SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Rockies hope to see an enhanced version of Yency Almonte this season, with the same signature gold chain flowing out of his jersey but a slimmer ERA than the 5.56 he put up across 28 appearances last season.
That hope is present even as the young right-hander’s ideal form was absent on Saturday at Salt River Fields, where Almonte was tagged for eight runs on six hits, two homers and two walks in one-third of an inning. The poor outing fueled a 14-2 blowout defeat to the Dodgers.
“Yency’s got to let that one go,” manager Bud Black said. “He came in and walked his first batter (Corey) Seager, which is not ideal… There were pitches up and the sun got in the way of a fly (that should’ve been caught).”
But Saturday’s dud outing aside, Black believes Almonte is ready to take on a greater bullpen role this summer. He also believes more consistency is coming for Almonte, who showed promise with a 2.45 ERA in a small first-half sample size last season.
“As each year goes by, players gain that confidence and they mature,” Black said. “I think he’s ready for that (bigger burden), and I think he wants it.”
Almonte, originally a 17th-round draft pick by the Angels in 2012, was traded to the Rockies by the White Sox in 2015 in exchange for now-Yankees reliever Tommy Kahnle. His rise up Colorado’s minor league ladder was punctuated by a strong performance in the 2017 Arizona Fall League, and made his debut in June of 2018.
The Miami native spent his offseason making subtle adjustments to his delivery in order to better harness his fastball (95.7 mph average last season) and his hard slider (85.8 mph).
“The main focus this offseason and spring is the same as the last couple: cleaning up my mechanics,” Almonte said. “I’m trying to have a shorter arm path and tighten up the delivery to be able to repeat more consistently to glove side and make more pitches out in front.”
Almonte is out of minor league options, so if the Rockies don’t include him on their opening day 26-man roster, he’ll have to be designated for assignment and clear waivers before he could be sent to Triple-A Albuquerque.
Dodgers 14, Rockies 2
At Salt River Fields, Scottsdale, Ariz.
On the mound: Peter Lambert fared decently with two innings of one-run ball, the lone damage coming on a solo homer. Chi Chi Gonzalez then came on and threw two shutout innings before the wheels fell off for Colorado in the fifth. Los Angeles scored 11 runs on the combination of Gonzalez and Yency Almonte in that inning.
At the plate: Los Angeles’ young ace, Walker Buehler, retired all six batters he faced to begin the game. Colorado only mustered four hits overall.
Worth noting: The 14 runs surrendered by the Rockies is the most given up by the club in a Cactus League game since 2017, when they gave up 14 runs to the Dodgers at Salt River in a game Kyle Freeland started.
Up next: Angels (4-3) at Rockies (3-4), 1:10 p.m. Sunday, Salt River Fields
Rockies pitchers: RHP German Marquez, RHP Wes Parsons, RHP Scott Oberg, LHP Jake McGee, RHP Wade Davis
Angels pitchers: LHP Jose Suarez, RHP Matt Ball, RHP Jake Thompson, RHP Adrian De Horta
