Colorado Rockies pitcher Jon Gray setting to shelve curveball in games

Rockies' Jon Gray puts new curveball on the bench for now - The Denver Post

Jon Gray was unable to locate his curve well in his last spring start against the Brewers. Not only that, but he hung a couple that were hit hard. Patrick Saunders reports that Gray will be shelving the pitch for the time being. "Until it's good enough to where I can locate it and throw it where I want to," Gray told Saunders, "I'm not going to use it in the game." It's not evident whether or not the curveball will make a reappearance in the regular season.

It's also not clear who decided to set the pitch aside, Gray or the Rockies. He will still throw it during bullpen sesisons. During the offseason, the Rockies instructed Gray to work on a curveball. It would be the fourth pitch in his repertoire, in addition to his four-seam fastball, slider, and changeup.

Rockies' Raimel Tapia shows style at plate | rockies.com

Rockies prospect Raimel Tapia, otherwise known as that emoji with hearts for eyes, does not just have style. So far this spring, he's also shown the substance. Tapia spoke with Thomas Harding through an interpreter in what was a revealing and encouraging conversation.

First, Harding notes that Tapia's two strike approach is slightly changed so far this spring. With two strikes, he's widened his stance and got into a low crouch. Harding notes that he's not as low this spring. Significantly, "it's [Tapia's] adjustment, not one given by the coaches." That the Rockies recognize that they don't need to intervene into unorthodoxy is a very nice thing to hear. Second, Harding spoke to Tapia about power. A lot of scouting reports indicate that Tapia will gain power as he fills out his frame. But that's not necessarily his goal. "I'm a line drive-hitter," Tapia indicated to Harding, "but if a home run comes up, that's fine." Indeed it is.

This reminds me of Ichiro saying that he could hit home runs if he wanted to. I believe it. I also believe that Tapia's confidence at the plate, coupled with his ability at the plate, will translate to the big leagues within a couple of years.

Baseball Prospectus | BP Unfiltered: The Worst Possible Reshuffling of MLB Cities and MLB Team Names, Probably

Well, what would it be for Colorado? The one listed here is the Orioles. It's really hard to find another pairing worse for Colorado than the Orioles, in my opinion. Another favorite goes to the Milwaukee Angels of Anaheim.