SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Scottsdale Stadium has been good to MLB Pipeline No. 70 prospect Charlie Condon, who homered the opposite way to right field in the Rockies’ 11-3 victory over the Giants on Thursday afternoon.
Given the ball flight of the shot off Reiver Sanmartin, who will represent Colombia in the World Baseball Classic, the 359-foot distance for his second Spring Training homer was all well and good. But during the Arizona Fall League, Condon, playing for the Salt River Rafters, launched a 449-footer for a grand slam against the Scottsdale Scorpions.
“This one has treated me well so far,” Condon said, smiling. “So, yeah, hopefully I get to play a couple more games here. It’s a fun place to play – solid crowds and all that good stuff.
“It’s just good to get this experience against the best in the league, and sharing the locker room with these guys.”
“He’s looked good the past couple days,” manager Warren Schaeffer said. “He’s getting progressively better and, as the spring goes on, more comfortable.”
Your daily Rumfield
After knocking two home runs against the Cubs on Wednesday, first-base candidate T.J. Rumfield (Colorado's No. 29 prospect from 2025, per MLB Pipeline) homered again against the Giants – off Trent Harris.
“He knows the zone very well,” Schaeffer said. “I love the walks he’s been taking the past couple of days. The homers are great. He seems locked in. You always like to see that out of a guy who’s competing for a job.”
Simplicity leads to production
Interesting little Spring Training phenomenon: Being early in a new year, there is much less information on pitchers for hitters to decipher. Besides, with pitchers working on new wrinkles, even previous seasons of info are limited in their relevance.
While there is specific preparation, Rockies hitting coach Brett Pill’s biggest emphasis is helping players learn their “go zone” – the area of the strike zone where they hit best. Third baseman Kyle Karros concentrated more on his approach than the scouting report for his RBI triple against Blade Tidwell on a second-inning fastball.
“The ‘go zones’ make a lot of sense,” said Karros, 4-for-9 this spring. “It just gives you a spot where you want to fire. If you see it, there you go. And if it’s not there, it’s best not to swing. It’s easy.”
Hitters knowing themselves is a good way for the Rockies to excel amid a unique challenge. At home, the mile-high environment suppresses pitch movement and the big outfield gaps serve as places for balls to land. The difference in pitch movement on the road makes the sport different, especially during the first games of a road trip. Add to that the youth of the Rockies’ roster in recent years, so players often were dizzied by the volume of scouting reports.
The added scouting information during the regular season is useful, however. But the knowledge of self could help hitters feel less weighed with info. And teammates will have a better starting point for conversations.
“It’s constantly talking in the dugout during games,” Pill said. “Like, ‘What this guy is doing today is different from the scouting report.’ With the component of constant talking, constant learning, constant feedback loops, hopefully guys will be learning a lot.”
Playing the other field
Jordan Beck, the left fielder last season, made his second start in right field on Thursday, and threw out Will Brennan, who was trying to score from second on Jared Oliva’s fifth-inning single.
Beck could play right this year while Jake McCarthy plays left – to take advantage of McCarthy’s speed in the massive left at Coors. Beck, also fast like McCarthy, has comfort anywhere in the outfield.
“I’ve played right field a lot through the Minor Leagues and all through college, too, so it’s nothing too new – just getting back used to it,” Beck said.
Also, Ryan Ritter, who homered on Friday, angled into left-center for an athletic catch of a line drive. Ritter played second base and shortstop during a lengthy callup as a rookie last season, and he could expand his possibilities for Major League time this year by adding the outfield.
“I never thought I’d be in left field right now, but they told me I would be and I was like, ‘Let’s do it’ – wherever I play, I’m going to play defense,” said Ritter, a collegiate Gold Glove winner at Kentucky before the Rockies selected him in the fourth round in 2022.
New old position
Cole Carrigg has risen in the Rockies' prospect ranks as a center fielder, but is showing his wares at shortstop after being chosen to play the position for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic. As Carrigg (Colorado's No. 3 prospect from 2025) prepares to leave for the tournament, he is receiving more playing time than last spring in his first Major League camp.
“I’m just in a better spot with what I’m trying to get out of this spring,” he said. “It’s working out pretty good right now.”