Colorado Rockies spring training notebook: Rodgers goes deep, Gray debuts

Scottsdale, Ariz. — Not everything newsworthy that happened for the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday took place in their televised victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

On Tuesday morning, Jon Gray made his spring debut in a “B” game on one of the Salt River Fields at Talking Stick back fields, throwing three innings against the Arizona “B” squad (with both squads comprised of MLB players, minor leaguers, and rookies as well). While no official stats from the contest were available, Gray looked solid on the mound.

Afterwards, Gray rated his initial spring outing as a success, including the velocity on his fastball, which was a concern in 2020 after a shoulder injury limited him to just eight starts.

“I feel like (the fastball) was coming out really well,” Gray said. “I just went and checked it out (velocity) and it was 94 to 96 (mph). With my fastball, that’s exactly where I want to be right now. It will be able to even creep up from there too. Everything was really in a good spot today.”

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Fellow starters German Marquez and Kyle Freeland made their spring debuts earlier this week against the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds, respectively. Look for Gray to be on the mound in a regular contest soon, likely on Sunday when the Rockies visit the Texas Rangers.

Rodgers powers up

Brendan Rodgers made his assault on left field at Salt River Fields early and often against Arizona pitching.

The 24-year-old Rodgers blasted a two-run shot in the top of the second inning to give the Rockies a 2-0 lead. His second home run of the spring, Rodgers’ bomb traveled 404 feet and had an exit velocity of 105.6 mph. It was one of four homers hit by Colorado on Tuesday afternoon.

Rodgers followed up his blast with a double off the left field wall to lead off the fourth, part of a 2-for-3 day that now has his spring average sitting at .333.

After a shaky defensive start to the spring, Rodgers has settled in at the plate and in the field in recent games, likely grabbing a strong hold on the starting second base job. Rodgers’ continued growth likely cements Ryan McMahon as the Opening Day starter at third after spending the last two seasons primarily at second.

C.J. Cron heats up

After starting spring 1-for-13, C.J. Cron had three hits on Tuesday, including his first homer of the spring and a pair of doubles.