Bryant, Montero flashing power in spring games

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Rockies need power from Kris Bryant and are willing to move him around positionally to keep him in the lineup. And if Elehuris Montero’s early spring power holds, there will be good reason to shift Bryant to designated hitter or right field to accommodate Montero playing first base or DH.

In Monday’s 12-10 Cactus League victory over the Giants, Bryant and Montero each homered, with Bryant hitting his second of the spring and Montero his third.

Montero’s solo shot came off Luke Jackson in the third inning, and Bryant’s shot was for three runs off Erik Miller in the fourth.

Bryan is asked to do damage from the No. 2 spot in the planned batting order.

“He got just underneath on a couple, and he got the last one -- that ball was well-struck,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “That ball was well-struck to the big part of the park. That was out of any ballpark.

“That’s a confidence booster for sure.”

Montero’s hitting adjustments last season allowed him to track pitches better and hold off on some of the low-and-outside stuff that gave him trouble for his first year-plus in the Majors.

“The bat speed is there," Black said. "The head of the bat is getting to fastballs middle and middle-in, and that’s a sign of a guy that’s on time and confident with his swing.”

Black is willing to be flexible to accommodate younger players swinging hot. Montero finished last season strong and is batting .389 with a 1.455 OPS in the early spring. Also swinging well is switch-hitting Michael Toglia, whose 1-for-2 Monday left him at .350 and 1.135. Toglia has first base and outfield capabilities.

Notes:

• Rockies No. 28 2023 prospect Aaron Schunk, a second-round 2019 pick who slashed .290/.350/.461 at Triple-A Albuquerque, drilled the decisive three-run double in the seventh. Not a member of the 40-man Major League roster but long a presence in Spring Training, Schunk, 26 and from the University of Georgia, is trying to plant an idea that he is deserving of a phone call. Schunk is 6-for-12 this spring.

“He’s more poised, more under control, more confident,” Black said. “He’s playing loose, but yet there is an intensity, a focus. You need that combo, and he’s showing it on the field.

In a poorly pitched game, Black saw prospects Sterlin Thompson (No. 6), Adael Amador (No. 1) and Jordan Beck (No. 4) fight their eagerness to impress and draw the walks that set up Schunk’s hit off José Cruz.

• Beck's poise and flair standing out at Rockies camp

• The game featured right-handers Dakota Hudson, Ryan Feltner and Peter Lambert, who are competing for two rotation spots. Only Lambert, who gave up two hits in two innings, escaped without giving up a run.

• Ubaldo Jiménez, statistically the most-accomplished pitcher in club history (18.3 wins above replacement, per Baseball Reference) and anecdotally owner of the Rockies’ most dominant stretch, arrived Monday as a guest instructor in Minor League camp for a week.

“I don’t know yet what they’ll have me doing, but whatever I can do to provide a little insight into things that worked for me, I’ll give,” said Jiménez, whose standout start to the 2010 season -- including a no-hitter at Atlanta on April 17 -- earned him the start in All-Star Game representing the club.

• The Rockies are off on Tuesday. When they return Wednesday, it’s possible that designated hitter-right fielder Charlie Blackmon and catcher Elias Díaz will be back in the lineup. Blackmon hasn’t played in a Cactus League game since feeling discomfort in his back on Saturday, but has continued his daily work. Díaz last played last Wednesday, when he left the game after feeling soreness in his right thigh.