Future Colorado Rockies: Asheville Tourists July 31 Update

Asheville Tourists Logo/via Colorado Rockies/Asheville Tourists Twitter.

The Colorado Rockies’ South Atlantic League affiliate slogs through their 2015 season after winning the SAL Championship Series in 2014. 

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The Asheville Tourists enjoyed two off days in the past nine calendar days — a rarity sometimes in minor league baseball — as the club pursues a repeat of their 2014 South Atlantic League crown at McCormick Field. Now, fresh back from the All Star Break just a few short weeks ago, the club is trying to turn it on in the second half to make the playoffs again.

With a hot 20-11 record thus far in the second half, the Tourists are in great shape for a playoff run, hoping to win the South Atlantic League’s Southern division ahead of the Augusta Green Jackets, their closest competitors currently sitting just 2.5 games out of first place entering Friday’s action.

The last week (4-3): The Tourists went 4-3 on the week, which considering the year they’ve put together (52-49 overall) is just about what you’d expect from them. After sustaining a seven-game losing streak very early in the season, they haven’t been too up or too down all year long, and it’s even reflected in their statistics: they are third in the league in hitting, and fourth in the league in pitching. Solid, if not spectacular.

That may be a far cry from last year’s championship team (unless they get hot at the right time!), but it is producing a solid club with a few very solid prospects and players to keep an eye on. Let’s track some of those guys right now.

Next: Trending Up And Down For The Tourists

May 10, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; General wide view of Coors Field in the fourth inning between the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Colorado Rockies. The Dodgers defeated the Rockies 9-5. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Trending up (Omar Carrizales): The Tourists have one really bright spot in Carrizales, who is still leading the South Atlantic League in hitting. He’s slashed .328/.474/.854 in 71 games this year, with eleven doubles, five triples, seven home runs, and 21 stolen bases.

The speedy center fielder won’t turn 21 years old until January, so he’s surely turning heads, especially since he rightfully should soon see a promotion to high-A Modesto (assuming the Rockies don’t want him to stay in Asheville all year specifically to earn his batting title and take away the good vibes from that).

Either way, this is almost assuredly going to be the third straight season in which Carrizales has hit above .300, after doing it in the Dominican Summer League in 2013, the Pioneer League in 2014, jumping the Northwest League in the meantime, and now doing even better in full-season ball in 2015.

Trending down (Ryan Stephens): Typically, we’d been writing about Ryan Stephens in conjunction with the Grand Junction Rockies, but three weeks ago after killing the Pioneer League (.412/.474/.912 in 34 at-bats) he was promoted to the Asheville Tourists.

The promotion hasn’t gone so well… in his last ten games, Stephens is 8-for-40 with 14 strikeouts, and overall in Asheville (just 13 games), he’s slashing .176/.185/.314 with 19 strikeouts in 51 at-bats. The 23-year old is a Middle Tennessee State product (which was also home to current Rockies’ players Ken Roberts and Michael McKenry).

Next: Notes From Around The Galaxy