Prospect Gray shows off highly touted velocity - Rockies.com
Jon Gray, the Rockies' best prospect, threw to some hitters yesterday, and it sounds like it went well. Gray, sporting a scruffy beard and lettuce behind the ears, was apparently dealing. Corey Dickerson was at the plate (not taking any swings), and he said that Gray was hitting his spots. Gray said he thought it was possible he was hitting the upper-90's with his fastball. Spring training stories are just spring training stories, but you gotta love to hear that.
Dickerson striving for more plate discipline - Rockies.com
Speaking of Dickerson, he and Walt Weiss are trying to add plate discipline to his game. Dickerson will swing at anything (he swung at 41.5% of pitches outside the zone, the eighth highest rate in the majors), but he also manages to get hits off those pitches a lot of the time. As Walt Weiss said:
"I talked to Corey about adding this much discipline to his game," manager Walt Weiss said. "We don't want that much, because then he wouldn't be Corey Dickerson. That's why I'm careful in the way I deliver that message to Corey. Part of what makes him who he is, is he plays with reckless abandon. That's what makes him effective."
Rockies embracing Coors Field advantage - Tracy Ringolsby
Ringolsby talks with some current and former Rockies players about the mojo required to pitch at Coors Field and the importance of 50 home wins. Weiss wants to take back the Coors Field advantage, which hasn't been on display the last few years.
MLB's oldest player can't relate to today's youth - AP
Mike Cranston wrote a fun profile of the new Oldest Man In MLB LaTroy Hawkins, noting that teammates Nolan Arenado and Eddie Butler were drinking from sippy cups when LaTroy was breaking into the big leagues.
Also, he said this:
I think we're into the generation where everybody gets a trophy. And those guys are getting to the big leagues now," Hawkins said. "I know I'm going to take some heat about it, but I'm telling you what I know
Thanks dad.
Steamer and I: Corey Dickerson and A.J. Pollock - Fangraphs
That's right folks, it's almost fantasy draft time. Mike Podhorzer of Fangraphs took a look at Corey Dickerson and projected him to play better than his Steamer projection. Dickerson is going to be a stud in 2015, fantasy and otherwise.
*Edit
And a certain Purple Row editor's family grew by one yesterday. Congrats Bryan!