For most folks, the start of their career means the end of school. It doesn’t matter if you work in finance, healthcare, the arts or athletics. However, that is not the case for all athletes. The Colorado Rockies provide continuing player education, helping their Latino players learn English language and get acquainted with US culture.

It’s an essential part of player development for future Rockies who are not from the United States. After all, learning a new language and becoming comfortable with a new culture provide off-the-field challenges, and all of this happens while players are continuing to develop their baseball skills.

In this multi-part series, I will be taking you behind the scenes of the Rockies Cultural Education & Development Program.

First up, how it came about.

A brief history of the program

The Rockies Cultural Education & Development Program was first established in 2012 by Josh Rosenthal – brother of former Rockies assistant general manager, Zack Rosenthal. Josh was a former Peace Corps volunteer and felt the need for the players to do more than be able to speak English. He pitched the program to Vice President of International Operations Rolando Fernández, and the rest is history.

Within the year, they hired Angel Amparo – a former systems and structural engineer – as the Cultural Education & Development Coordinator. 

“We pretty much started from scratch with this,” Amparo said. “We were like, ‘What do you want this to look like?’ So we decided on a curriculum in terms of what we needed and a syllabus that we thought was beneficial for our players. This was with a lot of feedback from the coaches, the player development staff and the front office. So we wrote this – I don’t think we knew what we were doing for the first couple of years. They were pretty touch and go, learning and trial by error. But as the years went by and we got more into it… I was focused primarily on just the kids in the Dominican Republic, and Josh could focus on the kids in the States.”

After eight years, Rosenthal left the Rockies organization, and Amparo and a team of four teachers have continued to administer the program from the Dominican Summer League all the way through Double-A: 

• Julio Medina – Lead Teacher (Dominican Summer League)
• Steven Baumann – English Teacher (Arizona Complex League)
• Dr. Yulonn Harris – English Teacher (Fresno & Hartford)
• Paul Worley – English Teacher (Spokane)

The Rockies originally had a formal program for players in Triple-A and the major leagues, but found it to be challenging due to the constant roster turnover. 

“I still communicate with them and we still do a lot of virtual teaching,” Amparo said. “We still offer them any type of English language learning programs that we use and they have access to it. But since they’re at that level and they’re older and more mature – not that we’re babysitting them – we give them the option. We want to tailor to what [they] need.

“So what I do with the Triple-A and major league kids is ask ‘What do you want? What would help you this season?’ And based on what they tell me in their feedback, I design something specific for them that can help them.”

Teacher hiring process

The interview process for teachers is extensive.

“I look for someone who has some experience with either inquiry-based learning, project-based learning or Socratic teaching,” Amparo said. “Knowledge of baseball isn’t a game changer. It’s nice if they have it, but Yulonn (Harris) didn’t know anything about baseball when she was first hired, but she was so qualified and she’s learned so much over the years about the team. I look for unorthodox-type teachers, very outside-the-box teachers.

“I have them create a lesson plan for me, and then I have them do a mock class with their affiliate,” Amparo continued. “I’ll be there and I want to observe. And based on that, I make my decisions. But I’m picky. When I hired Steven (Baumann), we interviewed 74 candidates. And I ask the players who they like afterwards because obviously they work together for the whole season, or multiple seasons, so I want to make sure they have a good connection with this person.”

Term structure

Classes are provided to all signed Latin players, approximately 120-140 players per season. Classes are offered in a hybrid format with both in-person and virtual components for the duration of the season, starting in April and running until September. In the DSL, players take classes every day from 4-7 pm after their morning games. Once players get stateside, the teachers are given more flexibility based on game schedules, but they are still required to meet at least three times per week with two days of asynchronous content. Additionally, the DSL teachers hold office hours for 30 minutes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

In addition to their own internal team, the Rockies also collaborate with other teams across Major League Baseball.

“We have monthly meetings with MLB and all of the other education coordinators,” Amparo said. “We have Zoom meetings, and we always get together at the Winter Meetings as well. I have my little clique with the Twins, the Phillies, the Guardians, the Marlins and the Orioles, so we always get together monthly and we meet at one of our academies. We just brainstorm some ideas because the whole purpose of this is to build better men.”

The main focus of the department is its structured curriculum and syllabus for English-language acquisition through intentional, progressive lessons that are tailored to the realities of a career in professional baseball. There is a standard curriculum, but the teachers are given autonomy to change things as long as it’s beneficial to the players.

“We collaborate on it,” Amparo said. “We have our Rockies Evaluation Matrix with these ‘can do’ statements for different levels. It goes from white, which is rookie, to purple, which is more advanced. So even though we have this as a guideline, I give them the autonomy on lesson plans and projects. One thing that I encourage for the affiliates is to do more interactions with the media and talking with more native speakers. In Arizona, we’ve done presentations to local high schools there. We meet monthly and [the teachers] always come to me with a project or idea that they want to do and as long as it aligns with our matrix of what we’re trying to do, I give them autonomy to do it.”

Other lessons the Rockies have implemented include a spelling bee competition, an egg drop competition, play-by-play commentary, mock commercials, and chess tournaments. Additionally, the players take workshops on financial literacy, contract negotiations and general communications. They also learn vocational skills such as graphic design and PC repair.

Closing thoughts

The Rockies were ahead of the game when it came to helping their Latino players acclimate to working, living, and playing baseball in the United States.

Next week, I’ll discuss the intricacies of the curriculum itself.

On the farm

Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes 17, Oklahoma City Comets 4

Just like the big league club, the Triple-A Rockies beat the Triple-A Dodgers. And while the Rockies made things close at the end, the Isotopes jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back, including a six-run seventh. They scored in every inning except for the second and eighth, and there was scoring by at least one team in every inning. Every single Isotopes starter had at least one hit except for Charlie Condon (No. 1 PuRP), but he went 0-for-3 with two walks, two runs scored and two strikeouts. Sterlin Thompson (No. 13 PuRP) was the belle of the ball, going 4-for-5 with four RBI and two runs scored. Adael Amador, Cole Carrigg (No. 4 PuRP) and Braxton Fulford each had three hits, and Blaine Crim had two.

On the pitching side, starter Sean Sullivan (No. 8 PuRP) tossed five innings and allowed three runs on four hits with four walks and four strikeouts.

Double-A: CANCELLED: Hartford Yard Goats vs. Richmond Flying Squirrels

Sunday’s Yard Goats game against the Richmond Flying Squirrels (San Francisco Giants) was cancelled due to inclement weather and will not be rescheduled since Richmond doesn’t return to Hartford this season. The Yard Goats will begin a six-game road trip to Portland, Maine against the Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox) on Tuesday.

High-A: Vancouver Canadians 5, Spokane Indians 2

The Indians struggled against the Canadians again on Sunday afternoon. The pitching staff performed well, with starter Brody Brecht (No. 3 PuRP) throwing three innings without allowing a hit nor a run while walking two and striking out five. Nathan Blasick pitched 0.2 scoreless innings with two hits, a walk and two strikeouts, but Stu Flesland III struggled in his 3.1 innings of work. The left-hander allowed three runs on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Lefty Justin Loer came in for the final two innings, and allowed two more runs on a home run with two hits and a strikeout.

On the hitting side, only three prospects recorded hits: LF Jacob Humphrey (2-for-4, R, BB), SS Kelvin Hidalgo (3-for-4, RBI, K) and 3B Jacob Hinderleider (1-for-4, R, RBI, K).

Single-A: Ontario Tower Buzzers 23, Fresno Grizzlies 7

While the Triple-A Rockies piled it on the Triple-A Rockies, unfortunately the Single-A Rockies were piled on by the Single-A Dodgers. On the pitching side, the only pitcher to have a clean outing was RHP Manuel Olivares, who allowed two hits with a strikeout in just 0.1 innings of work. Of the six pitchers used, LHP Brady Parker got the worst of it — allowing six runs on six hits with three walks and five strikeouts. Interestingly, he was one of three that didn’t allow a home run, but was still saddled with the loss.

On the hitting side, Roldy Brito (No. 11 PuRP), Derek Bernard and Tanner Thatch each recorded two hits. Jeremy Ciriasco recorded one, but the rest of the lineup was silent. That said, they only racked up nine strikeouts as a team.

‘Seeing her is a piece of history’: Ohtani, Roberts meet 100-year-old Nagasaki survivor | MLB.com

Ahead of the Rockies game on Saturday, 100-year-old Momoyo Nakamoto Kelley was in attendance and was able to meet her favorite Japanese players — Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tomoyuki Sugano — and Dave Roberts, who was born in Japan. After surviving the atomic bomb at 19, Kelley and her husband emigrated to the US in the 1950’s and now reside in Salt Lake City.

1 early-season development each team can believe in | MLB.com

The Rockies have been tinkering with their pitching strategy. Thomas Harding specifically cites Chase Dollander, Antonio Senzatela and Zach Agnos as positive developments in the bullpen, as the Rockies attempt to not burn it out too early in the season.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Good morning, baseball fans!

It’s a new week of San Francisco Giants baseball, so let’s take a look at what’s on deck for the week.

The Giants are off today, but they’re heading back home to Oracle Park for both series this week.

First up, the Los Angeles Dodgers are coming to town tomorrow for a three-game series. After that, it will be a three-game series against the Miami Marlins over the weekend.

Any other week, I would pick the Dodgers series as the one I am most interested in for the week. But I’m actually going to be attending a game this weekend, so I’m going to have to say the Marlins series. Not only because I will be in attendance, but because they might actually stand a chance of winning some of those. Maybe. The Marlins are fairly good so far this year. But I’ll take them over the Dodgers, I guess.

Which series are you most interested in this week?

Anne Rogers asks how the Royals can stop their losing slide.

Right now, it seems Kansas City can’t get out of its own way. It’s playing out on the field and off it. Winning is going to relieve the tightened grip the Royals have on the bats they swing and the pitches they throw.

But they know they’ve got to execute.

“Everybody’s frustrated,” Quatraro said. “Nobody wants to have a start like this. But it is early, mid-April, and we play better baseball, that’s what’s in our control. If we’re able to do that, we’ll dig ourselves out. There’s way too much talent in there. There’s way too many high-character guys in there.”

Jaylon Thompson gets the explanation from Salvador Perez on his social media comments refuting Matt Quatraro.

“Little confused,” Perez said of Quatraro’s pregame comment. “It’s a little confused, you know, not the right communication. … I’m good. My family is good. Everybody is good. I got reached out by a lot of people yesterday after the game. They sent me what Q said. I don’t have any problem with Q. We talked today.

“I know people are surprised I didn’t play yesterday, but everybody has an off day in the big leagues. You know, it’s kind of hard to play 162 games, especially behind the home plate.”

Anne Rogers has more.

Perez continued: “Everything is fine. He didn’t mean to say that. People understood that in the wrong way. That’s the easy way. Social media, you guys know how it is. It’s kind of crazy sometimes. He didn’t mean to say that I need a mental breather. He knows me, you guys know me. I like to be in the lineup every day. And I like to play and have fun.”

Jaylon also writes about the miscues over the weekend.

Defensively, the Royals contributed to the Yankees’ fifth-inning rally. Cody Bellinger hit a pop fly to shallow left field that fell between Maikel Garcia and Isaac Collins.

“It was very similar to yesterday,” Quatraro said. “Both called it. They both called it multiple times, and they both kind of scared each other off of it. And, you know, obviously, that’s not acceptable. We know we have to be better than that. And they know that as well. It’s something that we have to tighten up.”

Matt Quatraro explains why he was ejected from Saturday’s game.

“I actually wasn’t arguing,” Quatraro said. “I was just trying to get some clarification. We’ve been told that if the pitcher is on the rubber, he’s about to start. And then he goes to touch the PitchCom, it should be a balk because it’s essentially starting, stopping twice.”

Quatraro took issue with the non-balk call.

He initially thought Yankees starter Will Warren could’ve balked with Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia on second base.

The Mets lose their 11th game in a row, their longest losing streak since 2004.

Mason Miller extends his scoreless streak to 32.2 innings, one inning shy of the Padres club record.

Guardians catcher Austin Hedges proposes on the field in uniform after his game.

Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing thought it was “fishy” the Rockies had so many first-pitch swings.

Is Jordan Walker’s hot start sustainable?

Is Mike Trout’s resurgence sustainable?

MJ Melendez is impressing with the Mets.

What we’ve learned about the ABS system through three weeks.

When do players generally retire?

The Cincinnati Bengals acquire defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence from the Giants for the #10 pick.

Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are the finalists for NBA MVP.

A person in a bear suit faked attacks on luxury cars, then submitted fraudulent insurance claims.

Home shopping network QVC files for bankruptcy protection.

New research may hint at how the Grand Canyon was formed.

Your song of the day is The Beatles with I’m a Loser.

After the Red Sox finally got something resembling momentum going with back-to-back series victories against a very good Brewers team and a Cardinals team that has made anybody following MLB say “Hey they actually aren’t as bad as I thought they’d be,” they go out and lay eggs like that over the past week. That display during the first two games in Minnesota was brutal—more on that first game in just a bit—while I feel like I’d be able to buy SB Nation myself if I had a dollar for every time Boston failed to capitalize with runners in scoring position over the weekend against Detroit.

They couldn’t even climb back to a .500 record for the week during Margaritaville Day on Sunday. If the Sox can’t get up for Jimmy and his memory, maybe we really are doomed this season.

I suppose being this far below .500 a few weeks into the season beats being 2-8, but only just barely. “Yeah, no shit Fitz,” I hear you clicking away at your keyboard, “that’s how numbers work.”

That’s fair, but at least there had been some signs of life in recent days. Your ace getting his ass kicked to begin the week was awful, but six runs that night was nothing to sneeze at even if the game was completely gone. Another crooked number in the finale against the Twins was nice, even if the offense was then sluggish the next few games. Ranger Suarez had himself a great night Friday, making it two quality starts in a row. My wife got one of those City Connect cooler cups on Friday, so that’s an improvement I guess.

Jokes aside, while there were some positive-ish developments in recent days, I can’t shake the sense of disappointment thus far—and I’m sure you can’t either, dear reader.

It’s Monday Morning Brushback time, y’all.

I Don’t Even Have A Fun Pun For This Section

I don’t know how to properly start this section other than by simply asking: what in the world happened to Garrett Crochet on Monday?

In less than two innings of work, he coughed up eleven runs (ten of which were earned; kinda funny to me that one of those runs was unearned but I digress) across nine hits. One of the best strikeout pitchers in the game failed to retire anybody by way of the K in his abbreviated start, by far the worst one of his Red Sox tenure thus far. Let’s hope it remains as his worst start for Boston, I guess.

Our very own Keagan Stiefel did a nice write-up on a not-so-nice appearance from our ace, so I’d suggest reading that if you want to dive a bit more into that disaster class. The headline you need to know after this stinker, though, is that the stuff was down across the board. The velo specifically dropped by at least a full tick on all of his offerings in Minnesota.

For what it’s worth, both Crochet himself along with the coaching staff said there were no injury concerns after the game. Crochet was even surprised that there were dips in the velo.

A couple of things here. First, I’m glad he’s seemingly healthy. A BBQ chicken alert for the ace of the pitching staff would be so deflating. Yet at the same time, I don’t know whether to express concern that no one seems to know what the hell happened against the Twins or to just laugh at that fact. Your prized pig goes out and gets slaughtered and then you just throw your hands up and mumble “I dunno” in confusion—that’s just funny.

Maybe it really was just a one-off, bad night that we can laugh about in the future………

……….but is it almost as bad to just drop a complete, regular turd?

—————- (EVERYTHING I WROTE BEFORE THIS POINT WAS ON SUNDAY MORNING; THE REST IS SUNDAY EVENING)

I mean, I guess I’m a dumbass. I don’t have the energy (nor the time; I have a real life job I gotta be ready for) to dive into what the hell happened on Sunday. I can’t hit you with “WELL ACTUALLYYYYYYY” points when Crochet—the guy who is supposed to be the stopper—goes and does whatever the fuck that was on Sunday. No excuses for that; you’re a smarter reader than that, so I will not patronize you with the “bright side” after that display.

To his credit, Crochet is facing the music.

Either way, dude, come the fuck on.

I dunno man. I’m pissed. I’m tired. Let’s move on; I don’t wanna think about this bad performance anymore. What’s gonna happen? Am I gonna complain about another pitc———

Cut The Crap

Have you noticed how often Red Sox pitchers, specifically Red Sox starters, have been throwing cutters this year?

After featuring it as a secondary pitch in year’s past, Sonny Gray has made it his primary offering by throwing it 22% of the time. The cutter had overtaken the four-seam fastball as Crochet’s most-thrown pitch thus far in 2026 (prior to Sunday’s start, for full transparency). Ranger Suarez has thrown it 20% of the time, which would be a career high if that usage keeps up.

It seems like we’re building most of the plane out of cutters. In a vacuum, perhaps that idea has some merit. The bite of a cutter can be lethal in either extend the zone to get guys to chase, or to tie batters up with something on their hands, all while keeping batters honest with some velo to go along with the movement. Mixing the glove-side movement of a cutter along with, say, any arm-side movement you could get with a sinker is a solid combo. When executed well, it’s a damn good type of fastball.

That’s the thing, though: it’s not always executed well. Not everyone has a Mariano Rivera-y cutter.

The cut fastball for Mr. Gray, for example, has worked for him so far. Opposing batters have only slugged .263 when hacking at Sonny’s cutter, and that pitch’s expected slugging percentage is only at .327. It’s not like he’s getting barreled up on that pitch (maybe on other pitches, but that’s another story). While the Minnesota game might have thrown a wrench into Crochet’s 2026 sample, the cutter worked really well for him last year; hitters facing Garrett in 2025 slugged south of .400 and had an xwOBA (translate to “quality of contact” for those of you who like plain English; can’t blame ya, feels like there are new analytical stats invented every day!) just below .300 when facing his cutter.

But consider someone like Brayan Bello, who’s cutter usage has jumped from 16% last year to 26% this year. It’s overtaken his sweeper as his primary glove-side offering in 2026.

My question about that change is simple: Why? Why are we doing that? I understand I’m doing an armchair pitching coach thing here, but when you look at the numbers here it’s a bit of a head scratcher. Bello’s cutter has, by and large, not been a valuable pitch.

He introduced a cutter into his arsenal (1-2 to Man City, uggh) in 2023—and he only threw it 38 times that year, so I recognize that it’s not a significant enough a sample to base an entire thesis on—to the tune of a 1.083 slugging percentage and a .665 xSLG. Maybe that’s why he didn’t throw it a lot in 2023; in fact, he shelved it completely in 2024. After a fallow year, Bello threw his cut fastball 423 times in 2025, though the results were still not amazing: .437 slugging percentage, but a .506 xSLG.

I don’t know about you, but when I look at those numbers I don’t see a pitch that is screaming to become the second-most deployed offering and the primary pitch to throw if you’re looking for any glove-side movement. With that in mind, maybe you understand why I’m confused about an uptick of ten percentage points for this cut fastball from Bello. You may also not be surprised to learn that after 94 cutters thrown in 2026, Bello’s slugging percentage surrendered on that pitch is .471 (so, worse than last year) on a .541 xSLG (again, worse that last year). Bello is throwing a not-great pitch more often this season and getting not-great results.

The one thing I’ll say in defense of his cutter is that he’s getting a ton of swings-and-misses on it so far this year (57.4% whiff rate, damn), but forgive me if that put away potential isn’t moving me a ton considering that he’s failed to make it through five innings in three of his first four appearances this year.

The dude had a 3.35 ERA last year! The FIP was north of 4.00 in 2025, sure, but there’s a solid starter in there that doesn’t need to have his repertoire scrambled to succeed. I’m all for trying new things on the mound to see if it works, and perhaps we’re still in the tinkering phase. Not all experiments work, though, and I’m curious to see if/when the Sox pull the plug on a cutter-dominant approach for Bello in 2026.

Cool As Hell

Fortunately for you, dear reader, I come bearing great news: I have secured two water cooler cups from Fenway Park.

I love consuming. Consuming—especially at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts—is my favorite activity in the world.

And isn’t that the most important factor of the last two home serieseseseseseses? The fact that I’m still consuming? The fact that that why we play at Fenway? Everything is great! I love baseball! Everything rules! Nothing is bad! It’s illegal to say that things are bad! We’re good! Baseball! Sports!

Song of the Week: “Electric Zoo” by SpongeBob I Think???? I Dunno Here’s A 10 Hour Version

Baseball!

Be good to each other and go sports!

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The Detroit Tigers seek a series victory when they face the Boston Red Sox this morning for the annual Patriots Day game.

Boston starter Sonny Gray has seen a sharp drop in strikeouts, and my Tigers vs. Red Sox predictions expect a Tigers victory. 

Read on for my MLB picks for Monday, April 20. 

Who will win Tigers vs Red Sox today: Tigers moneyline (+123)

Jack Flaherty turned around an early-season stinker, allowing only two earned runs while adding 13 strikeouts across his last 11 2/3 innings. 

He draws a Boston Red Sox lineup that ranks 23rd against right-handed pitching with a 25% strikeout rate and the second-lowest ISO against righties.

Sonny Gray gives up hits. His .295 xBA means the Detroit Tigers, who are slugging .403 against right-handed pitching, will put the ball in play all afternoon. 

Detroit has won eight of its last nine, and is the right bet today. 

COVERS INTEL: Gray’s strikeout rate has plummeted to 12.5% this season, well below his 24.1% career mark.

Tigers vs Red Sox Over/Under pick: Under 8 (-105)

Neither of these offenses is built to put up crooked numbers, and everything about this matchup points in the same direction.

Gray controls the strike zone as well as anyone in the rotation and keeps the ball on the ground, while Flaherty has enough swing-and-miss stuff to strand traffic. 

Boston has scored only four runs and is 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position, while Detroit is 5-for-16 with RISP during this series. 

Five of their previous six meetings have gone Under the total, and today's will too. 

Tigers vs Red Sox odds

• Moneyline: Tigers +122 | Red Sox -127
• Run line: Tigers +1.5 (-194) | Red Sox -1.5 (+144)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (+108) | Under 8.5 (-113)

Tigers vs Red Sox trend

The game total has ended Under the total in six of their previous 10 meetings. Find more MLB betting trends for Tigers vs. Red Sox.

How to watch Tigers vs Red Sox and game info

Tigers vs Red Sox latest injuries

Tigers vs Red Sox weather

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Hello and happy Monday, folks.

Happy Marathon Monday, to be specific.

A huge shoutout to all of those who will be running in the marathon today, and another huge shoutout taking the time to go out and cheer everybody on. Patriots Day is a special day here in the Bay State—go on and have a good time with it.

The Sox play today as well; I have no clue whether this post is gonna be posted before the first pitch at 11:10 a.m.

Drop your favorite Marathon Monday memories in the chat below.

Be good to each other and go Sox.

I’m usually the one around here that looks for the optimistic point of view with the Phillies. They’re still a talented team that will likely make the playoffs this year, even if right now it’s bleak. The baseball gods have frowned on them in a rather substantial way (or is it the ghost of Harry Kalas?)

I’m also not blind: this team stinks something terrible right now.

There is still plenty of season left and plenty of time to right the ship. They’ll get on track soon enough…

….but boy are they playing bad baseball.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Taijuan Walker is going to be in the game Wednesday, he just won’t be starting the game. They’ll go with an opener.
• The team is “frustrated” right now with their performance. What did we learn from a homestand that saw them go 1-8?
• It was their worst homestand since 2000. They need to get better and get better soon ($).

MLB news:

• There are three managers that have struggling teams right now with the talent to turn it around. They’re still not safe ($).
• Hunter Brown saw an iffy timeline with his injury to his shoulder. Now, the team has a more defined timeline to when he’ll return.
• How about a mock draft to lighten the day for you? Remember, the Phillies’ draft position has been backed up a bit this year.