SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Antonio Senzatela is Exhibit A for the Rockies’ new pitching philosophy.
Last season, the veteran right-hander threw his four-seam fastball 57.6% of the time and got clobbered doing it. He lost his job as a starting pitcher and finished the season with a 6.65 ERA. Opponents hit his fastball to the tune of a .356 average.
This season, Colorado’s new pitching coaches want their pitchers to be less reliant on fastballs, starting with Senzatela, who says he wants to be part of the starting rotation in 2026. But Senzatela’s not the only pitcher trying to develop a bigger arsenal. The Rockies want all of their starters to be more versatile and less predictable.
In Colorado’s 3-2 loss to the Diamondbacks in Friday’s Cactus League opener at Salt River Fields, Senzatela got the start, allowing one run on three hits in two innings. The run he allowed came on a second-inning home run to former teammate Nolan Arenado, who made his spring debut with Arizona. Arenado crushed Senzatela’s hanging, 82.9 mph sweeper onto the berm beyond left field.
Friday morning, manager Warren Schaeffer was asked to elaborate on Senzatela’s spring training game plan.
“He is working with brand new pitching coaches and they are collaborating very well together,” Schaeffer said. “They are giving him different things to use. So it’s the commitment to these new things that he’s being given. Also, a shrinking fastball percentage in terms of usage.”
After his start, Senzatela was upbeat.
“My arm feels really good and my body feels really good,” he said. “My sinker was working pretty good, too. My sweeper was a little high, and Nolan clipped it.”
As for utilizing an expanded pitch mix, he said, “It feels like I have a lot of weapons to throw. Just not so many fastballs.”
Overall, Schaeffer was pleased with the first live pitching experiment of spring.
“It didn’t matter that he gave one up to Nolan,” Schaeffer said. “He was working on all of his pitches and got ahead in the count early. He did exactly what we wanted him to do today.”
Arenado’s debut. The D-backs’ third baseman, who played eight years with the Rockies and five with the Cardinals before being traded to Arizona last month, was pleased with his first game of spring.
“It feels great to hit the ball hard,” he said. “I feel like I saw the fastball pretty good, too, which is nice. Good to get that first (homer) out of the way in the first game.”
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Schaeffer loves watching the 23-year-old play.
“It’s incredible — he plays like a wild horse with his hair on fire,” Schaeffer said. “I love the way he plays. We need more of that. But it’s just about him being here, refining some things. We talked in his player meeting this morning and said that exact word — it’s just all about refinement, without taking away his energy and what he brings to the table.”
Carrig, who played last season at Double-A Hartford, has the kind of speed that Schaeffer wants to see on the Rockies’ roster. Carrigg’s 14 triples led the minor leagues in 2024, and he’s hit 20 triples over his last two seasons. His 99 stolen bases over the last two seasons ranked 13th among minor leaguers.
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