On Wednesday in a win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, the 23-year-old Almonte flashed his skills on the mound, throwing three scoreless and hitless innings, earning the praise of Colorado manager Bud Black after the outing.
“He threw the ball great,” Black said. “Good velocity with location. Good hard slider. Had some funny swings against big leaguers, which was nice to see.”
The outing pushed Almonte to 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in five spring innings. Opponents are hitting .125 against him and have struck out four times while not drawing a walk.
Almonte says his success is all about consistency, and that’s what he will be aiming to take to the mound on Monday when he is scheduled to make his next relief appearance against the Chicago Cubs.