SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- By the end of Spring Training, Rockies outfielder Brenton Doyle may be more than a figure of curiosity: Can a player who slipped through big-time college cracks really be this physically talented?
Doyle batted .256 with 26 home runs in 132 games combined at Double-A Hartford and Triple-A Albuquerque last season. The performance earned Doyle -- drafted in the fourth round in 2019 from Division II Shepherd University (Shepherdstown, W.Va.) -- a spot on the 40-man roster and a chance to make the Opening Day roster.
Listed at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds -- even more, possessing brawn and speed -- Doyle (the Rockies’ No. 23 prospect on the soon-to-be-updated MLB Pipeline rankings) could fit into Colorado’s center-field picture.
“The sky is the limit for me right now,” said Doyle, who turns 25 on May 14. “I’m really excited to prove myself.”
This offseason, the Rockies’ roster called for a center fielder, preferably one who could bat left-handed. But players who fill such needs tend to seek multiyear contracts. Expecting the prospects to be the future, the Rockies were lukewarm at best about offering more than one year to a free agent.
Yonathan Daza is expected to play center field, with Charlie Blackmon and a host of players who debuted last year (Sean Bouchard, Nolan Jones, Michael Toglia among them) filling right field because Randal Grichuk (bilateral sports hernia surgery) won’t be ready to start the season.
But if Doyle can impact a game defensively and provides sufficient offense, the Rockies can move Daza to right -- where his throwing has greater impact. If Doyle needs time at Albuquerque, non-roster candidates Harold Castro -- after five seasons of solid offense and versatility with the Tigers -- and Cole Tucker have center field listed among their positions.
The Rockies will let Doyle show his wares.
“You can’t rule anything out,” general manager Bill Schmidt said. “We’ll see how he handles the opportunity given to him.”
The 2022 start at Hartford was slow. Doyle credits former Rockies hitting coordinator Darin Everson (now hitting coach at the Mets’ Double-A affiliate) with bringing adjustments to light. Still, Doyle must trim strikeouts (171 in 548 plate appearances last year).
“Some swing changes made my swing a lot more efficient, so my offensive side was a lot better,” Doyle said. “Without those failures, I wouldn’t have made those swing adjustments. It was a good learning curve.”
RAVES FOR LAMBERT
Careful as the Rockies are trying to be, it’s hard not to be excited about righty Peter Lambert, who has been limited to two Major League appearances since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2020. In batting practice sessions, his full pitch mix has been lively.
Lambert went 3-7 with a 7.25 ERA and was impressive at times as a rookie in 2019. He was trying to improve his timing during the windup when the elbow injury flared. Now healthy, he has stuck with the changes and is seeing results.
This spring, Lambert’s shoulders are staying even during his stride to the plate, rather than having the left side higher. The Rockies, who have him going through a normal spring but will cap his regular-season innings conservatively, see this helping him stay healthier.
“I’m ready to go -- [the innings cap] is out of my control,” Lambert said. “I’m going about my business, and going about it the right way.”
DAVIS GROWING
Right-hander Noah Davis arrived in a trade from the Reds in 2021 with a strategy based on extreme usage of his sharp breaking ball. But the Rockies preach more of a mix and place higher importance on a pitcher using his best fastball. Last season at Double-A, Davis gradually found the right mix. Even though his ERA was 5.54 with Hartford, the Rockies called him to the Majors late and fed him one inning.
Davis, who turns 26 on April 22, now has a chance to show he is hungry for more. The righty -- who will start Saturday’s Cactus League opener against the D-backs (1:10 p.m. MT, live on MLB Audio) -- entered camp as a rotation depth piece.
“The second half of last year was a great learning experience -- he realizes that as a starting pitcher, you can't rely every fifth day throwing that amount of breaking balls,” manager Bud Black said. “He realizes the importance of fastball command, fastball usage.”