First, I have to give a quick caveat. Casey Weathers has only 25 professional innings under his belt, so it's still too early to get a clear picture of what's emerging with the Rockies 2007 first round draft pick. That said, he hasn't exactly been as advertised thus far. Although the statistics won't tell us anything useful until he's faced a larger sample of hitters, they have been out of line with what his scouting reports coming out of Vanderbilt said we should expect. In this case, it might be a good thing.

The Rockies' high class A affiliate in Modesto lacks the offense that their other full-season teams have this year, but they've been making up for it so far with a deep pitching staff. Anchoring that staff thus far have been hard-throwing right-handers Aneury Rodriguez, Shane Lindsay and Esmil Rogers and control lefty Keith Weiser.

Last week I had an opportunity to see a few games in Asheville, so I thought I might focus on a handful of the players there who are making some noise in the early season. Unfortunately, the timing of my trip was such that I wasn't able to see Jhoulys Chacin, who's perhaps the Tourists' best prospect, but I plan on giving him a full post later this season. He's not the only player worth watching that the Rockies have at their North Carolina affiliate, however; here are a few who are under the radar:

This week I want to take a closer look at the renewed hitting prowess Ian Stewart has displayed this spring. I've asked professional scouts and sources within the Rockies organization about some of the possibilities as to why Stewart would be resurging now, and whether they think it's legitimate, or just a small sample blip that will come undone as the season plays out.

The story for 2008 is whether the talent that remains in the Rockies farm system after the graduations of the last two years can reveal hidden gems ready to take over as the stars, not just role players, of Rocktober next.