Well, it's the All-Star Break, the Rockies are terrible; why not check out what's going on down on the farm?
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
Ian Strikeout Stewart has cooled off with somewhat. He still has a gaudy slugging percentage (.606), but his stats are trending down, rather than up. He keeps on striking out, too, with 13 in his last 39 ABs. Other than that, there isn't much to rave about. Colonel and Cory Sully are unspectacular, both okay with the bat. They are, however, on the old side. Same with Adam Melhuse, who is also hitting well.
The Sky Sox pitching has been an absolute disaster. Franklin Morales collapsed like a building on the hit FOX reality show When Buildings Collapse. He isn't far from walking a batter an inning. Jason Hirsh is pitching almost as poorly (31 BB in 45.2 IP). Both were supposed to be great prospects and neither is even serviceable at this point. Steven Register is pretty much their only decent pitcher right now. He has a 39/12 K/BB ratio and a 2.93 ERA. It might be a good idea for the Rockies to call him up soon--they could always use bullpen help.
Tulsa Drillers
Dexter Fowler has to be the shining light at the end of the tunnel for the Rockies. I mean, the guy is ridiculous. He is slugging .510 and is getting on base at a .412 clip. Also, if you watched the Futures game on Sunday, you know that he belongs on the US Olympic sprinting team. Eric Young Jr. is getting on base well (.396), but has a very poor stolen base percentage (68%). Tony Blanco is hittin very well (1.036 OPS), but he is also 26, which isn't a good sign for major league contribution as he is about at his peak age in double-A.
On the pitching end, Brandon Hynick looked so good last year, but he is just giving up too many home runs. His 1.68 HR/9 is by far the highest in the Texas League. He's got to figure out some way to fix that or Coors Field, even with the humidor, will eat him alive. Chaz Roe has used his power fastball rather effectively (2.96 ERA). Ryan Mattheus and Casey Weathers are making up a back end of the bullpen tandem and have put up very similar numbers. Both strike out a lot and walk a lot. Weathers has been somewhat better and is more projectable. There's a good chance he'll be in a Rockies uniform by September.
Modesto Nuts
Michael McKenry has overcome his horrible start to have a passable season (.257/.358/.448). It isn't nearly as good as his last season and he is too old for A ball at 23. He could be a very good backup catcher some day (Chris Ianetta, what! What!).
Though their hitting has been on the pathetic side, Modesto has some good pitchers. Keith Weiser (1.11 WHIP) and Aneury Rodriguez (1.13 WHIP) are anchoring the front of the rotation with William Harris (55/11 K/BB ratio) and Andrew Johnston (0.92 WHIP) holding down the bullpen fort. Jhoulys Chacin recently got called up from Asheville and has continued his rocking of hitters with a 0.86 ERA. This guy could be some major league pitcher.
Asheville Tourists
Darin Holcomb destroys. How he got to the 12th round is a mystery--a mystery that only helps the Rockies. His stat line--.337/.409/.550. The other two high-pick hitters, Brian Rike and David Christensen are not looking too good. Rike started hot, but has been awful lately, cooling off to a weak .768 OPS. Christensen has been a disaster (.273 OBP). He was a terrible 2nd round pick anyway you look at it. If he makes the majors, I'll buy a Barry Bonds uniform and wear it at least once a week. Last year's third rounder, Lars Davis has been weak too (.636 OPS).
Last year's fifth rounder, Connor Graham, has posted an unholy 1.92 ERA. His 51 walks in 103.1 IP is a little scary and needs fixing, but it hasn't hurt him so far (it will though). Cory Riordan (3.49 ERA) and Bruce Billings (3.92 ERA) have been solid, if unspectacular. Meanwhile, they have boasted a strong bullpen with Joey Williamson, Edgmer Escalona, Craig Baker and Craig Rodriguez all putting up ERAs in the low 2's.
Extras
George Frazier's little offspring Parker has been jamming for Tri-City (17/3 K/BB ratio). This year's first rounder, Christian Friedrich has got off to an inauspicious start with two earned runs in two earned innings. Here's hoping he turns it around.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Mid Season Minor League Report
Monday, May 5, 2008
Rockies Minor League Report: For Posterity’s Sake
Are the kids alright? Or are they like those kids in the 1995 horror-film Kids (AIDS is a scary monster too)? Well, it is how it always is—the duality of man falls short (i.e. it’s a mixed bag). Some good. Some bad. Some fluffy?
At the beginning of the year, most rated the
Where… whoopsies. Key prospects and performers stuck in the hellish city of
Ian Stewart – He was killing the ball, looking like he did in A-ball, but he apparently lost his vision on April 28th because he hasn’t got on base even once since then (and he’s struck out 12 times over that span). He has also somehow managed to make 9 errors, which is like Miguel Cabrera bad. Or Derek Jeter when the ball is hit to his left bad. Right now, it’s looking like not trading Every Day Atkins was a good plan.
Greg Reynolds – He has had a Wyld year so far, sometimes pitching like a Stallyn (1 and 2 runs in 7 and 8 IP), sometimes like Jorge De La Rosa (7 ER in 4 IP). Given his career minor league WHIP before this year (1.07), his decent control (2.09 BB/9), his bowling ball fastball, his yellow snapdragon curveball and the comparisons to Chien-Ming Wang, Reynolds should be fine.
Other players – Seth Smith is putting up a scary OBP (.427), but isn’t driving the ball (.406 slugging percentage). Joe Koshansky is flat spanking the ball (.397 OBP, .561 SLG). Unheralded center field prospect Christopher Frey is gittin-r-done (.904 OPS, better than Billiam Taveras?). Veteran pitchers
George Frazier’s fellow Oklahomans with notable performances so far:
Chris Nelson – Yikes! This guy was a number 1 pick (thanks Dan and point your fingers to the sky ). He had a halfway decent year last year, but not this year. He has .622 OPS and has made 13 gosh darn frickin’ errors. To quote Bill Shakespeare: “What the golly gosh is going on there, champ?” (That’s from Hamlet Act IV Scene 3, if you want to check) This guy is bombing in
Dexter Fowler – I can’t wait until this guy’s “graceful” stride is replacing William Taveras’ utterly insane outfield routes. By all scouts' accounts, Fowler is a ballerina in the outfield (that’s good right?). He can hit too (.825 OPS, which is pretty good for a center fielder).
Casey Weathers – For some reason Mr. Rockies GM (who shall remain nameless) decided, along with his co-conspirators, to use an 8th overall pick last year for a reliever, when there were many other good, non-relievers available (James Simmons, Sean Doolittle—sorry, I’m also an A’s fan). On the value chart for players, reliever falls near the bottom of the 25-man roster. Relievers should not be picked in the first round, and I say this as a huge
Other players of note – The two second baseman who make Speedy Gonzalez look like Regular Gonzalez—Corey Wimberley (who has Cody Hawkins-esque stature) and Eric Young Jr. (yes, he’s that Eric Young’s son)—are putting up OBPs over .400, which would be a handy thing for the Rockies right now. EY Jr. is even making legit hits (.506 SLG), but alas, he is injured. Matt Miller, who is really old (25), is hitting well (.902 OPS). 23-year-old Adam Bright is relieving well (0.96 WHIP). Here’s hoping he’s on the fast track to the
Heh, heh... Nuts:
Michael McKenry – This guy destroyed the ball last year—destroyed—but he’s 23 and in A-ball, which doesn’t make him all that prospect-y. He is also not hitting this year at all (.674 OPS). I don’t want the ship to sail on him yet, but it isn’t looking good. And there was so much hope.
Other players of note – The nuts have a surprisingly small number of “big-name” prospects. The cliff notes on the team, though, are that nobody is hitting and everybody is pitching. Infrequently discussed 20-year-old Aneury Rodriguez is dominating. He’s striking out a lot, walking few and not giving up home runs. Also, some guy I have never heard of (and I pay a pathetic amount of attention to the
The Low-Low Teams:
2007 second-rounder Brian Rike is enacting the Wrath of Khan on the ball (go Star Trek!) with a .935 OPS and is supposed to be a prototypical right fielder. Fellow 2007 second-rounder Darin Holcomb is also Metallica-ing the ball (i.e. rocking) with a .997 OPS. Jhoulys Chacin and Cory Riordan (another member of the 2007 draft class) are striking guys out and putting up WHIPs around 1.00. The 157th contributing member of the 2007 draft class, Connor Graham, is doing well too (2.25 ERA, but high number of walks). Yet another 2007-er Joey Williamson, as well as 2006 4th rounder Craig Baker, are making
Note:
Drunkest or craziest color commentator in the big leagues, George Frazier, has a son in the Rockies farm system. He was terrible (2.15 WHIP) for the Casper Ghosts, of glow-in-the-dark hat fame. He has been reassigned spectrally to the Ghosts for this year. Let's all hope he has a phantasmal year in the name of his mustacheioed father.
Today’s Random Quote:
“No one ever asked me to find anything they didn't want dead.” – Michael Madsen in the 1995 all-time classic Species
