Freeland appears to be the frontrunner in the competition for the Rockies' final two rotation spots, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.
Despite a shaky outing Monday in which the left-hander allowed four earned runs on seven hits in 4.2 innings pitched, manager Bud Black still praised the velocity and break Freeland consistently displayed with his offerings. Black also commented that although he agrees this wasn't Freeland's best outing, the rotation spots would be determined by the entire spring workload, which works in the 23-year-old's favor thanks to his 3.48 ERA and 19:6 K:BB in 20.2 Cactus League innings. A 40-man roster spot would still need to be cleared in order for Freeland to make the Opening Day roster, but as of now, it seems like he and Antonio Senzatela will begin the season in the Rockies' rotation while German Marquez heads into a long-relief role.