SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Adam Ottavino doesn't subscribe to a pitcher's shopping catalog of stuff. If he needs cuticle cream or blister glue or shoe cement, he asks for it. And for the hard-to-find item, he knows a guy.

"I just called up the number and talked to him," the Rockies right-hander said. "What do I need? What do I want?"

Ottavino was seeking the latest in pitching technology, a high-speed camera so finely detailed that he can see the spin on his wide-angle slider. So he bought one, an Edgertronic SC2, a boring little box with one big benefit. Ottavino's little camera has followed him around through spring training, tracking his pitches and what grips give him the best results.

Ottavino, 32, struggled through a 2017 season that was wildly off target to a career-high walk total and a career-low strikeout-to-walk ratio. He is hoping for a bounce-back season in 2018, the classic case of a reliever losing his direction and rediscovering his way. But Ottavino is hoping to do it with help.

"It's one of the best tools I've ever used," he said Friday, a day off between two dominating relief appearances in the Cactus League. "It helps you practice smarter. I get good feedback. But ultimately, we don't know yet if it will help or not."

Ottavino's new toy can capture video of his delivery, grips and pitches, at its highest resolution, with more than 3,350 frames per second. By comparison, a movie screened at a theater on film runs at 24 frames per second.

When Ottavino pitches in bullpen sessions or in batting practice, Rockies video coordinator Brian Jones runs a power cord and a laptop out behind a pitching screen and sets up the camera behind the mound. Pitches are logged to a hard drive for Ottavino to study later. He can see which grip leads to the effectively high spin rates and which pitches react to his guidance.

"What I've got from it, I'm hoping, will make me a better pitcher this year," he said.

Ottavino is in the final year of a three-year contract that will pay him $10.4 million, including $7 million this season. He signed an extension with the Rockies in 2015 after Tommy John surgery scuttled a promising start to the season in which in claimed Colorado's closer role. He was dominant in his return, posting a 2.67 ERA over 34 appearances in 2016.

His 2017, though, hit rock bottom June 25 in Los Angeles when he threw four wild pitches, issued three walks and allowed six runs in one inning of a big blown save.

"High walks," said Rockies manager Bud Black, simplifying Ottavino's issue. He gave up 39 walks in 53 ⅓ innings. "He has great stuff. The hits-to-innings pitched will be fine. He has a strikeout in his game. He just has to limit the walk."

Ottavino's arsenal of pitches is growing. He already throws three sliders — a looping slurve, a tight and quick dipper and a sinker-cutter on the lateral axis. They are his go-to pitches. But he is adding pitches, he said, and tunneling new looks to make them appear like his fastball.

"I've got a lot of pitches right now. A lot of options," he said.

The most difficult task for a pitcher trying to improve is his limited practice time. Ottavino can't throw all day, every day. The key is to practice smarter.

That's where the little blue camera comes in. Several teams have invested in the new technology, including the defending World Series champion Astros. The Rockies are waiting to weigh the benefits. And some pitchers just want to stick to their routines without the static of too much information.

Ottavino, though, wants evidence of the movement on his pitches. He wants to know if his experiments are working.

"Even if a pitch is aesthetically pleasing, it looks good, it's not always effective," Ottavino said. "Sometimes a pitch can look nasty, but it isn't."

He needed to face hitters. In eight Cactus League outings this spring, Ottavino faced 33 batters. He gave up one run on six hits, with nine strikeouts and five walks. His results were mixed overall, but he allowed only one walk to the last 12 batters he faced.

Ottavino's camera is another option in a tool box, a way to help him get better. But the game, he said, will speak for itself. And he will wait to find out the results.

"Hitters will tell you how good your pitch is," he said. "I need to face a ton of hitters to know if I'm on the right track."