Spring training games are finally underway for all MLB teams. The Colorado Rockies kicked off their Cactus League season against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, the joint facility the two NL West Rivals share. The Rockies utilized a six-run rally in the top of the ninth to break a 6-6 tie, starting their spring with a 12-8 victory. While Spring Training isn’t typically about wins and losses it’s certain to feel good for a team that is banking on its youth to help rebuild and retool for the seasons to come starting in 2025. So, after the first game of Spring Training here are a few takeaways and impressions:

Brenton Doyle’s Grand Entrance

In the wake of Charlie Blackmon’s retirement the Rockies entered camp with a mandate to figure out who will be the new leadoff hitter for the club. Back in December, the team pegged two-time Gold Glover Brenton Doyle as the man for the job and for good reason. Doyle’s speed and overall offensive improvements showcased in 2024 are the type of tools the teams hopes can translate to the everyday role. Doyle’s first at-bat came against new Diamondbacks ace Corbin Burnes where he had an 8-pitch at-bat that ended in a strikeout. Sure a strikeout isn’t ideal but a quality at-bat is often designated for seeing six or more pitches in an appearance, or three pitches after two strikes, both of which Doyle accomplished. He later made his mark with the bat when he launched a grand slam in the top of the fourth to give the team a 5-3 lead at the time. On the day Doyle went 1-for-3, but it’s a solid outing for the Rockies table setter.

Well Hello, Mr. Blalock

One of the more intriguing aspects of camp for the Rockies will be the battle of the rotation. While it’s assumed the team has it’s five-man rotation well established, there is still a chance for competition to arise. General manager Bill Schmidt made it known that he has told some of their starters that the team will carry the five best starters on Opening Day. While it’s going to be hard to displace most of the rotation, Bradley Blalock made a strong impression as the first starter of Cactus League play. The young right-hander breezed through two innings, throwing 20 pitches — 15 of which went for strikes — while inducing three groundouts. He allowed just one hit and struck out two to kick things off in a strong fashion. Blalock struggled in his handful of starts with the Rockies in the latter half of 2025 but he’ll be a crucial depth piece as the team shuffles through it’s deck to find the best arms.

The Impact of Youth 

The Rockies have been destined for a rebuild for a while now and the final couple of innings of Friday’s game showed how much talent is in the system beyond pitching. 2024 Northwest League MVP Kyle Karros delivered a 2-for-3 performance while outfielder Zac Veen drove in two runs in the game, going 1-for-2 with a double. 2021 first-round pick Benny Montgomery, aiming to prove himself healthy and ready to contribute, lined a sharp bases-clearing double in the ninth to score three runs, going 1-for-1 with a walk. The Rockies have a surplus of outfielders and young talent on the rise and the time is drawing near when the club will have to seriously start taking a look at who is going to play a role for the team going forward in the future.

The ABS System

Games across MLB will be utilizing the Automatic Balls and Strikes System in Spring Training and the Rockies got their first taste on Friday. In total about four or five challenges were made between the two teams and all of them were successful challenges. Having seen the system in action during games for Triple-A Albuquerque, it’s something fans should be excited about being implemented in the near future, likely in 2026. It’s an unintrusive aspect of the game that isn’t abused very much as has some strategic element to it. It’s also great at making sure games aren’t decided or swayed too much by a bad call by an umpire. It’s also impressive to showcase how well pitchers and hitters know the strike zone. Burnes challenged a pitch in the first inning that was called a ball against Kyle Farmer. The tracker showed the pitch had just clipped the zone resulting in an overturned call and a punchout of Farmer instead of a 2-2 count. Purists and old heads may dislike it but it’s a good thing for the game and a superior alternative to full-on robot umpires since it maintains the human element. Believe it or not, umpires aren’t all that bad at their jobs most of the time.

A win is still a win and the Rockies will have their first televised game on Rockies TV on Saturday where they will face the Diamondbacks once again, but serving as the home team.