"Juan Nicasio commanded attention Thursday when he walked into the Coors Field clubhouse, but not for the one-inch scar on his neck. He had a mohawk.

"I like it," said Nicasio, joking that friend and teammate Esmil Rogers cut it.

Nicasio, who suffered a fractured C-1 vertebrae on Aug. 5 when struck by Ian Desmond's line drive, will soon throw to hitters without an L screen protecting him. He's not worried. In fact, he's looking forward to it. Asked if he will compete for a rotation spot in spring training he said emphatically, "Yep!""