Agnos impressing in Rockies camp with new pitches, mindset

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Rockies right-hander Zach Agnos has a couple of new pitches and a bullpen job to win, so he says, “I don’t really focus on the hitters as much.” But the names of the last two sets of hitters he faced are hard to ignore.

In Wednesday's exhibition game, he faced Team USA’s Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber. On Saturday night, his opponents were Miguel Rojas, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts of the Dodgers -- five of the game’s top stars and plus, in Rojas, last year’s World Series Game 7 ninth-inning game changer.

That is a powerful half-dozen to face in the first week of March. But Agnos -- out to show that last year’s rookie strike-zone challenges are behind him, and sporting new pitches and grips -- defeated them all, with one strikeout and weak contact.

“It’s a little easier when you get out there,” Agnos said. “You look at them, give them a nod, then you get on the mound and hear the pitch called. That’s when everything zones out.”

Agnos has performed better than any Rockies pitcher this spring. He has not yielded a run in four appearances plus the exhibition against Team USA, which is not included on Cactus League statistics. Combined in those outings, he has six strikeouts with two hits allowed and no walks.

“Test me now rather than later,” Agnos said. “They’re the best of the best. I love competing against those guys. It’s always fun for me and always a challenge.”

Manager Warren Schaeffer has said throughout the spring he is likely not to designate a closer, and he prefers to seek matchups at various points of the game. Saturday, Agnos was used in the first inning to face some of the Dodgers’ top hitters.

“We love a lot about ‘Ags,’” Schaeffer said. “His stuff is really good. He throws hard. He’s a bulldog on the mound. This spring, he has been exceptional at attacking the strike zone early, and he’s had every good success at getting ahead -- 0-2, 1-2. That opens up things for him, just like it would for any pitcher.”

Agnos, 25, spent most of his college career at shortstop, but he went to pitching full-time after the Rockies selected him in the 10th round of the 2022 Draft. He debuted last season with no runs in his first seven outings and scoreless pitching in 12 of his first 14 games before struggles with control ensued. He finished with 19 strikeouts, but he also had 17 walks in 31 1/3 innings.

“The only thing that’s changed from last year about throwing strikes is having confidence in my stuff,” Agnos said.

During the winter, Agnos worked with his brother, Jake, a former ECU lefty pitching standout and former Yankees prospect who is back at the school to work with pitchers. With his brother helping him make tweaks, Agnos was working on pitch development even before new pitching coach Alon Leichman suggested it.

“I really wanted to dial in a sinker, [I] was messing around one day with the two-seam grip and it took off to my arm side,” Agnos said. “Then I got here for leadership camp [before Spring Training], the first thing Alon said to me was, ‘Have you messed around with a sinker?’ And I said, ‘Actually, I’m throwing one.”

Agnos said his brother has helped him improve his curveball and a sweeper -- a pitch Leichman told him he needed to sharpen. Results are showing, regardless of the opposition.

“The whole gist of this camp is attacking the zone,” Agnos said.