Rule 5 pick Petit making good first impression this spring

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Rockies right-handed relief pitcher RJ Petit is in new surroundings, but he’s finding many similarities to his last team.

The Rockies selected Petit, the Rockies’ No. 26 prospect, from the Tigers in the Rule 5 Draft during the Winter Meetings. Petit has one of his instructors from the Tigers in Gabe Ribas, who became the Rockies’ assistant pitching coach.

Petit sees another similarity.

“The guys here are nasty,” Petit said. “There are a lot of really good arms, from what I’ve seen so far. I try but I haven’t seen everyone throw yet. It’s been a lot of fun learning from these guys, learning what they throw, learning what they think when they throw it.”

Petit, 26, who is listed at an imposing 6-foot-8 and 300 pounds, made his first impression by overcoming a leadoff walk but finishing a scoreless fifth inning in Friday afternoon’s 3-2 loss to the Diamondbacks in the Cactus League opener.

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The bullpen is considered the most complete position group on the Rockies, with a mix of veterans and young pitchers with power arms and some experience through the team’s struggles last season. Petit will have to impress enough to make the roster and stick through the full season or else the many Rule 5 contingencies will kick in.

So far, he intrigues the Rox.

“He’s got a really good slider -- a sharp slider,” manager Warren Schaeffer said. “Then he came back with a groundball double play. So good for him. He’s looking to make a team.”

Petit gained momentum in his career by staying in the strike zone. He credited Ribas.

“In college [at Charleston Southern University], it’s more, ‘I’m better than you,’ and, ‘I can do whatever I want,’” he said. “But [Ribas] came in … and said, ‘We’re going to dumb this down,’ and dumb it down [means] we’re going to attack guys.”

Petit went 10-2 with a 2.44 ERA in 47 combined appearances, including two starts, at Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo. His performance sparked speculation that the Tigers would call him up late in the season, but the postseason-bound team went with experience down the stretch.

Mixing and gaining information
Starter Antonio Senzatela graded his two-inning start passingly. The worst pitch result -- a Nolan Arenado homer on a 1-1 pitch to lead off the second -- was fine with him because it was information to help with his project of diversifying his pitch mix.

Last season while going 4-15 with a 6.65 ERA and losing his spot in the starting rotation, Senzatela threw four-seam fastballs 57.6 percent of the time. The Rockies believe he became predictable, especially in the first inning. Now he is mixing sliders, sweepers, changeups and a new, two-seam sinker that he believes can make him look different to hitters that have known his patterns for years.

According to Statcast, of Senzatela's 34 pitches, 11 (roughly 32 percent) were four-seamers -- a dramatic decrease.

“For the first time, it feels like I have a lot of weapons to throw, and it’s really nice,” he said.

Senzatela said the sweeper is also a new pitch. That was the pitch that Arenado launched 408 feet to left-center field, according to the Rockies.

“That one was super high,” Senzatela said of the homer, one of three sweepers, according to the team. “I have to change the location and maybe I’ll get a better result.”

From the left
Lefty No. 12 prospect Sean Sullivan faced four batters and struck out three, while one reached on an error in his scoreless inning. The inning ran to 22 pitches, but 15 of them were strikes from Sullivan, who was invited to camp last season but didn’t pitch because he was recovering from right hip surgery.

“He’s got a bright future,” Schaeffer said of Sullivan, who went 9-6 with a 3.14 ERA with 95 strikeouts to 24 walks at Double-A Hartford last season. “It was good to see him punch out the side today. The pitch count rose but no runs. So that’s good stuff.”