Former Rockies 1st-round pick Pint retires

DENVER -- Right-handed pitcher Riley Pint, who has battled injuries and control problems since being drafted by the Rockies fourth overall in 2016, has decided to retire, Rockies assistant general manager of player development Zach Wilson said.

Pint, 23, capable of triple-digits fastballs when selected out of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Overland Park, Kansas, was 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA in 10 games at Class A Spokane this season when he came to the decision.

Pint dealt with forearm stiffness and a strained oblique in 2017, and he struggled with his control. At Class A Asheville, he walked 59 in 93 innings pitched. As Pint's career progressed, the Rockies shifted him to relief work full-time in 2019. This year, the overall results were solid, but control was still an issue -- 17 strikeouts and 10 walks in 10 2/3 innings pitched.

Wilson said the door is open for Pint to return, and the club supports him no matter what direction he takes.

“And at the end of the day, it just came down to some personal decisions for Riley,” Wilson said. “We want to support Riley right now [with] where he's at in his life. And we'll certainly support him as to the next several weeks and months and years. We drafted him and he spent a lot of time here. We’ve worked very hard with him, so just because he's decided to step away doesn't mean that we're going to cut that off at all.”

Pint’s is the second retirement this year of a high school pitcher selected in the first round by Colorado. Righty Mike Nikorak, taken 27th overall out of Stroudsburg (Pa.) High School in 2015, retired after sustaining a second major injury to his throwing elbow.