MEDIA CLIPS March 2, 2016

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1 MEDIA CLIPS March 2, 2016 Rockies raising outfield fences at Coors Field Left-field corner, right-center wall getting added height By Thomas Harding / DENVER -- Armed with 23 years of stats and a detailed study of the last three years, the Rockies announced Tuesday that they have increased the height of the fences in two locations at Coors Field. Here are details: The fence from the center-field end of the visiting bullpen to the right-field out-of-town scoreboard will be raised 8 feet so that it is consistent with the height of the out-of-town scoreboard at 16 feet. Five feet is being added to the wall from the left-field foul pole to the beginning of the pavilion seating in center. The additions will be green-coated chain-link fencing and in areas that are not immediately in front of fans, so they should not create obstructions. Changes will be in place in time for the home opener, April 8 against the Padres. The Rockies began storing baseballs in the so-called humidor -- a temperature-controlled chamber to prevent them from shrinking, hardening and becoming slippery. That change reduced the offense-oriented nature of the park somewhat, but homers and scoring are elevated. The new fencing, which is the first fair-ground fence change in the history of a park that has been open since 1995, will not change the spaciousness of the outfield and a high-desert atmosphere in which balls tend to travel in certain weather conditions. But the Rockies will see if it'll help the pitchers, who have struggled mightily for much of the franchise's history. 1

2 "The goal is to raise the wall heights to make it, potentially, more playable and more fair for pitchers in this ballpark," Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich said. "We really don't know exactly the effect that it's going to have. We're going to live it together for this year to see what happens. The thought is that this might be a first step in what could be a number of steps." The Rockies studied much of the Statcast data from 577 homers at Coors Field over the last three years. Statcast does not give the precise height at which a home run clears the wall, but assistant general manager Zack Rosenthal said that's available through a calculation based on available measurements such as launch angle, exit velocity and landing spot. "We know exactly where all of those have left the ballpark and touched down, and some of the areas that we addressed were the high home run areas," Bridich said. "It was targeted and educated adjustments." Rockies manager Walt Weiss, who was a member of the club when Coors Field opened, said, "I've thought about this for a long time. I've seen a lot of games there. I played a lot of games there. I always thought it would be an interesting concept, if we raised the wall height. "It would eliminate some of the cheaper home runs that we see there. If you could keep the ball in the park here or there, it could change some things." Rockies left-handed pitcher Jorge De La Rosa said there have been a lot of balls that "you'd think it was a line drive but it's a home run, so if they do that for us, good." Then he added, "If I'm a pitcher, I'm going to say yes. I don't know if the hitters like it." Right fielder Carlos Gonzalez said outfielders must play the bounce off the new fencing judiciously. "You want to make sure the guy that hit the ball is at second base and not at third base -- take that extra base away from him," Gonzalez said. "The only one you're going to have a chance at is the one that stands there and you have a chance to play at second base. But we're talking about, what, 380 feet away?" Center fielder Charlie Blackmon noted, "Balls that hit the fence are now going to bounce like they hit a chain-link fence. It will kill the bounce so you'll see outfielders go further out to field the ball, so that will allow for more triples. But then again, that ball might've already been a home run." 2

3 Left-handed hitters have benefitted from a jet stream to right-center throughout the life of the park. How hurt those hitters will be this year depends on the hitter. Gonzalez, who tends to hit higher balls, said he would have lost just one of his 24 Coors Field homers (he had 40 overall) -- off the Marlins' Carter Capps on June 7. Blackmon, who had seven of his 17 homers at home last year but 12 of his 19 at home in 2014, said he would have lost "a couple" last year. Asked if the move to raise the fence is disappointing offensively, he said, "I'm not going to really comment on that one." Bridich said there was some consultation with "people who have played in the park," but not a full canvasing of the roster or a grand scheme to make the changes tilt strictly toward the home team. "It will be the same ballpark for the visitor, too," Bridich said. Thomas Harding is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on listen to podcasts and like his Facebook page. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. 3

4 Rockies' young hurlers impress early in camp By Thomas Harding / March 1st, 2016 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Rockies pitching coaches decided not to fill the heads of their pitching prospects with strategy and advice for intrasquad games on Monday and Tuesday. Instead, they took notes and enjoyed what they were writing. On Tuesday, radar readings were enough to draw smiles, with several prospects consistently throwing in the mid-90s. These included righty German Marquez, who came in a trade from the Rays after solid Class A numbers last year; righty Jeff Hoffman, who arrived in the Troy Tulowitzki trade with the Blue Jays; lefty 2014 first-round pick Kyle Freeland; righty Antonio Senzatela; and lefty reliever Sam Moll. Hoffman displayed lively breaking pitches, so much that his catchers had problems handling them. "In my 11 years in this organization, this is the best collection of arms I've seen," said Doug Linton, the Rockies' Minor League pitching coordinator. "We haven't even touched [the younger prospects] who are going to be in [Class A] Modesto." On Monday, lefty Harrison Musgrave ranged between mph with strike-zone presence, and righty reliever Carlos Estevez topped out at after reaching 97 and 98 at times last year at Modesto and Double-A New Britain. Worth noting: Catcher Tom Murphy, battling to back up Nick Hundley on the Major League roster, homered the opposite way to right field off Marquez during the intrasquad game on Tuesday. It was also a big day for shortstop candidate Trevor Story, who had an RBI double and an RBI single, plus a strong defensive play as he ranged to the middle, spun and made an accurate throw. Third-base prospect Ryan McMahon turned in a diving stab of a Rafael Ynoa line drive. But when McMahon was unnecessarily fancy and bounced a throw for an error, catching and defensive positioning coach Rene Lachemann yelled, "Quit trying to be Clete Boyer." Lachemann is in his 53rd consecutive Major League Spring Training as a player, coach or manager. 4

5 Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich said the club has not heard from Major League Baseball on the timetable for its decision on a possible suspension of Jose Reyes regarding an alleged incident of domestic violence. Reyes was arrested on Oct. 31 in Maui, Hawaii, and has a trial date scheduled for April 4 -- Opening Day. Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman became the first player to be penalized under MLB's new Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse policy with Tuesday's announcement that he has been suspended for 30 regular-season games. Right-hander David Hale has been out of action with a right hamstring strain, and is expected to miss a few days. Hale is competing for a starting-rotation spot, but could fit in the bullpen. Outfielder Jordan Patterson has also been out, recovering from knee surgery he underwent before reporting to camp. Thomas Harding is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter@harding_at_mlb, listen to podcasts and like his Facebook page. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. 5

6 Colorado Rockies to raise outfield fences at Coors Field Rockies will raise the outfield fence between right-center and right field By Nick Groke The Denver Post SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. After decades of watching home runs fly out of Coors Field at a heightened clip, the Rockies on Tuesday said they will raise their outfield fences to tamp down on the longballs. The high-homer home of the "Blake Street Bombers" will get its biggest change to how baseball is played at altitude since a humidor was installed in "The goal is to raise the wall heights to make it potentially more playable and more fair for pitchers," Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich said. "We really don't know, exactly, the effect it is going to have. We are going to live it together, this year, and see what happens." The Rockies will raise their outfield wall between right-center and right field by 8 feet and 9 inches, to match the height of the out-of-town scoreboard, at 16 feet-6 inches in height. A green-coated, chain-link fence will sit on top of the existing green-padded wall in front of the visiting and home bullpens. The outfield wall height also will increase down the left field line, by 5 feet, to 13 feet. That extended fence will be in front of the tunnel next to the bleachers. The new fences, which will not block any seats, will be installed this month and be in place before the Rockies' 22nd home opener at Coors Field, on April 8 against the Padres. "I have thought about this for a long time," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "I thought it would eliminate some of the cheaper home runs that we see there. And if you could keep a ball in the park here or there, it could change some things." Over the past three seasons, teams have hit 570 home runs at Coors Field, the most in the National League. Three American League ballparks, with the benefit of the designated hitter, netted more home runs: Camden Yards in Baltimore (629), Rogers Centre in Toronto (603) and Yankee Stadium in New York (571). The Rockies, Bridich said, determined that right-center field and down the left field line were high-home run areas. They used a formula that accounts for the launch angle and exit velocity of hits off the bat to figure out how to reduce easy homers. By that measure, total home runs at Coors Field could fall by 5-6 percent. 6

7 "We had two decades worth of knowing this ballpark," Bridich said. "There have been a lot of ideas thrown out over time about what should be done, if anything. One of the nice things now is that with all of the advancements in technology, there is a lot of data and data sets that we can point to." The left-field fence in front of the bleachers, an area that sees its share of "Coors Field home runs" will not be changed yet. "We thought that this could be a first step in a number of steps, potentially. We just don't know," Bridich said. Rockies players reacted as if a stranger rearranged their living room furniture. Right fielder Carlos Gonzalez, who hit 40 home runs in 2015, third most in the NL, said he would have lost one homer last year with the higher walls. He said he remembers it exactly a line drive off a Carter Capps slider against the Miami Marlins on June 7. Colorado center fielder Charlie Blackmon was not pleased. He expects to lose "probably a couple" home runs this season with the higher walls. And outfielders, having to play caroms off a new wall, might have a long learning curve. "Balls that hit the fence are now going to bounce like they hit a chain-link fence, which isn't always predictable," Blackmon said. "It'll kill the bounce. So you'll see outfielders have to go farther out to field the ball, which could allow more triples." Before the humidor was introduced in 2002, Coors Field experienced three of the four highest single-season home run totals in baseball history topped by an MLB-record 303 in In the five years after, home run totals fell each year to an all-time low of 168 in If higher outfield walls have a similar effect, the look of the Rockies and their identity could swing farther away from their reputation as "Bombers." "It's a good place to start," Weiss said of the new fences. "To do anything more, you are talking about some radical changes. You would have to start reconfiguring the ballpark. I really haven't gone down that road yet." Nick Groke: ngroke@denverpost.com 7

8 ROOT Sports televising 150 Rockies games in 2016 By Patrick Saunders The Denver Post SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. ROOT Sports will once again televise the Rockies season, beginning with a March 14 spring training game against the Seattle Mariners in Peoria. All told, ROOT will televise six spring training games and 150 regular-season games. Here is the complete press release from ROOT Sports: DENVER The Colorado Rockies and ROOT SPORTS announced today the network s 2016 Colorado Rockies telecast schedule. The network will air 150 Rockies regular season games and six Spring Training games. Coverage begins March 14 with a matchup between the Rockies and Mariners in Peoria, Arizona. ROOT SPORTS regular season coverage begins with the season-opener on Monday, April 4, featuring a special onehour pregame show in Arizona before the Rockies face the Diamondbacks. First pitch is at 7:40 p.m. MT. The Rockies will open at Coors Field against the Padres on Friday, April 8, with pregame coverage beginning at 1 p.m. MT. We look forward to another great year with our longtime partner ROOT SPORTS, said Rockies Chief Operating Officer Greg Feasel. Their on-air personalities and production personnel are excellent collaborators with our organization and the quality of their production, from game coverage to special programming, represents Colorado Rockies Baseball in the best way possible to fans throughout the Rocky Mountain Region. The Rockies are full of young and exciting talent, including some of the top prospects in baseball, said ROOT SPORTS Rocky Mountain General Manager David Woodman. With a large fan base that extends beyond the state of Colorado, we are pleased that we can bring Rockies baseball to fans throughout the Rocky Mountain region. ROOT SPORTS will also debut a new show for The Club/Colorado Rockies, premieres on April 2 at 4 p.m. following the Rockies spring training game against the Mariners. The 30-minute weekly show will offer fans a behind-the-scenes view of the players and front office, in addition to covering milestones of the week and the stories behind them. Many ROOT SPORTS on-air personalities will take part in the show as well. The Club/Colorado Rockies will air Sundays after the Toyota Postgame Show throughout the season. Rockies Double Play, which provides all the highlights from the previous game in just 30 minutes, will return for the 2016 season and airs 30 minutes prior to each Rockies Pregame Report. 8

9 ROOT SPORTS is pleased to bring back many familiar faces to Rockies telecasts in Drew Goodman, 12-time Colorado Sportscaster of the Year, enters his 15th season as play-by-play announcer for the games. Jeff Huson and former Rockie Ryan Spilborghs will split time in the booth serving as game analyst. Jenny Cavnar and Marc Stout return to host the Rockies Pregame Report and Toyota Postgame Show, as well as share sideline reporting duties. Spilborghs, Huson, and former Rockies outfielder Cory Sullivan will also provide analysis on the Rockies Pregame Report and the Toyota Postgame Show throughout the season. A full 2016 ROOT SPORTS Spring Training and regular season telecast schedule is below ROOT SPORTS Colorado Rockies Spring Training Schedule (Schedule Subject to Change) Date Time(MT) Opponent 3/14/2016 2:10 PM at Mariners 3/24/2016 2:10 PM Mariners 3/26/2016 2:10 PM Rangers 3/27/2016 2:10 PM at Diamondbacks 4/1/2016 8:05 PM at Mariners 4/2/2016 1:10 PM Mariners 2016 ROOT SPORTS Colorado Rockies Regular Season Schedule (Schedule Subject to Change) Date Time(MT) Opponent 4/4/2016 7:40 PM at D-backs 4/5/2016 7:40 PM at D-backs 4/6/2016 1:40 PM at D-backs 4/8/2016 2:10 PM Padres 4/9/2016 6:10 PM Padres 4/10/2016 2:10 PM Padres 4/12/2016 6:40 PM Giants 4/13/2016 6:40 PM Giants 9

10 4/15/ :20 PM at Cubs 4/16/ :20 PM at Cubs 4/17/ :20 PM at Cubs 4/18/2016 5:10 PM at Reds 4/19/2016 5:10 PM at Reds 4/22/2016 6:40 PM Dodgers 4/23/2016 6:10 PM Dodgers 4/24/2016 2:10 PM Dodgers 4/25/2016 6:40 PM Pirates 4/26/2016 6:40 PM Pirates 4/27/2016 6:40 PM Pirates 4/28/2016 1:10 PM Pirates 4/29/2016 7:40 PM at D-backs 4/30/2016 6:10 PM at D-backs 5/1/2016 2:10 PM at D-backs 5/2/2016 8:10 PM at Padres 5/3/2016 8:10 PM at Padres 5/5/2016 8:15 PM at Giants 5/6/2016 8:15 PM at Giants 5/7/2016 2:05 PM at Giants 5/8/2016 2:05 PM at Giants 5/9/2016 6:40 PM D-backs 5/10/2016 6:40 PM D-backs 5/13/2016 6:40 PM Mets 5/14/2016 6:10 PM Mets 5/15/2016 2:10 PM Mets 5/17/2016 6:15 PM at Cardinals 5/18/2016 6:15 PM at Cardinals 5/19/2016 5:15 PM at Cardinals 5/20/2016 5:05 PM at Pirates 10

11 5/21/2016 2:05 PM at Pirates 5/22/ :35 AM at Pirates 5/24/2016 5:10 PM at Red Sox 5/25/2016 5:10 PM at Red Sox 5/26/2016 5:10 PM at Red Sox 5/27/2016 6:40 PM Giants 5/28/2016 2:10 PM Giants 5/29/2016 2:10 PM Giants 5/30/2016 2:10 PM Reds 5/31/2016 6:40 PM Reds 6/1/2016 6:40 PM Reds 6/2/2016 6:40 PM Reds 6/3/2016 8:40 PM at Padres 6/4/2016 8:10 PM at Padres 6/5/2016 7:10 PM at Padres 6/6/2016 8:10 PM at Dodgers 6/7/2016 8:10 PM at Dodgers 6/8/2016 8:10 PM at Dodgers 6/10/2016 6:40 PM Padres 6/11/2016 2:10 PM Padres 6/12/2016 2:10 PM Padres 6/14/2016 6:40 PM Yankees 6/15/2016 1:10 PM Yankees 6/17/2016 5:10 PM at Marlins 6/18/2016 2:10 PM at Marlins 6/19/ :10 AM at Marlins 6/20/2016 5:10 PM at Marlins 6/21/2016 5:05 PM at Yankees 6/22/ :05 AM at Yankees 6/23/2016 6:40 PM D-backs 11

12 6/24/2016 6:40 PM D-backs 6/25/2016 2:10 PM D-backs 6/26/2016 2:10 PM D-backs 6/27/2016 6:40 PM Blue Jays 6/28/2016 6:40 PM Blue Jays 6/29/2016 1:10 PM Blue Jays 7/1/2016 8:10 PM at Dodgers 7/2/2016 8:10 PM at Dodgers 7/3/2016 2:10 PM at Dodgers 7/5/2016 8:15 PM at Giants 7/6/2016 8:15 PM at Giants 7/7/2016 6:40 PM Phillies 7/8/2016 6:10 PM Phillies 7/9/2016 6:40 PM Phillies 7/10/2016 2:10 PM Phillies 7/15/2016 5:35 PM at Braves 7/16/2016 5:10 PM at Braves 7/17/ :35 AM at Braves 7/18/2016 6:40 PM Rays 7/19/2016 6:40 PM Rays 7/21/2016 6:40 PM Braves 7/22/2016 6:40 PM Braves 7/23/2016 6:10 PM Braves 7/24/2016 2:10 PM Braves 7/25/2016 5:05 PM at Orioles 7/26/2016 5:05 PM at Orioles 7/27/2016 5:05 PM at Orioles 7/28/ :10 AM at Mets 7/29/2016 5:10 PM at Mets 7/30/2016 5:10 PM at Mets 12

13 7/31/ :10 AM at Mets 8/2/2016 6:40 PM Dodgers 8/3/2016 6:40 PM Dodgers 8/4/2016 6:40 PM Dodgers 8/5/2016 6:40 PM Marlins 8/6/2016 6:10 PM Marlins 8/7/2016 2:10 PM Marlins 8/8/2016 6:40 PM Rangers 8/10/2016 6:05 PM at Rangers 8/12/2016 5:05 PM at Phillies 8/13/2016 5:05 PM at Phillies 8/14/ :35 AM at Phillies 8/15/2016 6:40 PM Nationals 8/16/2016 6:40 PM Nationals 8/19/2016 6:40 PM Cubs 8/20/2016 6:10 PM Cubs 8/21/2016 2:10 PM Cubs 8/22/2016 5:20 PM at Brewers 8/23/2016 6:10 PM at Brewers 8/26/2016 5:05 PM at Nationals 8/27/ :05 AM at Nationals 8/28/ :35 AM at Nationals 8/29/2016 6:40 PM Dodgers 8/30/2016 6:40 PM Dodgers 9/2/2016 6:40 PM D-backs 9/3/2016 6:10 PM D-backs 9/4/2016 2:10 PM D-backs 9/5/2016 2:10 PM Giants 9/6/2016 6:40 PM Giants 9/7/2016 6:40 PM Giants 13

14 9/8/2016 8:10 PM at Padres 9/9/2016 8:40 PM at Padres 9/10/2016 6:40 PM at Padres 9/11/2016 2:40 PM at Padres 9/12/2016 7:40 PM at D-backs 9/13/2016 7:40 PM at D-backs 9/14/2016 7:40 PM at D-backs 9/16/2016 6:40 PM Padres 9/17/2016 6:10 PM Padres 9/18/2016 2:10 PM Padres 9/19/2016 6:40 PM Cardinals 9/20/2016 6:40 PM Cardinals 9/22/2016 8:10 PM at Dodgers 9/23/2016 8:10 PM at Dodgers 9/24/2016 7:10 PM at Dodgers 9/25/2016 2:10 PM at Dodgers 9/27/2016 8:15 PM at Giants 9/28/2016 8:15 PM at Giants 9/29/2016 8:15 PM at Giants 9/30/2016 6:10 PM Brewers 10/1/2016 6:10 PM Brewers 10/2/2016 1:10 PM Brewers 14

15 Right-hander Jeff Hoffman impresses in Rockies' intra-squad game Centerpiece of Troy Tulowitzki trade throws mph fastball, flashes big curveball By Patrick Saunders The Denver Post SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. Sure, it was just a practice game before the real practice games begin, but Rockies right-hander Jeff Hoffman took a small step forward Tuesday. Hoffman, 23, the centerpiece to last summer's trade that sent star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki to Toronto, worked two solid innings in an intrasquad game. In his first frame, Hoffman gave up an infield single to outfielder Rosell Herrera, an RBI double over third base to shortstop prospect Trevor Story and a walk to third-base prospect Ryan McMahon. Hoffman, who wears prescription sports glasses while on the mound, set down the side in order in the second inning on two outfield popups and a grounder to second. His fastball hummed at mph, and he showed off his big-league curve. "My plan was to throw strikes and get my work in," he said. "My goal was to stay in the zone. I did OK in the first, I guess, because I got three groundballs. The big thing is that my arm feels really good out there." Hoffman had Tommy John surgery in 2014, shortly before he was drafted by Toronto. "He's part of that wave of young arms that we're excited about, he's a big part of that," manager Walt Weiss said. "He's been opening eyes around here." Book on Story. In the running to make the 25-man roster as the starting shortstop, Story put in a nice afternoon's work. In addition to his run-scoring double, he had a single, a walk and a stolen base. Story also made a Tulo-like play on a ball up the middle. Other highlights from the intrasquad game: Catcher Tom Murphy hit a solo homer to right field off right-hander German Marquez, although Murphy was chewed out by coach Rene Lachemann for some poor work behind the play. McMahon made a diving catch on a line drive by Rafael Yona in the hole between third and short. Reyes decision. The 30-game suspension New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman was given Tuesday by commissioner Rob Manfred could set some ground rules for discipline regarding Rockies veteran shortstop Jose Reyes. The Rockies, however, still have not been told what length of suspension Reyes might face. 15

16 Reyes is alleged to have assaulted his wife on Halloween in a Hawaii luxury hotel and is scheduled to go on trial April 4. Footnotes. Right-handed pitcher David Hale remains sidelined by a strained right hamstring, but he's making good progress on a quick return, Weiss said.... Right-handed reliever Scott Obergwill start and pitch one inning in Wednesday's Cactus League opener vs. Arizona. Righty Jon Gray is scheduled to follow Oberg and pitch two innings. 16

17 Rockies grow a connection to their beloved gloves Colorado players discuss their first and favorite baseball gloves By Nicole Vitale Special to The Denver Post SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. A baseball glove is more than a tool of the trade for a major leaguer. It's an extension of who he is. Even, sometimes, when he sleeps. That's how Rockies third-base prospect Ryan McMahon breaks in his leather. "I put it under my mattress and put a couple of baseballs in there, kind of moved it how I wanted it to form, and slept on top of it the first night I had it," McMahon said. The nonroster invitee remembers his first glove. What player doesn't? "My grandpa gave it to my dad when I was born," McMahon said. "And I used to sleep with a whiffle ball bat till I was like 10, so it's been baseball my entire life." Most recently, with the Rockies considering him to play first base, McMahon added another glove to his collection. "I just got my first first-base glove so I'm working on breaking it in right now," McMahon said. Infielder Daniel Descalso doesn't have a favorite glove; he has a couple. Make that four. "I have a smaller one for the middle infield. I've got a little bigger one for third base. I have a first-base glove, and I have an outfielder glove just in case," Descalso said. "I have a whole stockpile of gloves." Although he's been through quite a few gloves during his career, he still remembers his first glove a Louisville Slugger he got for his fifth or sixth birthday. "I had it for a long time. I had my name branded on the back part; I think I still have it somewhere at the house," Descalso said. "My dad found it in storage a little while ago and passed it along to me." Throughout his career, Descalso has learned certain gloves have a feeling that can't be matched. "There's always one that feels good and you try to use it for as long as you can," Descalso said. "It gets kind of sweaty and crusty and gross, but there is something about the comfort of a nice broken in glove that you just feel comfortable with." 17

18 The one glove he has that goes beyond comfort for him is his first-base glove. Given to him by a former teammate, the glove holds extra meaning. "Mark Ellis gave it to me when I played with the Cardinals," Descalso said. "So I got his name on here, my name on here and I'll pass it down to somebody else when I'm done playing." Rockies star third baseman Nolan Arenado changes gloves about every two years. But he has a special glove he holds near to his heart. "Adrián Beltré gave me a glove signed by him and that meant a lot to me," Arenado said. "He was my favorite player growing up. I don't have a trophy room but if I did that would be the first one up there." On the other end of the spectrum is Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu. A glove that he used throughout college was eventually so worn out he was forced to retire it. "I used [the glove] for seven or eight years till it broke," LeMahieu said. "It was pretty devastating. I still have it and keep it with me just in case I really need to bring it back out again." 18

19 Colorado Rockies prospects: Matt Carasiti is one to watch during spring training By Bobby on Mar 2, 2016, 9:00a Purple Row It's one thing to analyze a player's performance, another to hear it from the player themselves, and a third thing entirely to get reports through the grapevine about what other ballplayers feel the player in question can and can't do. We do plenty of the first two here at Purple Row; the third will be relevant today with Colorado Rockiesprospect Matt Carasiti. Carasiti, 24, enters spring training fresh off a successful season saving 22 games at High-A Modesto, and last month, he already appeared in big league workouts. Later this month, he'll take part in some Major League spring training games, too. At 6'3", 205 lbs., Carasiti is a big right-handed pitcher who has thrown late innings the last two years of his minor league career after being converted from a starter. And while we can analyze his stats to death, I'm more impressed by what other people have said about Carasiti in throwaway conversations nominally about other pitchers in the Rockies' organization, like Carlos Estevez. Back in January, I spoke to Rockies prospect Ryan McMahon about which pitchers in the organization he'd least like to face. Estevez's name came up, as you'd imagine, but it's what McMahon dropped in beforehand that piqued my interest. "I've never faced Matt Carasiti and I don't ever want to," McMahon told me, "but Carlos Estevez was a guy I faced before our season in Asheville together, and 98 mph downhill with a hammer to go with it wasn't fun." We know Estevez is good; it's the reveal on Carasiti's stuff that's so much more interesting right now. And McMahon isn't the only person talking up Carasiti's stuff. Speaking last month to scout Chris Kusiolek, I found out more about Carasiti's power offerings. "They have nearly big league ready bullpen arms with Carlos Estevez, Sam Moll, and Matt Carasiti," Kusiolek said at the time, "and Carasiti is a guy that can seriously throw." A pitcher that "can seriously throw" to the point where even Ryan McMahon doesn't want to step in the batter's box? That should tell you something. Carasiti has just 95 relief appearances as a pro after the Rockies initially tried to make him a starter. He's never pitched above High-A, and he'll have a significant learning curve the next few seasons. But there's little better recommendation a guy can get than from wellrespected players, and eagle-eyed scouts. In Carasiti's case, that writing on the wall ought to be a sign. For that, he's worth your focus this spring and beyond. 19

20 Raised fences at Coors Field would have only had a minor impact on Carlos Gonzalez in 2015 By Ryan Freemyer and Nick Stephens on Mar 2, 2016, 7:00a Purple Row On Tuesday afternoon, the Colorado Rockies announced that two portions of the outfield fence will be raised by eight feet for the 2016 season. The right-center field wall in front of the bullpens will be raised 8 feet and 9 inches to match the height of the out-of-town scoreboard in right field at 16 feet-6 inches. Down the left field line between the foul pole and the beginning of the pavilion, the wall will be raised by 5 feet to a height of 13 feet. A formula by the Rockies projected that the increase in wall height would reduce home run totals at Coors Field by 5-6 percent. Projections are great, but what can we learn from looking back at some of the things that happened during the 2015 season? The obvious place to start here is with Carlos Gonzalez; the Rockies' most prolific left-handed power hitter. He thinks the higher walls would have taken away only one home run in his 2015 season. That seems encouraging, but we did him one better and found all of his 2015 home runs (there were eight) that were hit to one of the effected areas of the wall. Let's take a look at those eight home runs together. 1. June 6 off David Phelps, Miami Marlins This one is close, but most likely would not have been a home run if hit to the same place in It didn't clear the wall by much and would've likely gone for a double or a triple, depending on the carom off the wall. 2. June 7 off Carter Capps, Miami Marlins The very next day we have another home run that was in 2015, but would not be in This is the shot CarGo was referring to in the tweet above, and he's right that it would not have gone out with the raised walls. In 2016, this is probably a double rather than a round tripper. So, we have two home runs hit and two home runs that would not have gone out with the raised walls. Maybe this is more of a concern than we thought. 3. June 17 off Chad Qualls, Houston Astros We're going to go out on a limb here and say this one would not have been affected by the new walls. It's a no doubter even with 30 foot walls, so let's move on. (But on a side note, if Chad Qualls could try not to make that a habit this season, that would be fine.) 4. July 24 of JJ Hoover, Cincinnati Reds 20

21 Not quite the no doubter of the previous home run, but this blast still cleared the wall by a good margin. This is still a home run in 2016, so at the halfway point we have two homers affected and two not affected. Let's keep going. 5. July 26 off Dylan Axelrod, Cincinnati Reds This was not a fun game to be a Reds pitcher, but that's beside the point here. The important thing here is that it's another home run that easily cleared the wall and would still go out in August 5 off Taijuan Waker, Seattle Mariners CarGo took this shot off Walker to the back wall of the bullpen on the fly, so again we're looking at a ball that easily clears even the higher wall. That makes four straight that would not have been affected, so maybe this isn't quite the issue it initially appeared to be. 7. September 2 off Keith Hessler, Arizona Diamondbacks Before moving on, let's take a brief moment to appreciate how fun it is to watch this dude hit homers.... Okay, we can keep going now. Anyway, the home run in question here hit off the facade of the second deck, so an extra eight feet of wall would have obviously made no difference. Another homer even with higher fences. 8. September 3 off Ryan Vogelsong, San Francisco Giants The eighth and final home run here is also the only one he hit into the small portion of left field that will have a raised wall in That's different. What isn't different is the fact that a higher wall would have had absolutely no effect on this home run. It cleared the wall by a whole lot more than five feet. So, there we have it. Only two of his 40 home runs get taken away in a hypothetical world where the Rockies have already raised their fences for the 2015 season. Replace those two home runs with doubles and his OPS plummets from.864 all the way down to.857. That's not a huge difference, but it's certainly something tangible that will almost definitely have at least some impact on games. Just how much or what that impact is remains to be seen. That's why they play the games, right? 21