Pint honing craft with offseason work

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Riley Pint doesn’t miss the carefree days at all. Of course, those old days were just last year for Pint, 19, who the Rockies selected with fourth-overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft in June out of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Overland Park, Kan.

Pint, who is ranked No. 3 among Colorado prospects, went 1-5 with a 5.35 ERA in 11 welcome-to-pro-ball starts at Rookie-level Grand Junction. The learning continued in instructional ball in October. Now, Pint is working out with older prospects and a good handful of Major Leaguers at the Rockies’ complex at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick.

“This time last year, I was thinking of Thanksgiving and Christmas break … the first basketball game coming up in December … that’s about it,” Pint said. “But this is pretty surreal, honestly. You look up to some of these guys like Jon Gray and it’s kind of mind-blowing. You watch these guys pitch in the Majors, and now you’re working out next to them.”

But Pint, who is listed at 6-foot-4 and looks as if he’s beginning to add muscle, is not just marveling at his surroundings.

“I’m taken by just how intense these guys are — and it’s November,” Pint said. “This is how you get better in the offseason. It’s really kind of opened my eyes to see how hard these guys go this early. It just makes me want to do exactly what they’re doing.

“They’re at that place already. To get there, you’ve got to …

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