Rockies' back end of bullpen showing 'major concerns' following rocky start to spring

Colorado's bullpen last season was one to forget—they set a Modern Era record by blowing six leads of five runs or more in the ninth inning or later.

The Rockies bullpen features high-powered arms like Seth Halvorsen, Victor Vodnik, and Juan Mejia, alongside crafty pitchers such as Jimmy Herget and Zach Agnos.

They lost some guys from last year's team, including Jake Bird, who had a phenomenal first half before Colorado traded him to the New York Yankees for Roc Riggio and Ben Shields.

Bird's numbers plummeted in the second half, and he was even demoted to Triple-A in New York.

Justin Lawrence was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates during Spring Training last season, while Tyler Kinley was dealt to the Atlanta Braves at the deadline.

It'll be a learning process for Colorado's young power arms as they navigate the rest of spring training and we inch closer to Opening Day.

Their exhibition game against the Kansas City Royals on Feb. 28 was a disaster, with the team walking 15 batters.

Granted, starting rotation hopefuls Michael Lorenzen and Ryan Feltner combined for 8 of the 15 walks, but Halvorsen's rough spring continues—he didn't record a single out, surrendering five runs on two hits while walking three.

Halvorsen is still working his way back after being diagnosed with a mild right elbow flexor strain in August of last season, dodging any potential damage to his UCL. He was placed on the 15-day injured list and didn't return for the remainder of the season.

His command has been all over the place—he's surrendered seven runs on three hits and walked six batters in just 0.2 innings.

Vodnik faces similar struggles, surrendering four runs and seven hits across 2.0 innings. While he's improved his control with just one walk, opponents are teeing off on him at a .700 clip.

These are the two arms projected to compete for the closer's role at the back end of the bullpen.

But that's what spring training is for—ironing out the kinks, sharpening location, and refining their arsenal. These two are viewed as strengths in Colorado's bullpen, but early inconsistencies have raised some major concerns.