3 Rockies players who are putting up eye-catching numbers this spring

Kyle Freeland hates walks...but loves strikeouts

Multiple times we have mentioned the amount of uncertainty surrounding the pitching rotation as a whole Kyle Freeland has been a good pitcher, but slots in more comfortably as the number two or three behind German Marquez and/or Antonio Senzatela. This year, Freeland will be the leader of a very unproven unit and will be expected to carry them.

Freeland seemingly embraced this responsibility this offseason, working out and gaining a lot of strength in his body and shoulder. His velocity has been up about four-to-five miles per hour compared to last year's velocity. A reliance on getting ahead and working to maintain that advantage has played very well this spring.

"Leadoff walks kill you, walks with two out skill you, walks late in the game kill you. Being able to limit those, stay in the strike zone, force them to swing the bat and execute pitches is going to turn out all right."

- Freeland via Thomas Harding, MLB.com

From the quote above, you can tell that Freeland has embraced the mentality to attack hitters and limit walks. Walks are just free base runners and can come back to really haunt you, especially at Coors Field.

This spring, Freeland has thrown 14 innings and while his 14 strikeouts are really impressive, it's the fact that he has surrendered just one walk that is perhaps the most impressive number. This has also translated to really solid numbers across all categories as he has given up just 14 hits with a 3.21 ERA. Freeland's increased velocity has been fun to watch this spring, along with his dominant starts.