How a fastball-happy Rockies pitcher has tamed Coors Field (so far)

PHILADELPHIA – In the first inning on April 6 in Milwaukee, rookie Antonio Senzatela found trouble.

After getting Jonathan Villar to ground out to open the game, the Colorado Rockies right-hander gave up a single to Eric Thames, a double to Jesus Aguilar, and a walk to Travis Shaw, loading the bases with one out. It was the kind of situation that could have sent Senzatela’s major-league debut spinning out of control before he really even got going.

Five pitches later, Senzatela was out of trouble, having induced a 4-6-3 double play ball from Domingo Santana. Senzatela didn't allow another Brewers runner to reach scoring position for the remainder of his five-inning outing. He didn't factor in the decision as the Rockies went on to win 2-1, but Colorado knew that it had something special in the 22-year-old Venezuelan.

“He’s got a calm focus in-game, and when it’s got hot, when it’s been a crisis, he’s been able to make pitches, and that’s the thing that’s stood out,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “There’s been a couple other times that he’s had to get out of a situation, like all pitchers do during the course of a game. There’s at least one or two situations that arise that can make or break the game for a starting pitcher, and he’s been able to make the pitches to get outs.”

Senzatela has excelled in those situations early in his career, as opponents are just 8-for-48 against him with runners in scoring position. That is a big reason why Senzatela is 6-1 with a 3.67 ERA, already more than halfway to becoming just the sixth rookie in Rockies history to crack double digits in wins.

Remarkably, even with a small sample size, Senzatela has been just as good in the high altitude of Denver as he has everywhere else. At Coors Field, he is 4-1 with a 3.77 ERA in five starts, with opponents batting .243/.313/.435 against him. In four road starts, Senzatela is 2-0 with a 3.52 ERA, holding the opposition to a .241/.309/.398 line.

“I heard everybody,” Senzatela said. “Everybody told me, 'you’ve got to throw down, get those ground balls from hitters.' I’ve been doing that, and it’s good days for me.”

Senzatela has been effective at limiting fly balls. His 46.1-percent ground ball rate ranks 38th among major-league starters, according to FanGraphs, and it’s probably not a coincidence that Colorado’s surprise emergence as a contender has featured two more pitchers even higher up the ground ball rankings - Kyle Freeland (second) and Tyler Chatwood (fifth).

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

The recipe for Senzatela's success at Coors is not complicated: fastballs, and lots of them. The heater that Senzatela throws sits at 95 miles per hour, touching 98, and he throws it nearly 77 percent of the time; only Bartolo Colon and Lance Lynn rely more heavily on their fastball.

“Sometimes it gets run, and when it’s up in the zone, it’s got life,” said catcher Tony Wolters. “Sometimes his fastball cuts. It does a lot of different things, and he gets a lot of swings and misses. … He’s still working on his offspeed (pitches). He’s still working on executing pitches. I’m not saying he’s not good. I’m saying he’s still going to get even better.”

That stands to reason, given not only Senzatela’s age, but the fact that, before this season, he had thrown all of 34 2/3 innings above A-ball, all with Double-A Hartford. Senzatela’s professional career spans a mere 565 1/3 innings.

“Pitching in elevation, you don’t know how people are going to react, and he didn’t throw in Triple-A, where you get a little taste of elevation there, in Albuquerque,” said reliever Chris Rusin. “He just came right from Double-A to Coors Field without skipping a beat, and it’s been impressive to watch.”

To hear Senzatela tell it, though, it’s really not that big of a deal.

“It’s the same baseball,” he said. “I just do my job and compete. I’ve got a really good team behind me, and they hit and make good plays for me.”