Riley Pint Refines His Delivery

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—The extensive offseason work Riley Pint put into his delivery brought notable results at the outset of spring training.

The hard-throwing righthander spent three months at the Rockies’ facility getting ready for his first spring training. As a result, Pint’s delivery was smoother, tighter and more repeatable while throwing bullpen sessions and live batting practice before the start of games.

“It’s not like there was an extreme head whack or (he was) consistently trying to overthrow or looking like he was overthrowing,” farm director Zach Wilson said. “There was definitely some moving parts to it. There was probably a little more effort than you would like. It was more gaining some body control over those long limbs that he has.

“He’s learned to keep that delivery more compact. He’s learned how to really control the lower half (of his body) more than he ever has. He’s learned how to stay over the rubber more consistently.”

Pint, 19, is vying for a spot in the low Class A Asheville rotation. He went 1-5, 5.35 in 11 starts last year at Rookie-level Grand Junction, where he pitched 37 innings after the Rockies drafted him in the first round out of high school in Overland Park, Kan.

Pint’s fastball sits at 96-99 mph and easily touches 100. Wilson said Pint would flash plus secondary pitches in high school, but now more consistency with his delivery has made his curveball more reliable. Additionally, Wilson said Pint’s slider “is really starting to come along,” and he has good arm speed with his changeup.

“He’s learning how to pitch now,” Wilson said. “He’s starting to understand what it means to be a pitcher, what it means to work to the glove side and the arm side, and what it means to change some eye levels. He’s starting to gravitate to learning about those things, and to be aware of that at his age is pretty impressive.”

ROCKY ROADS

• Lefthander Ben Bowden was sidelined with a left hamstring strain. The second-round pick last year out of Vanderbilt went 0-1, 3.04 in 26 games at Asheville.

• Righthander David Hill, progressing steadily after August surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome, will begin the year in extended spring training. He went 4-4, 4.48 in 14 starts last season for Asheville.

— Jack Etkin is a writer based in Denver