GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Los Angeles Dodgers made a seismic shift in the sixth inning Wednesday, flooding the left side of their infield in an attempt to cool down Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado.
No problem. Arenado scorched a double down the third baseline on a hot shot that reserve third baseman Brandon Hicks could barely get a glove on. The double boosted Arenado’s Cactus League average to .593.
More and more, Arenado is seeing teams employ the shift on him. It doesn’t appear to rattle him.
“I think maybe I will see a little bit more of it this year than I have seen in the past,” said Arenado, whose 42 homers tied for the National League lead last season. “A lot of the homers I hit were to left, and I pull the ball a lot. But that’s OK. I really trust my swing, and I feel like I can use the whole field when I need to. … Wherever the guy pitches it, I want to be able to take him there and have a good (at-bat).”
Prospect watch. Some of the Rockies’ top pitching prospects get another chance to face big-league hitters this week.
Right-hander Jeff Hoffman, who came to Colorado in the Troy Tulowitzki trade with Toronto last summer, will start Thursday against the Angels at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Hoffman was assigned to minor-league camp last week.
On Thursday morning, hard-throwing right-hander German Marquez, part of the Corey Dickerson trade with Tampa Bay, will start a “B” game against the Cubs at the Rockies’ complex. The Rockies also are starting right-hander Antonio Senzatela in Friday’s Cactus League game against the Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium.
“I just wanted to get another look at them against major-league competition,” manager Walt Weiss said. “I wanted to see them pitch against an ‘A’ lineup. They handled themselves well in their previous (appearances]. We wanted to see them again.”
