Scottsdale, Ariz. – Few young Rockies have enjoyed a better spring training than infielder Omar Quintanilla.
His glovework has been golden and after going 2-for-4 Friday in an 11-7 loss to the San Francisco Giants, his batting average is .333.
Trouble is, he has no place to go. Troy Tulowitzki and Clint Barmes rank ahead of him at shortstop, and only one of those players will make the roster. At second base, Kaz Matsui and Jamey Carroll are locks. So Quintanilla was optioned to the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox on Friday afternoon.
“Offensively, this has been his finest hour,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “His stroke seems to be shorter. He’s barreling up more balls and it’s a pure stroke. Hard, consistent contact has definitely come his way this spring.”
Quintanilla acknowledged that all he can do is keep playing well and hope for another chance in the big leagues. After hitting .210 in 50 big-league games over the past two seasons, he worked hard in the offseason to improve his hitting.
“I know we have a lot of good infielders, but this game is funny because anything can happen,” Quintanilla said. “I know that I can’t make the decisions, so all I can do is go out there and work hard and show them what I’ve got.”
Quintanilla has proven he can play short or second in the majors, and Hurdle said the club would like to see how Quintanilla handles third, a position he played in college at Texas.
“He’s adding value to himself,” Hurdle said. “To have somebody playing the way he is, that’s a pretty good player to have.”
Kim falters
With his slider betraying him, right-hander Byung-Hyun Kim was roughed up by the Giants.
“My slider wasn’t good today, I had to throw only fastballs,” Kim said. “I was a little confused, trying to find my release point.”
In 4 2/3 innings, Kim gave up eight runs, all earned, on eight hits and two walks. Randy Winn drilled a homer to right to open the Giants’ first. In the second, Kim gave up six runs on four hits, including a bases-loaded triple to Omar Vizquel and a solo homer to Barry Bonds. All three Giants are left-handed hitters.
“Lefties presented some problems to B.K. (Friday),” Hurdle said. “I think the ball that Bonds hit, I don’t think many could hit it but Bonds. The triple to Vizquel was a good pitch. He did some good things, and some things he wasn’t real crisp on.”
One of Kim’s objectives this spring was to get tougher on left-handers by pitching them inside. Last season, lefties hit .325 with 13 homers against Kim; right-handers hit .265 with five homers.
Bonds’ homer, a towering fly to center, was his fourth of the spring. It was Kim who served up homer No. 715 to Bonds last season as Bonds passed Babe Ruth and moved into second place on the all-time list.
In Tucson, Josh Fogg, Kim’s prime competitor for the fifth spot in the rotation, pitched for a Double-A Tulsa squad against a Triple-A Colorado Springs team. Fogg went five innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits, including a home run. Fogg walked one and struck out six.
Injury update
Matsui was out of action again because of a right forefoot strain.
However, the infielder did some light running and was expected to take some swings in the batting cage. There’s a chance he will be in the lineup Saturday when the Rockies host the Giants at Hi Corbett Field. Matsui injured his foot stepping on a baseball.
Footnotes
In addition to Quintanilla, four Rockies were optioned to minor-league camps: right-handed pitchers Denny Bautista and Ryan Speier and catcher Alvin Colina to Triple-A Colorado Springs, and right-handed pitcher Darren Clarke to Double-A Tulsa. The Rockies now have 42 players on the major-league spring roster, including 12 nonroster players. … The Giants’ Brad Hennessey will start in place of Matt Morris on Saturday. The Giants opted for that plan because they wanted to get Hennessey another major-league start and also let Morris, a veteran, avoid a long bus ride to Tucson. Aaron Cook is scheduled to start for the Rockies.
Staff writer Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
