First-round Rockies pitcher Riley Pint retires at 23 years old



Five years after being selected with the No. 4 pick in the MLB draft, Riley Pint has retired.

Colorado Rockies assistant general manager Zach Wilson announced the news on Tuesday. The Rockies drafted Wilson out of high school in 2016, and he played five seasons in the franchise's minor league system.

Big fastball and control issues
Pint tantalized scouts in high school with a 102 mph fastball and a plus arsenal of secondary pitches, but never advanced past the Class A level with the Rockies. He was plagued by injuries and control issues, walking 134 batters and posting a 5.56 ERA in 166.2 innings over the course of five seasons.

Pint suffered from forearm soreness, an oblique injury and shoulder tendinitis over the course of the last two seasons, exacerbating his struggles. He dropped out of national rankings of top 100 prospects in 2018.

Pint threw with his father Neil Pint last summer near his hometown of Overland Park, Kansas as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the minor league season. Neil expressed optimism about Pint regaining control in a 2020 interview with the Denver Post.

“He’s in a much better place now than he was last year,” Neil Pint told The Post in October. “His delivery is much smoother and he’s comfortable on the mound. I think we figured some things out.”

Wilson left the door open for Pint to return, should Pint wish to try.

“He’s a wonderful young man with enormous talent and a great, great arm,” Wilson said. “We’ll see where his life takes him. You never know.”

All-star shortstop Trevor Story was expected to return from the injured list in time for Tuesday night’s game at Miami, but the club decided to give him at least one more day to get comfortable. He’s returning from a sore right elbow.

In pregame workouts Tuesday, Story threw from the shortstop spot for the first time. Manager Bud Black said the pregame session should give Story confidence to cut loose during a game. 토토사이트

Story is hitting .255 with five home runs and 23 RBIs. Once he returns, Black said he expects Story to play every day, with no worries about the elbow.

“He is built to play every day and he’ll play for sure, but we’ll keep an eye on him like we do all of our players,” Black said. “Whether we ease him back in or not, that will pretty much be a daily conversation with Trevor about how he is feeling. I know Trevor wants to play every day. If he feels his arm is ready for that, that’s what will happen.”

Rolison down, out. Top pitching prospect Ryan Rolison underwent surgery to remove his appendix after an attack of appendicitis.

“He’ll be shelved for the time being,” Black said. “I’m not sure exactly how long that will be. I’ve heard anywhere from a month to five or six weeks before he’s back and pitching competitively in (Triple-A) Albuquerque.”

Last week, interim general manager Bill Schmidt said there was a good chance Rolison would make his big-league debut in the second half of the season. Rolison’s surgery could delay his debut.