Rockies' Salazar closing in on promotion

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Rockies center field prospect Jeff Salazar led the Class A South Atlantic League in home runs, RBIs, total bases and extra-base hits in 2003, all of which would have been encouraging had Salazar recognized the guy putting up those numbers when he looked at the tape.

"I had a huge leg kick," Salazar recalled. "I didn't have one in college. It started in Asheville. No one said anything. It just kind of evolved over the period of about a month. I saw it on video one day and I was like, 'Is it really that high?'"

The kick didn't work above Class A and it took two seasons for him to get his feet back on the ground and his career back on track. But Salazar, 25, is getting closer to pushing for a little space in Colorado's crowded outfield picture. A left-handed swinging leadoff man who has been called the organization's best defensive outfielder, Salazar is expected to start 2006 at Triple-A Colorado Springs. But he should be bucking for a promotion if he maintains the hitting stroke he brought to camp this spring.

After his breakout '03 campaign, Salazar began the following season at Class A Advanced Visalia and was leading the California League with a .347 average when he was promoted to Double-A Tulsa. He struggled to a .223 average the rest of the season. The leg kick had helped with power, but it had to go. It created so much head movement that he didn't track pitches well, and it made it tough for him to reset himself to bunt -- a weapon for him because of his speed.

So Salazar became a work in progress. Last season, he was hot and cold at Tulsa before gaining some consistency, batting .309 over his last 36 games before being promoted to Colorado Springs. Salazar batted .263 with six home runs and 26 RBIs in 56 games -- not enough to jump other prospects and get a Major League promotion, but enough to stay on Colorado's radar.

However, he slumped to .137 in 37 Arizona Fall League games while continuing to tinker.

Salazar said his hitting turned around during refreshingly quiet batting cage sessions with Rockies shortstop Clint Barmes. But Barmes, who is only a few steps ahead of Salazar in his career arc, offered little in the way of suggestion, and Salazar found his own way.

"I listened to everything," Salazar said of previous work he had done with various hitting instructors and managers. "I worked with my stance -- widening, narrowing. I moved my hands. I tried to do too much and was not using my hands enough. I should have been trusting my hands and my eyes to do everything for me."

Now Salazar is comfortable hitting to the opposite field, and confident enough in his power (59 homers, .450 slugging percentage in 263 Minor League games) that he can hit an inside pitch hard. Salazar will need to make more consistent contact against big-time pitching -- he has four strikeouts but is 2-for-8 with a double and an RBI in four appearances this spring -- but he is believed to be close.

Marv Foley, who managed Colorado Springs last season, said Salazar knows himself better.

"You could see that he was a little indecisive -- there was something going on there," said Foley, now the Rockies' roving catching instructor. "We all try to teach and help these players, and sometimes they gather too much information in a certain time frame.

"But this year he has been fabulous. His swing, when I was in big-league camp, really looked very good -- short and quick and using the whole field."

Center fielder Cory Sullivan and Barmes are being asked to share leadoff and No. 2 duties this season, but both have to dramatically improve their performance at the top of the order to keep that plan from being scuttled. Salazar could be a top-of-the-order alternative, although he'll have to play well to stay in line for a promotion.

Also possessing center field aspirations are Choo Freeman, who has had a strong camp; Ryan Spilborghs, coming off a good 2005 and an eye-opening winter performance in Mexico; and Tony Miller, a non-roster invitee who put up a .400 on-base percentage last season at Tulsa and should be in Colorado Springs this year.

"I feel like I can do it and it's getting close," Salazar said. "I'm just about to be a player that's capable of playing in the big leagues. It's not for me to decide. But when that day comes, I'll be a little kid again."