Colorado Rockies: May 22 minor league report and prospect update

AAA Albuquerque Isotopes (23-20, Second in PCL-Pacific Southern)

Hanging steady in second place, the Albuquerque Isotopes had an up and down week. The most notable happening this week is that Rockies’ shortstop Trevor Story is currently on a rehab assignment with the club. Unable to find his stroke so far in 2017, Story is hoping to find some of the magic that made me a rookie sensation. In three games thus far, Story is 3-for-8 with a home run but committed two errors in Sunday night’s game. It looks like Story is going to be activated soon. 

With top prospects Jeff Hoffman and Raimel Tapia currently up with the big club, players are vying to be the next blip on the front office’s radar. Thus far, infielder Daniel Castro and starting pitcher Barry Enright have impressed. Enright masterfully spun a six-inning scoreless gem where he struck out five, walked none and allowed just two hits.

A new addition to the Rockies system, Enright is in the midst of an 11.2 scoreless inning streak. threw his second straight good outing this week.

In a game against El Paso, Hoffman tossed six innings, yielding two earned runs. As a reward for the quality start, Hoffman secured his second victory of the year. Hoffman is now 2-2 with a respectable 3.71 ERA in the hitter-friendly PCL. If he can put together a few more consistent outings, expect Hoffman to land in Colorado early this summer.

Putting together a streak of his own is Castro, who has hits in his last nine contests. Of particular note is a 3-for-4 game where Castro served as the catalyst for a 5-3 victory on Sunday night. During the current hitting streak, Castro raised his average from .236 to .296.

SAD NEWS ALERT: Stephan Cardullo was released this past Thursday. 

Transactions:

5/21/17 – RHP Nelson Gonzalez assigned to Albuquerque Isotopes from Boise Hawks.
5/21/17 –  Albuquerque Isotopes placed RHP Matt Flemer on the temporarily inactive list.
5/19/17 – Colorado Rockies optioned Carlos Estevez to Albuquerque Isotopes.
5/19/17 –  C Jan Vazquez assigned to Hartford Yard Goats from Albuquerque Isotopes.
5/19/17 – Colorado Rockies sent SS Trevor Story on a rehab assignment to Albuquerque Isotopes.
5/19/17 – Colorado Rockies optioned C Dustin Garneau to Albuquerque Isotopes.

Advanced-A Lancaster JetHawks (24-20, Second in California League – South)

It just came down the pipeline today that Lancaster outfielder Wes Rodgers was named California League Player of the Week for the week of May 15-21. Rodgers went 3-for-3 with a double and a triple in Sunday night’s 7-3 win. Sunday marked the third three-hit game for Rodgers in his last 10 games. Rodgers also leads the organization in stolen bases.

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Thanks to performances like Rogers, Lancaster is 8-2 in their last 10 games and now just two games back of first place. Fellow outfielder Yonathan Daza has been hot at the plate all year long and now leads the California League in hitting with a .362 average. Rockies’ top prospect Brendan Rodgers isn’t far behind, sporting a .356 average. right-fielder Sam Hilliard is only 8 points behind Rodgers with a .348 average. Obviously, these three guys are proving to be a trio that no one in the California League wants to pitch to at the current time.

2015 second round draft pick Peter Lambert had a great outing this week. In a team shutout, Lambert supplied the leg work, tossing seven innings of two-hit ball with six strikeouts. Clearly, Lambert is moving in the right direction.

Transactions:

5/19/17 – Helmis Rodriguez assigned to Lancaster JetHawks from Grand Junction Rockies.
5/19/17 – Lancaster JetHawks placed LHP Max Schuh on the 7-day disabled list.
5/17/17 – Sam Thoele assigned to Lancaster JetHawks from Grand Junction Rockies.

A Asheville Tourists (18-23, Sixth in South Atlantic League – Southern)

Call to the Pen

With the winning streaks currently going on in Lancaster and Hartford, Asheville is now the Rockies farm club in the biggest rut. Asheville is just 3-7 over their last 10 games. There is some great individual performers though.

Infielder Colton Welker is getting it done at the plate. Welker ranks second in the SAL with a .353 average to accompany a .392 on-base percentage. On May 16, Welker delivered a 3-for-3 performance with a home run, a double and two RBI.

Alejandro Requena, who had one of the best ERAs in the SAL, has scuffled as late. Requena got lit up for eight earned runs on Saturday. The rough outing ballooned his ERA from 1.45 to 2.81 but he did register his first win of the season this week. It is surprising that it was his first win given the fact that Requena has posted a 1.45 ERA now in six starts this season.

2016 first round pick Riley Pint pitched once this week. Last Thursday, Pint turned in four innings pitched while surrendering five earned runs. Pint was charged for the loss and is now 1-5 on the year with a 3.25 ERA. Prior to Thursday start, Pint had a 12-inning scoreless streak going.

Transactions:

5/19/17 – Asheville Tourists activated SS Carlos Herrera.
5/19/17 – Cole Anderson assigned to Boise Hawks from Asheville Tourists.
5/18/17 – Jared Gesell assigned to Asheville Tourists from Boise Hawks.
5/18/17 – Asheville Tourists placed RHP Justin Lawrence on the 7-day disabled list.
5/18/17 – Asheville Tourists activated RF Manuel Melendez from the 7-day disabled list.
5/16/17 – Campbell Wear assigned to Boise Hawks from Asheville Tourists.
5/16/17 – Asheville Tourists activated C Joel Diaz from the 7-day disabled list.

Rockies Farm System Leaders:

Hitting (20 AB min.)
BA: Yonathan Daza .362; Brendan Rodgers .356; Colton Welker .353
OBP: Sam Hilliard.414; Collin Ferguson .409; Yonathan Daza .405
SLG: Brendan Rodgers .594; Sam Hilliard .574; Vince Fernandez .559
2B: Wes Rodgers 14; Four tied with 13
3B: Two tied with 4
HR: Brian Mundell 8; Two tied with 7
SB: Wes Rodgers 22; Garrett Hampson 15; Sam Hilliard 14

Next: Bud Black and the art of bullpen management

Pitching (10 IP min.)
W: Craig Schlitter 6; Trey Killian 5; 10 tied with 3
ERA: Barry Enright 0.00 (11.2 IP); Austin House 0.43 (21 IP);J.D. Hammer 0.93 (19.1 IP);
G: Two players with 16
SV: Matt Carasiti 11; Two tied with 6
IP: Peter Lambert 51.1; Craig Schlitter 49; Trey Killian 48.1
SO: Peter Lambert 56; Ryan Castellani 42; Two tied with 37
WHIP: Barry Enright 0.43; Sam Howard 0.71; J.D. Hammer 0.83