth means is that ineffectiveness is not something the Rockies can work through if they plan to be competitive in the season’s opening months. In an effort to make sure he is ready to carry a share of the load, Tyler Chatwood led the Rockies in Thursday’s action.

In total, Chatwood surrendered eight hits, but when faced with traffic he got the tough outs. Not typically his calling card, Chatwood relied on the strikeout to work around jams. He collected a total of five strikeouts in four innings of work.

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Garneau Appears Good to Go. 

Coming on the heels of a 2 for 3 performance on Tuesday, Dustin Garneau had yet another stellar showing on Thursday. Garneau did his best March Madness impression and dropped a long three on Angles ace Garret Richards. The three-run homer comes at a welcome time. Through April, Garneau will need to  back up Tony Wolters as back-up catcher Tom Murphy broke his forearm earlier this week.

Wolters is carrying a .500 average this Spring, and Garneau is hover just above .400. The numbers indicate, that while not ideal, there is no reason to panic over the loss of Murphy.

Next: How Important is a Winning April?

State of the Bullpen

The most positive news from this week is that Greg Holland is back. But how are the relievers around him looking?