Rockies News: Recapping the first weekend, the youth movement and a potential high leverage reliever

The Rockies are off to a hot start this spring and they have been playing extremely well. I know it is just spring, but baseball is here and it's exciting to see the improvements and performances that we have seen thus far from some of the Rockies players. I wanted to highlight a few key performances, a position battle and some surprising developments with a position group.

Elehuris Montero vs. Michael Toglia is going to be a fun battle to watch

I previously predicted that Montero would beat out Toglia this spring, but Toglia is making me second guess that decision this spring (though Montero is holding his own as well). Toglia has played in three games this spring with seven at-bats. In those seven at bats, he has three hits and two of them are home runs. This isn't surprising as we have always known Toglia has big time pop, the concerning part for Toglia has been the strikeouts and it has continued so far; he has three strikeouts in just seven at bats, leaving a lot to be desired.

Montero has six at-bats and has a double and a home run. Another guy with concerning strikeout numbers (36% in 2023) he has handled the zone well so far with just one strikeout and one walk in those six at-bats. This will be a good battle all spring and I will probably flip flop on my pick's multiple times.

The Rockies youngsters are absolutely showing out

We knew that we would see a lot of youngsters get some playing time this spring and a few top prospects would be up to showcase their talents. While some of the veterans are resting, a few top prospects have really shined so far.

• Jordan Beck - 3/5, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
• Hunter Goodman - 2/7, 1 HR, 3 K
• Michael Toglia - 3/7, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 K
• Elehuris Montero - 2/6, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SO
• Julio Carreras - 2/7, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 3 SO, 1 SB
• Aaron Schunk - 4/5, 3 R, 1 SO, 2 SB

The pitchers have impressed

Perhaps the story of this spring has been the pitching. The Rockies pitching has surrendered just 13 walks, while striking out 43 batters in four games. The Rockies have really lacked strikeout pitchers in the rotation and bullpen, but we could see some of that change this year,

• Noah Davis - 2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
• Peter Lambert - 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
• Carson Palmquist - 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
• Chance Adams - 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
• Matt Koch - 2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
• Riley Pint - 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO

Jaden Hill has the makings of a high leverage reliever

It looks like recent second round pick, Jaden Hill, has made his move to the bullpen and his stuff looks insane! We have seen an upper 90's fastball that will certainly touch triple digits later in the year along with a devastating changeup and a solid slider. Hill could be making his case to make the opening day roster as a reliever given how dominant his stuff looked. He threw one inning against the Diamondbacks striking out two batters without walking anyone in an impressive outing. He might be making his way onto my next roster projection.

Yanquiel Fernandez has some crazy power!

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