Colorado

Rockies

Serving as a DH, Bryant crushed a ball to center against Jairo Iriarte. Statcast says it went 462 feet and left the bat at 111.8 mph, but we have seen some calibration issues at Salt River Fields before and it wouldn’t be surprising if that was again a factor today. After all, the last time Bryant hit a ball 111.8 mph in a regular-season game was 2017. Statcast also says Colson Montgomery hit a ball 113.4 mph today, that Korey Lee hit the third-hardest ball of his life and that Brooks Baldwin hit one harder than anything he hit last year. So, grain of salt.

It was reported over the weekend that Márquez hit 98 mph in a bullpen session, and he did it today, too, while averaging 96.2 mph with his fastball. His arm couldn’t handle the quick return from Tommy John surgery last summer, but hopefully for the Rockies’ sake, he can give them a healthy 2025.

With his velocity down about three mph across the board, Gomber was holding something back today, we hope. Of course, it’s not necessary to be in top form against the White Sox. Gomber got his three strikeouts without ever throwing a pitch harder than 89.2 mph.

Toglia launched a majestic blast to right-center field off future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander in the opening frame for his second round-tripper in Cactus League action. The 26-year-old has gotten off to a scorching-hot start at the dish and figures to open the regular season as one of Colorado’s primary middle-of-the-order catalysts. His omnipresent contact issues aren’t going away, which amplifies the risk he’ll be a total anchor in the batting average department, but he projects as a potential 40-homer bat in Coors Field’s high-octane offensive environment.

Unfortunately, Dollander’s spring debut came in a Statcast-less ballpark. The 23-year-old top pitching prospect came out attacking the strike zone early on and managed to shake off a two-out homer by Jung Hoo Lee in the opening frame by retiring four of the final five batters he faced. The ninth-overall pick from the 2023 MLB Draft has a legitimate shot at breaking camp in Colorado’s season-opening rotation and a performance like this against a lineup featuring mostly big-league regulars from a divisional rival only helps strengthen his argument. It’s unclear whether he’s ready to tackle Coors Field right away, but he’s the most talented pitcher to give it a shot in quite some time. He’s a worthy late-round sleeper candidate in fantasy drafts this spring, especially in deeper mixed leagues.

The 30-year-old right-hander explained to reporters on Wednesday just how good he’s feeling this spring, “I feel so good. My arm isn’t sore. It makes me so happy.” When healthy, Márquez has been able to defy conventional logic over the years and actually be a useful option for fantasy purposes despite the fact that he pitches half of his games at Coors Field. He has only logged 24 innings total over the past two seasons, but there seems to be reason for optimism heading into 2025. He’s worth a look as a late-round flier in deeper mixed league drafts.

Estrada got the ball rolling in the opening inning, smacking a two-run single off of Aaron Ashby to give the Rockies and early lead that they would never relinquish. He then raced around to score on a two-run double off the bat of Jacob Stallings. Estrada also plated a run with an RBI knock off of Tyler Jay in the fourth inning. The 29-year-old infielder should open the season as the Rockies’ starting second baseman and looks poised for a major bounce-back season after a rough 2024 campaign in which he slashed just .217/.247/.343 in 381 plate appearances with the Giants.

The 31-year-old southpaw struck out a pair of batters and didn’t issue a walk, throwing 17 of his 24 pitches for strikes. His two strikeout victims were Jorge Alfaro and Ernesto Martinez Jr. Freeland got four swings and misses on the day — three of those on his knuckle curve — while registering a solid CSW of 29 percent. He’s locked into a spot in the Rockies’ rotation, but as always for fantasy purposes, he’ll be nothing more than a streaming option when the Rockies are away from Coors Field.

Apart from NRI Nick Martini, the Rockies declined to add any outfield help over the winter. That suggests Hilliard is guaranteed a spot and could well wind up getting most of the starts in right field, especially if Jordan Beck disappoints this spring. That doesn’t seem ideal, given Hilliard’s lack of track record, but he was fairly effective in hitting .239/.305/.507 with 10 homers in 158 plate appearances for the Rockies last season.

Veen showed off his power/speed potential Saturday, and it’s a reminder of why he was such an intriguing prospect coming out of the 2020 MLB Draft. There have been bumps in the road, but the talent is still there for the 23-year-old, and he’s someone fantasy managers have to keep a close eye on. His MLB debut should come in 2025.