Notes: Morillo readies for debut
09/23/2006DENVER -- Add Juan Morillo to the list of Rockies making a quick jump from Double-A to the Majors -- though Morillo's trip has the illusion of being even faster than most, thanks to a 100-mph fastball he showcased throughout the season in Tulsa.
The 22-year-old right-hander will be the fourth youngest pitcher in franchise history when he starts Sunday's game. He signed with the Rockies out of the Dominican Republic in 2001 and has made steady progress from the Dominican Summer League through every step of the Rockies system, with the exception of Triple-A Colorado Springs.
Morillo went 12-8 with a 4.62 ERA for the Drillers this season, and was given the opening start in their playoff appearance against the Wichita Wranglers earlier this month. He pitched seven shutout innings, walking two and striking out 10. He retired the last 11 batters he faced and left the game with a lead, but the Wranglers won in extra innings and went on to win the series.
"It was real exciting," Morillo said of his postseason experience. "I was hoping to help my team and I did. We didn't win, but we gave everything we've got. We did pretty good."
The playoffs capped a season of hard work for Morillo, who has concentrating on bringing a consistent approach to the mound and becoming a more well-rounded pitcher. He tried to make his dominant fastball just one of his tools, rather than the sole source of his 132 strikeouts in 140 1/3 innings this season.
The Rockies are eager to get a look at Morillo in a big-league environment in hopes of getting insight to how he could fit in their future plans.
"I haven't seen much of him," manager Clint Hurdle said Saturday. "We're just hoping he can go out there and control his emotions and his adrenaline and throw strikes and give us a chance to win a ballgame -- show up good. He's got a top-shelf arm. A lot of guys have that. We just need to see how it plays out at this level."
Morillo laughed off questions about bringing out his 100-mph heater on Sunday.
"I'm trying to throw low strikes," Morillo emphasized. "I'm going to give 100 percent and throw as hard as I can, but I'm going to try to keep my pitches down low. That's the main thing."
Tulsa tandem? With Morillo on the hill Sunday, Alvin Colina could find himself in the familiar position of receiving Morillo's fastballs behind the plate, replicating the role he shared in Tulsa with Chris Iannetta. Either one of the catchers could be a comfort to Morillo in his first big-league appearance, but as Hurdle has been looking to give Colina a start, Colina's history with Morillo could make Sunday his day.
"It very well could be," said Hurdle. "We've had conversations about it. What's more important? The catcher knowing the hitters? [JD] Closser has limited experience, Iannetta has very limited experience, Colina has no experience. Or having somebody that the guy's very familiar with and probably very comfortable with? What we need to have Juan focus on is pitching his game and not trying to pitch around hitters or away from hitters' strengths. Just make his pitches."
Colina has appeared in one game since coming up from Tulsa on Sept. 10. He pinch-hit against the Giants Monday, lacing an RBI single to left.
Endangered species: With the lack of lefties in big-league rotations, the Rockies don't see themselves entertaining the notion of a true platoon. Right fielder Jeff Baker's emergence as a force to be reckoned into future plans begs the question, since the right-handed hitter is .231 (6-for-26) against right-handers and .556 (5-for-9) against left-handers, and left-handed right fielder Brad Hawpe has put up opposite numbers, hitting .298 (124-for-416) against righties and .203 (13-for-64) against southpaws.
The opportunity to make one uber-outfielder out of the complementary strengths of the two is tempting, but the Rockies have faced 28 left-handed starters, and no Rockies batter has more than 121 at bats against left-handers.
"It doesn't make any sense to me to limit a right-handed hitter who's pretty good to 110 at-bats," Hurdle said. "I've mixed and matched Hawpe and Baker up since they've been here, but I hate to put a ceiling on anybody at this particular point in time."
The straight platoon is increasingly fading into baseball's past, but the memories of then-Orioles manager Earl Weaver's getting 45 home runs and 137 RBIs out of a 1982 Gary Roenicke/John Lowenstein platoon remain fresh for the Rockies as they look for creative ways to build a roster. Hurdle had first-hand experience as part of a platoon when he played for Whitey Herzog in Kansas City and St. Louis.
"When I played for Whitey, you could start and come out of the game in the fourth inning if a left-hander came in and there was a runner in scoring position," Hurdle recalled. "I was in that role with Joe Zdeb [a right-handed outfielder platooning with the left-handed Hurdle] for a while. That's the way it was. But the number of left-handers, whether we're going through a cycle or whatever, the opportunities have really been minimized, compared to what they used to be."
Thanks, Vinny: The Rockies will honor one of the franchise's all-time greats on Sunday, with Vinny Castilla scheduled to start at third base in his last weekend game at home before retiring at the end of the season.
Fans voted Castilla their final "Player of the Homestand," and in keeping with that new tradition, the first 7,500 fans at Sunday's game will receive a Castilla jersey T-shirt.
Sunday also caps Spanish Heritage Awareness Month, and Castilla will participate in pregame ceremonies honoring the winner of the Colorado Rockies Hispanic Adult Leadership Award.
On tap: Morillo (Major League debut) toes the rubber Sunday in the series finale against southpaw Chuck James (10-4, 3.62) at 1:05 p.m. MT
Source: http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/
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