BSN Exclusive: Rockies Top catching prospect reflects on crucial spring training

No one’s ever made the claim that being a catcher is easy. At its very core, catching projectiles with the intent of having deception and unpredictability is a challenging task. Then you add in the components of strategy, game calling, recognizing and employing the diverse arsenals of different pitchers, blocking balls in the dirt and managing the run game.

Oh yeah, and then there’s the whole part where they have to try to hit baseballs, a notoriously difficult thing to do.

It’s a tall order for anybody, but for a higher-level catching prospect, bouncing between minor league and major league camp, the responsibilities pile up. There’s learning the major league pitchers and the minor league pitchers, all while trying to prove your worth to the major league coaches, the minor league ones, and the front office.

If that work wasn’t enough, Dom Nunez—at one point considered a top 10 catching prospect in baseball—is trying to regain some of his shine.

”The offensive side of the game, for me was a huge focus,” Nunez said. “I’ve felt great, probably one the best springs for me. I’m pretty excited to get going.”

Nunez is coming off a 2017 that was not kind to his bat. At Double-A Hartford, he slashed a lowly .202/.335/.354 with 11 home runs in his first action above A-ball. He said he lost confidence in his swing, starting a negative feedback loop that crippled his production.

”The offensive side, the mental state,” Nunez referenced as the focal point of the backward step he took last year. “This offseason, I refreshed my brain. I got together with a hitting guy, just revamped my swing and revamped my mental side of the game.”

It concerned the front office enough to give a spot on the 40 man roster to Chris Rabago, who has one less year of pro experience and played all season in High-A Lancaster, over Nunez.

This might make 2018 the most important season to date in his young career, as he aims to regain the trust of the Rockies. He likely heads back for another go-around with the Yard Goats and may be splitting and competing for playing time with Rabago, something he thinks is going to drive him forward.

”One-hundred percent it motivates,” Nunez said. “If it didn’t motivate me, then I’d question what I want to do. I mean, I want to play in the big leagues, whatever it takes to play in the big leagues. But, we’re good friends and we’re probably going to be on the same team together. So, we’re going to try to make each other better every day.”

As training camp wrapped up, Nunez came away with a short MLB stint and an eagerness to get back to work. The infielder-turned-catcher, widely regarded as the best defensive player at his position in the system, did not catch any 25-man pitchers in big league camp games, but took advantage of the opportunities he got, like taking German Marquez deep in a backfield game to the opposite field and picking the brain of newly acquired veteran catcher Chris Iannetta.

“One on one, we would talk more the hitting side, but when we’d have meetings, catchers meetings and stuff like that, then he would break down a lot of defensive stuff. We talked about his knowledge for the game. Nothing mechanical or anything like that, but just the knowledge for pitch calling. He just brings up points that kind of open your eyes to things you wouldn’t even think about.”

Nunez, who spent time in big league camp in each of the last seasons, utilized Iannetta’s veteran presence to supplement his growth, as he did with Nick Hundley in 2016 and, to a lesser extent, Tony Wolters and Tom Murphy last year.

Nunez took the experience as a whole to build momentum toward a pivotal 2018, wherein the one time heir-apparent to the backstop at Coors Field tries to reclaim his stature with the organization.