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Future Colorado Rockies: Grand Junction Rockies August 2 Update

By BobDeMuro |
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The Colorado Rockies’ rookie ball affiliate will have Todd Helton in attendance this coming weekend, so get excited for that on the Western Slope!

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The big news in Grand Junction this week is that former Colorado Rockies legendary first baseman Todd Helton will be coming to the Western Slope for an on-field ceremony, autograph signings, and a host of other stuff on Friday, August 7th.

Helton, who rehabbed for two games in Grand Junction in 2012 when he was recovering from an injury, will be receiving some kind of special gift on the field immediately before Friday night’s game, too. Considering the special gift he received last time he was called out to the field early, well… the GJ Rockies have some big shoes to fill (literally?).

Anyways, let’s get to the team and we’ll recap Helton after it happens on Friday.

The last week (2-5): The GJ Rockies saw a tough end to July, winning just two of their final five games after having won four of the five immediately proceeding.

Pitching betrayed the Baby Rox this week; they allowed 65 runs in the seven games, and even though their offense kept the club in a few of them, any time you’re averaging allowing a run an inning for an entire week, well, those weeks usually won’t work out too well for you.

Next: Trending Up And Down For The Baby Rox

Apr 10, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; General view of Colorado Rockies hats and gloves during the eighth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field. The Rockies defeated the Cubs 5-1. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Trending up (Jensen Park, Daniel Suero and Hunter Brothers): The pair were named to the 2015 Pioneer League All Star Team for their great work for the GJ Rox this year.

Park hit .357/.376/.592 in his first 24 games in professional baseball, and the outfielder from the University of Northern Colorado has slugged six doubles, four triples, and three home runs in just 98 at-bats.

Suero was hitting .319/.340/.472 in 144 at-bats, with 10 doubles, three triples, two home runs, and twelve stolen bases — obviously, doing a little bit of everything as a catalyst in the Baby Rockies’ lineup.

Brothers has been a relief whiz for the club, appearing in 14 games and striking out 25 in 23.1 innings pitched. At 2-1 with 2 saves, and only one home run allowed in his work thus far, Brothers is putting together some of the early touches of what might one day make him a decent reliever at higher levels. (And yes, he is the brother of Rex Brothers in AAA in the Rockies’ system, though Hunter is right-handed.)

Trending down (Gavin Glanz): The local product (Arvada, Colorado and then Oral Roberts University) struggled the past two starts for the Baby Rox, tossing a combined seven innings in the two games while allowing 13 hits, five walks, 11 runs, and only striking out three hitters.

Not surprisingly, he took the loss in one of those games, and the cold streak pushed his season totals in Grand Junction to 2-2, 6.43 (with a 1.60 WHIP) in seven starts/35 innings.

Glanz had been a reliever for all of his minor league career — in Grand Junction last season, and then in Asheville this year in nine games. He put up decent numbers out of the bullpen, but the Rockies have converted him to a starter.

At present, that doesn’t seem to be working well, though these conversions take a long time, and Glanz has shown flashes of brilliance, too (in the two starts before these two rough ones, Glanz combined to allow just one run in 11.2 innings while striking out four and only allowing ten hits).

Next: GJ Rockies Notes

Apr 21, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; General view of Coors Field during the first inning of the game between the San Diego Padres against the Colorado Rockies. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

One to watch (Mylz Jones): A 13th round draft pick this summer, Mylz Jones has come out of nowhere to become kind of an interesting shortstop for the Grand Junction Rockies.

On the season, he’s hitting .362/.429/.448 with nine stolen bases and 11 walks in just 28 games, and considering he has three doubles and three triples, too, he’s shown a good eye at the plate and the ability to move fast — something the Rockies are focusing much more on recently with Charlie Blackmon third in the National League in stolen bases.

Jones is a product of Cal State Bakersfield, and considering he’s walked nearly as much as he’s struck out in his professional debut (11:15, something that first year pros rarely do), there should be good things coming from Jones for the next few years as he makes his way through the Rockies’ system.

Playing shortstop primarily, Jones is 6’1″, 185 pounds, so he’s not too small for the position. Obviously, though, many shortstops are moved to second base or the outfield — especially with the speed Jones has — later on in their careers. For the time, though, it speaks well of Jones that the Rockies think highly enough of him to let him patrol the toughest position on the diamond, and do so with authority at the plate.

Quick hits: Park was an All Star replacement selection, filling in for an injured player to represent the Rockies as their third entrant into the Pioneer League’s midsummer classic … The Baby Rox are 2-2 in the second half of their season entering play Saturday night, after finishing 20-18 in the first half of play … The 22-20 overall record is good enough for second in the Pioneer League’s South Division, where the Rox are 10-9 at home and 12-11 away from Suplizio Field.

Socials:
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