It’s billed as a spot start for Rockies minor-leaguer Juan Nicasio, but manager Jim Tracy isn’t putting any time limitations on the right-hander’s stay in the big leagues.
In the fallout from the season-ending injury to left-hander Jorge De La Rosa, Nicasio has been brought up from the Double-A Tulsa Drillers to pitch Saturday against St. Louis.
Tracy made it sound as though what happens after Saturday is up to Nicasio.
“If he walks out there and makes a statement immediately, he may force us back to the drawing board,” Tracy said. “That’s OK. We’re going to give him the opportunity and see how he handles it.”
Tracy said Nicasio’s big-league debut isn’t just to fill a hole in the rotation. “We’re anxious to see what he can do,” Tracy said. “We brought him in specifically for that reason.”
Nicasio went through a workout Thursday under the wing of fellow Dominican Ubaldo Jimenez. Nicasio seemed comfortable in the new surroundings and wasn’t overly concerned about the assignment ahead. He conceded that Coors Field was beautiful, but bigger than the parks he’s used to.
“It’s not scary,” Nicasio said of facing the Cardinals with the likes of Albert Pujols and former Rockie Matt Holliday. “I’m a little surprised at being here right now. My dream has been to pitch in the big leagues.”
Nicasio has been working hard, and his numbers with Tulsa prove it. He was 5-1 with a 2.22 ERA, and 10 walks and 63 strikeouts in 56 2/3 innings.
“His strikeout-to-walk ratio is unrealistic,” Rockies pitching coach Bob Apodaca said. “He’s excelling at the Double-A level right now, and that level of development is kind of the separation point between men and boys in baseball.”
Nicasio has used what is said to be a major-league fastball to make a mark through the Rockies’ farm system. At 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, he’s a classic right-handed pitcher.
Nicasio is 26-14 the past three seasons. Going into this season, he had 404 strikeouts and 94 walks in five seasons in the Rockies’ system.
“He dominates the bottom of the strike zone,” Apodaca said. “He has no fear. The trick here is he has to think he’s pitching another Texas League game. The faces may change, but what he has to do doesn’t change.”
