Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 2, 1995 TAG: 9504040020
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Who will pitch? Who will catch? Who will be in the batting order?
Good questions. Logical questions. Questions for which many people wish there were answers.
One of them is Bill Hayes.
He's the manager.
``I wish I could tell you something,'' he said. ``But I don't know myself.''
The Rockies were cutting it rather close on making final roster determinations about who would break camp in Tucson, Ariz., and venture forth to Salem.
``We're probably not going to know everything until [today],'' Hayes said.
Team members will board an airplane Monday morning and arrive later that day. The first workout will be Tuesday at Municipal Field.
One thing we do know now is that Hayes will have the assistance of coaches Billy Champion, who will be in charge of the pitchers, and Tony Torchia.
Other than that, the best we can do is depend on Hayes for some educated guesses about his ballclub-to-be.
All this mystery is the unfortunate byproduct of the major-league strike and the replacement-player situation.
``We've had players going up and back and down,'' Hayes said. ``It's been a different spring because of that. I really haven't had a set team, yet.''
Thus, a guy who might be hitting third in the lineup in a Class A spring training game might find himself batting seventh in a Class AA game the next day. Players went where they were needed to fill out a lineup card.
Still, there are a few conclusions that can be drawn about the makeup of the Avalanche, even when one is not in possession of anything close to a complete roster.
``We'll have a good pitching staff, solid starters,'' Hayes said.
Hayes knows he'll have good pitchers because everywhere one turns in the Colorado organization, there is good pitching.
Knowing that it always will be easier to smack baseballs through the thin air of Denver's Coors Field than to stop opponents from doing the same, Colorado has concentrated on pitching in the amateur draft. In the 1993 draft, for example, 33 of the 60 players the Rockies chose were pitchers.
Dick Balderson, Colorado's farm director, said pitching is the ``strong suit'' throughout the organization ``and should continue to be.''
There is a chance - Hayes described it as ``outside'' - that the top prospect in the Rockies' system could land in Salem. That would be left-handed pitcher Doug Million, a lanky 19-year-old whip of a hurler who went a combined 6-3 with 94 strikeouts in 80 innings with rookie league Chandler and with short-season Bend.
Million has a good fastball and a cruel curve, his best pitch. Scouts say he's a can't-miss prospect, as the Rockies hoped he would be when they made him the seventh pick in the 1994 draft straight out of high school in Sarasota, Fla.
Another possibility for the Salem rotation is Jamey Wright, a 6-foot-6, 205-pound right-hander who was the Rockies' top draft choice in 1993. Wright struggled last year with Asheville, losing 13 of 15 in one stretch, but he finished well and was 7-14 with a 5.97 earned run average.
Others who could land on a Salem mound include right-handers Mike Zolecki and Mike Saipe and lefty Keith Barnes. Saipe (3-7, 4.16 ERA) was with Bend last year and Barnes (8-9, 5.35) with Asheville. Zolecki is coming off elbow surgery after pitching 36 innings with Central Valley, Colorado's fast-track Class A team in the California League.
``We'd start him out in the bullpen here and bring him along slowly,'' Hayes said of Zolecki.
Another intriguing point about Zolecki: He throws a screwball, unusual for a right-hander.
``But that's not how he hurt his arm,'' Hayes said. ``He was throwing a fastball.''
You might see another Asheville alumnus, right-hander Matt Pool, in the bullpen.
As for position players, first baseman Nate Holdren (.238, 28 home runs, 74 runs batted in with Asheville), second baseman Vincente Garcia (.219, 87 hits with Asheville) and Forry Wells (.256 with Bend) are good possibilities for the infield. Wells played first base last year, but is under consideration for a move to third.
The identity of the shortstop is up in the air. Switch-hitter Link Jarrett (67 hits in 74 games with Bend) and Pedro Carranza (.282, 116 hits in 117 games with Asheville) played the position in spring training, although neither is considered a true shortstop.
A potential outfield might include Mark Wells and Edgard Velazquez, who combined for 22 home runs and 76 RBI with Asheville.
Catcher Mike Higgins, who played in 45 games with Central Valley, is a good bet to be assigned to Salem.
``I think we can be very competitive here,'' Hayes said. ``I'm not going to say we're going to win the championship, because that would be stupid. But I think we'll be able to hold people down and stay in games.
``We won't have a lot of team speed. We won't be able to manufacture runs. But we'll be all right. There's some possibilities. I think we'll have some fun here.''
by CNB