SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Folks in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, could bar José Ureña from the weight room, but they could not stop him from lifting.

“I was 13, 14, maybe 16, and my friends and I weren’t able to go to the really good gym, because we were too young,” said Ureña, who is known for a training routine that stands out among dedicated MLB pitchers. “So you create all those habits, all that work, using the simple things around you. We used little tools, put concrete in them and made a weight of that.”

Even during the pandemic in 2020, Ureña, then with the Marlins, regularly posted beach workouts on Instagram. He used light, manufactured weights, but also went through his routine with water- and sand-filled plastic jugs.

Such effort has helped Ureña, 31, develop a respected sinking fastball and changeup that have led to a career ground-ball rate of 47.8 percent. After joining the Rockies last July, he fashioned a 50.8 percent ground-ball rate in 89 1/3 innings -- enough for the team to re-sign him for one year at a $3.5 million guarantee, with an option for 2024 worth $4 million.

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Ureña is 39-62 with a 4.80 ERA in 189 career games (133 starts) with the Marlins (2015-20), Tigers ('21), Brewers ('22) and Rockies. But he still believes his hard work will earn him the big season that his stuff seems capable of producing.

“For me, it’s coming -- and I’m getting ready for it,” Ureña said, smiling.

The Rockies’ difficulty attracting pitchers is well-documented. So if a pitcher who went 3-8 with a 5.14 ERA in 17 starts last season (with a much better 3.51 ERA in September) believes he is a guy to conquer Coors Field, it’s worth a shot.

Ureña -- who surrendered back-to-back RBI triples in the third but allowed no other runs in Saturday afternoon’s 4-2 loss to the Mariners at Salt River Fields -- is a down-in-the-zone, contact-oriented pitcher in an era of hurlers being coached to work and sometimes live above the zone. Thirty seasons in, the Rockies still are chasing the mystery of pitching at altitude. But only the most elite of fastballers can work above the zone at Coors. And mistakes can lead to cheap homers that affect a pitcher's psyche.

Ureña works inside -- to right-handed hitters with his sinker and changeup, and to lefty batters with his four-seam fastball -- and flashes some pitches above the zone. Since joining the Rockies, he has been developing the slider for another ground-ball pitch to his glove side.

“That place matches with my ability and how I grew up … keep the ball down,” he said.

Ureña’s industriousness either influences others, or makes them marvel.

“Before he pitches, he does a full workout -- weights, shoulders, cardio. … I stretch it out and go to the game, like most pitchers,” said fellow starter Germán Márquez. “But it’s his routine and I respect it.”

Will statistical success happen for Ureña, a chiseled fellow whose work ethic is as hardened as his homemade concrete weights and as free-flowing as the ocean he once used to improvise?

“A lot of times, work doesn’t equate to success, but if you don’t work, you’re not going to have success,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “He sets a great example, in and around the clubhouse, in the weight room. He’s a pro. He’s very quiet, but it’s a leadership by example by a veteran player.”

Debut day
Veteran Mike Moustakas, who signed a Minor League contract with Colorado on Sunday, played five innings at third base on Saturday and went 1-for-3. Moustakas, brought in to compete for the third-base job and provide a lefty corner infield/designated hitter bat, has added a toe tap to his swing. On the recommendation of former Royals teammate Eric Hosmer, Moustakas worked with former Major Leaguer Marlon Byrd during the winter.

“I changed a lot of things this offseason with Marlon Byrd, and it’s been a lot of fun,” Moustakas said. “I worked with him every day for about an hour and a half.”

Alongside Moustakas, Elehuris Montero singled and doubled on his fourth straight solid day and said he is “feeling comfortable.”

Recently signed lefty veteran Brad Hand gave up one run on one hit, with one strikeout and a hit batter in his Rockies debut. He used his new cutter just once.

“I’m trying to get my feet under me, so we’ll work on it a little bit more,” Hand said.

Hosed
Catcher Drew Romo ranks 84th on the MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospects list. He demonstrated why by throwing out Leonardo Rivas on a steal attempt in the top of the ninth.