Earlier this afternoon, the Colorado Rockies announced they had selected the contract of top prospect Cole Carrigg (No. 4 PuRP). After the announcement, Carrigg spoke with media to describe the experience.
First, if you haven’t seen the video of Carrigg getting the news, here it is:
“[Pedro Lopez] kind of dragged it out a little bit and was just talking for a while,” Carrigg said, “and then he kind of started talking about some stuff with me that we had discussed prior weekends. But I guess I kind of got a feeling towards the end of it — I didn’t know right away. Actually, Adael Amador came up to me in the fifth inning of the game he’s like, ‘I think you’re getting called up, bro,‘ and I’m like, ‘What do you mean?’ He’s like, ‘I got a feeling.‘ And then he had a feeling.”
Carrigg brings the kind of versatility — both defensively and offensively — that the Rockies have valued.
In the offseason, he focused on becoming a better left-handed hitter.
“I took the offseason really serious this year and tried to make some changes to keep it more simple and more repeatable,” Carrigg said, “and just a little bit simpler swing, not too many big movements. It’s definitely been feeling a lot better, and it’s been working better for me.”
And he worked to making better choices at the plate.
“We had a lot of talks about that over spring with [Josh] Byrnes and [Chris] Forbes and everybody just talking about controlling the zone better and taking better at-bats and really dialing in what I want in the plate,” Carrigg said, adding, “huge shout out to Matt Snyder, our hitting coach at Triple-A — always on me about it, whether I wanted to hear it or not, and it definitely got better, and it definitely helped.”
Another area of recent focus was running better outfield routes.
“I think I would say the last month really worked on routes, and honestly, just the first step,” Carrigg said. “I think a lot of it is just focus and really being focused on every pitch. It’s easy to get a little lackadaisical out there in the outfield, far away from the action, but I think just really focusing on the pitch and actually seeing the ball at contact. You know hitters’ tendencies and stuff — you know where they usually hit the ball and stuff — you can kind of cheat. You can gamble it in a sense. But just being a lot more focused and getting better prep steps.”
Plus, he’s happy to be spending some time on the infield dirt in addition to focusing on the outfield — a move prompted by the Rockies with their emphasis on versatility.
“They just think it’s great for a lineup,” Carrigg said, adding, “I could play a good shortstop, and I think they just wanted to make sure I had that piece of life for if we need it.”
And Carrigg is happy to be there. “[I] always loved playing short, and to be able to get back to it in Triple-A is super cool and in spring training,” he said. “Just happy to help the team out however I can.”
Carrigg is also eager to catch up with some former teammates he’s played with on his way through the Rockies system.
“I’m excited to share the diamond with everyone,” he said, “but Karros for sure is who I’m excited to share the diamond with again. We haven’t played together since I think in July last summer, but I’ve been every step of the way with him, so it’ll be really cool.”
And his number?
That would be 16, which was assigned to him by the Rockies. The choice was, it turns out, popular with his family.
“As soon as I sent it to my dad — and I kind of had forgotten — but his favorite player back in the day was Bo Jackson. That’s the first thing he said, and I’m like, ‘That’s [a] pretty good number.‘”
And what of the “Cole Carrigg Experience,” which means lots of high-energy baseball?
“I’m going to play how I’ve always played, and running is definitely a part of my game. I’m going to continue to do so, and obviously make smart base-running decisions, and I’m sure I’ll talk to Schaffer and everybody about what they’re expecting out of me. But yeah, I’m going to play how I play the game and help the team win the best I can.”
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