Crooked Pitch

Every MLB team has buzz surrounding them during the off-season. For some the buzz is loud and sometimes symphonic like a massive hive. For others the buzz isn’t too much more than an annoying gnat, flying around your head.

The Colorado Rockies aren’t on either end of this spectrum, but they’ve had their fair share of off-season buzz (the hives are obviously the NY & New England teams). And with all that chatter, guess who’s name I’ve been hearing more and more of each day; Dexter Fowler.

Fowler impressed in Double-A Tulsa last season hitting .335/.431/.515 with nine home runs and 20 stolen bases in 421 at-bats. His short MLB call-up didn’t show much, but it’s what he’s done since that has GM Dan O’Dowd stirring up a center field controversy/competition with Ryan Spillborghs.

Fowler showed up at Coors Field last week much thicker than when he left last September. He has added 10 to 12 pounds of muscle, the byproduct of intense training in Florida alongside Rockies prospects Eric Young Jr. and Greg Reynolds.

“I wouldn’t count out the kid. When you have young players (like) Dexter, you never know when they are going to pop,” general manager Dan O’Dowd said.

Fowler doesn’t even have an ADP yet at Mock Draft Central, but if his name keeps getting bounced around as the potential starting center fielder for the Rockies, you can bet his sleeper status (and ADP) will skyrocket.

Keep an eye on this come March.