Bud Black addressed the media today as did catcher Austin Nola.
Today, the focus was on pitching and the bullpen, managing Kris Bryant’s playing time, and learning to use the ABS system.
Bud Black
Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black is clear that the biggest spring training contests are happening in the bullpen. While he’s not yet ready to make predictions, he’s optimistic.
“The talent level is a good as we’ve seen it as for as the depth piece,” he said.
“I think when you talk about the eight-man group, we feel, we feel good about it, barring any unforeseen rash of injuries,” Black said. “But the talent level is as good as we’ve seen it.”
He also likes the mix of veterans and young pitchers.
“I think the the blend now of some some veteran guys, who, I think, are are very capable of turning last season around, statistically combined with some young pitchers that we saw last year make their debut, and some guys coming up through our system who haven’t quite made their first major league game, the depth piece is something that we’re encouraged about,” he said.
Black was asked specifically about Victor Vodnik and Seth Halvorsen, and he praised both relievers.
Of Vodnik, Black said, “The stuff is real.”
But this season, he’s looking for some additional “refinement and efficiency” in Vodnik’s game.
“He’s ready, I think, to solidify himself as a big leaguer,” Black said.
As for Halvorsen, Black likes his quick movement through the system, noting that the reliever has “a lot of characteristics of a major league pitcher, not only stuff, but makeup.”
The Rockies are looking for Halvorsen to pitch, probably, in the back-end of games.
Pointing to Halvorsen’s fastball, changeup, and slider, Black said, “He’s got the weapons. Now it’s just getting his feet planted as a Major Leaguer.”
As for Kris Bryant, Black was positive about him heading into the 2025 season. He sees Bryant primarily as a DH with occasional stints in the outfield (probably away from Coors Field), both to keep Bryant fresh defensively and to give other outfielders some time off their feet.
A big topic, however, was MLB’s exploration of the ABS system in spring training. The Rockies experimented with it some on Monday, and began using it seriously in today’s practice. (Black met with media prior to batting practice, so look for more on that tomorrow.)
While some veteran players have not used ABS, many of the players in camp have. However, Black is eager to witness the technology in a game setting.
“I’m looking forward to seeing here in spring training,” he said.
Clearly, this is not entirely new to the Rockies since they’ve used TrackMan for several years. Yesterday, some of the Rockies tech staff stood behind the catches while pitchers were throwing to help everyone get acclimated.
Black’s description of yesterday’s test is worth sharing:
For instance, Stallings was catching Márquez, and Márquez threw a pitch, and he just said, “Hey, was that a strike?” And Stallings turned around, said, “Hey, was that a strike?” And the [tech] guy said, “No, it was ball — just missed.”
He reiterated that he suspects hitters will like the ABS more than pitchers do because he suspects pitchers will no longer get calls just off the corner of the plate.
This part of the Rockies strategy is evolving as they learn more about the ABS system and how they will use it in games.
Austin Nola
In his 13th spring training, catcher Austin Nola is with the Rockies as a non-roster invite. The focus of his interview was his experience with ABS, especially last season with Triple-A Omaha.
Even though he’s traditionally not been a big baseball-technology person, Nola sees ABS as a positive addition to the game. “It creates excitement for the fans for sure,” he said.
There’s also strategy involved.
“It can be fun,” Nola said, “but you got to use them [challenges] sparingly and wait to the end of the game.”
For Nola, however, the team figured the system out as the season progressed, and as the team got closer to clinching a playoff berth, the challenges became even more precious.
Colorado Rockies
But learning the system takes time.
“Once you understand the ABS system as a hitter,” Nola said, “ it helps you. You’ll know where the pitches are being called.”
Still it’s not a perfect system.
“Sometimes umpires over-adjust,” he said.
And how does ABS handle certain pitches?
“The ones I noticed last year would have been the up and away, the up across,” Nola said. “You had to understand where that pitch was. Sometimes you had to waste a challenge to see where that pitch was. But those are the hardest ones — the up at the top.”
Then he added this: “[ABS] doesn’t give the bottom very well, but the up top, you never know where it’s going to be. It’s a hard pitch for pitchers to throw consistently, but if you have a pitcher that can throw it consistently, you’re going to see some good things from the mound.”
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Check back tomorrow for more notes from Salt River Fields.
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