Messinger makes MLB spring debut

Skyler Messinger reported to spring training in Arizona this year with the Colorado Rockies minor league organization in his first full season after undergoing Tommy John surgery over a year ago.

At the start of spring training, Messinger was listed on the Class A Spokane roster, which is where he finished last season in limited action.

But Messinger was also invited to participate in the Arizona Fall League as one of the Rockies' top prospects, and he did not disappoint, earning AFL All-Star honors after hitting .299.

This spring, Messinger spent most of his time at the minor league complex, but on four separate occasions, he was assigned to the Rockies' major league club for a spring training exhibition game against other major league teams.

His last two opportunities came on Thursday, March 20, against the Texas Rangers. Messinger entered the game in the eighth inning at third base and played the last two innings in a 7-4 win over the Rangers, but did not get up to the plate, and no baseballs came his way in the field.

"Bud Black (the Rockies' manager) asked him if wanted to play first or third base before he went in," his father, Cary Messinger said. "He picked third base." Skyler's parents, Cary and Barb Messinger, were on their way to Arizona the next day, and as it worked out, Skyler was assigned to the Rockies' roster again on Saturday, March 22, when the Rockies traveled to Sloan Park to play the Chicago Cubs in one of the last weekend exhibition games of spring training.

Skyler Messinger was able to get his parents tickets behind home plate, and he entered the game again in the eighth inning, this time at first base, where he had plenty of fielding chances, handling them flawlessly.

Then in the ninth inning, Messinger came to bat against the Cubs' major league closer, Porter Hodge. After working the count to 2-2, he was retired on a foul pop up, directly behind the plate.

Earlier in the spring, Messinger played in two games with the big-league club, going hitless in one official at-bat.

He will start the regular season at High-A Spokane, where he played in 25 games the last month of the season. "The arm is finally feeling very close to 100%," Messinger said. "I'm very excited for the season to start up."

Though Niwot High School grads have yet to reach the major leagues during the regular season, at least two other former Cougars have appeared in major league spring training games.

The first was former NHS 3-sport star Virgil Chevalier who appeared in several major league spring training games for the Mets and Red Sox. Chevalier, a catcher-first baseman-outfielder in professional baseball who was All-State at Niwot in baseball, football and basketball, had several solid seasons at AAA, but was never called up to the majors during the regular season. He is now a baseball instructor in New York.

The most recent was another multi-sport athlete, Sean Ratliff, an outfielder who played in at least a dozen major league spring training games for the New York Mets after winning two state titles at Niwot (2004 and 2005), and playing in the College World Series for Stanford. Ratliff's career was cut short by injury, but he returned to the game as a minor league coach and manager in the Mets organization for several years. He now lives in Texas.