Colorado Rockies: Memories of Key Players at Double-A Tulsa

Barry Lewis of the Tulsa World has been covering the Tulsa Drillers for more than 20 years, including the years the Double-A franchise was a part of the Colorado Rockies family (2003-2014).

During that stretch, Lewis has seen a lot of players come through the Tulsa farm system, including several who have been and are currently key members of the Rockies roster. He’s also highly regarded as the most knowledgeable source on the Drillers and the players who have sat in their dugout or bullpen.

With that in mind, I decided to reach out to Lewis to ask him for his thoughts on Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, and Jon Gray when they played in the Texas League for the Drillers, as well as talking to him about a couple of players who seemed like “sure bets” to make an impact for the Rockies … but never did.

Read on to see his thoughts as well as some surprising statistics about these Rockies players while they were a part of the Double-A landscape in their younger days.

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Trevor Story

2014 for Tulsa: .200 average, 9 HR, 20 RBI in 56 games

Best game: August 23 at Springfield, 3-for-5, 1 RBI

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“The bar was set high for him as well, especially being a compensation first-round draft pick in 2011. Everyone knew he was coming to Tulsa and he finally got here in 2014 after tearing it up at (Class A) Modesto. Everyone expected him to do the same in Tulsa but he struggled. He hit for more power in Tulsa and I remember the ball just jumped off the bat at times when he hit it. He hit some real rockets and didn’t have any cheap homers. But he also struck out about every one out of 2.5 times at the plate. He also struggled in the playoffs (going 4-for-32 in nine games).

“After Tulsa though, he was a model of consistency in the minors. I think everyone expected him to be fairly successful once he finally reached the Rockies, but never to have the start that he had to his career.”

Next: Jon Gray: A Young, Pure Power Pitcher

Jon Gray

2014 for Tulsa: 10-5, 3.91 ERA, 24 games (all starts)

Best game: August 2 vs. Northwest Arkansas, 7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER

“He showed flashes on the mound and had a solid year. I was really surprised when he was with Tulsa during the entire 2014 season. He had only had nine professional outings before coming to Tulsa so I think it was good for him to be here for the entire season. When you’re the third overall selection, that sets the bar pretty high.

“I remember him being on the mound and expecting him to be more dominant. He had good stats but he also got hit around hard at times. In Tulsa, it didn’t look like his fastball had that much movement. It was a straight fastball that had power but not much movement.

Next: Two Prospects Who Should've Made a Bigger Impact

Tim Wheeler

2011 for Tulsa: .287 average, 33 HR, 86 RBI in 138 games

Best game: May 26 at Midland, 3-for-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI

“I thought he would’ve gotten to the Majors. I thought he would’ve found similar success or even be a fourth outfielder for the Colorado Rockies but he just never got there. When he suffered that broken hamate bone, he never regained the power. He wasn’t a player who hit for high enough average so when the power was gone, that was tough. It really was a case of ‘what might have been.’

Chin-hui Tsao

2003 for Tulsa: 11-4, 2.46 ERA, 18 games (all starts)

2004 for Tulsa: 1-1, 2.77 ERA, 2 games (all starts)

Best game: April 3, 2003, vs. Frisco, 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER

“He came into the 2003 season hyped so much. He had a great season for the Drillers and then had a great debut for the Rockies. The sky seemed to be the limit for him. It’s amazing to think that today he has just five big league wins. It’s also amazing to think he’s still plugging away in Triple-A (with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization in Oklahoma City) and that he’s still potentially an option for the Dodgers to call up.

“There are two things that really stand out to me about him. First, in Tulsa, he was a really good athlete who could also handle the bat pretty well. Second, he not only pitched in the very first game for the Rockies organization in Tulsa but also for the Dodgers organization when they debuted in Tulsa 12 years later. What are the odds of that?”

Next: The Top 5 Catchers in Colorado History

Note: Chin-hui Tsao went 0-1 for Tulsa with a 7.20 ERA in four games in 2015. He was also a more highly regarded prospect than Matt Holliday in 2003 and made history by being the first Driller to be called up by Colorado. He also became the first Taiwanese pitcher in MLB, going 3-3 for the Rockies in nine games in 2003.