Rockies Farm Report

Rockies Top 10 Prospects

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:11:25 -0700

It's been a decent season for Rockies prospects, with two rising to top 50, perhaps even top 25 status in the MLB, and several others showing encouraging progress. Two teams, Modesto and Asheville, will make the postseason. There is a somewhat disappointing lull forming between waves when it comes to position players after Dexter Fowler before the next star quality player comes along. Injuries to Hector Gomez and Chris Nelson this season plays a big part in that, as their developments have been sidetracked.

2008 Rockies minor league team by team review

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:45:24 -0700

Next week the minor league seasons wrap up for most of the Rockies affiliates, as does this blog (don't worry, I and my colleague Russ will continue prospect coverage throughout the offseason at Purple Row), so before I go I thought I'd give a general rundown of what happened with each team this season. I will break down the strengths and weaknesses of the Rockies current top prospects and rank them in player capsules next week to finish things off.

Late Risers Shed Light on 2009

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 19:22:41 -0700

Looking for movement in players statistics late in the minor league season can sometimes illuminate breakout candidates for the following year, or also highlight slumping players who have reached the limits of their endurance. This week I'm going to look at each of the four full season levels for players whose overall season lines are masking the talent levels that their second half lines indicate they may have risen to. In most of these cases, the players will typically be pretty good bets to emerge (or in a very prominent AAA case, re-emerge) as at least decent prospects for the Rockies in 2009.

Rockies Hidden Gems

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:11:30 -0700

With less than a month of regular season play left in the minor leagues, August is a good time to start looking back on the progression made by players in the system. I'm going to start this week by trying to unearth a few of the under the radar prospects that for various reasons aren't as easy to pick out. First I will list five prospects in the system with legitimate major league starting caliber tools, and then I'll conclude by pointing out one more player from each level that could wind up playing an important bench role for the Rockies or another club, but for various reasons may never crack the mainstream national prospect radar.

Sizing up the competition

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:55:44 -0700

Knowing who's up and coming in the Rockies system will only give a partial picture of its strengths and weaknesses. In order to complete that picture, one needs to draw some comparisons to the systems of other teams. In this post I'm going to give a quick overview of the prospects of the other four NL West squads.

Chacin the Machine

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:07:02 -0700

Jhoulys Chacin has established himself as the top up and coming pitcher in the Rockies system this season, going 14-1 with a 1.89 ERA between stops at Asheville and Modesto. Last season, Chacin was good at Casper, but not nearly this good. It's clear that he's made a significant step forward.

Wilin Rosario: A prospect is born.

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:19:18 -0700

With typically only a 72 game schedule, statistics in the short season/rookie leagues can be more easily prone to misinterpretation than most full season leagues, as it will only take a relatively minor slump or an out of character hot streak for a month or two for a player to look a lot different from where their career arc will take them. On the Casper Ghosts right now, the Rockies have one intriguing example of a player who has come somewhat out of nowhere as far as prospect watchers are concerned to be putting some fantastic numbers as a 19 year old. The next question to ask with catcher Wilin Rosario would be: "Is he for real?" The answer, it seems, is most likely yes.

Nelson needs to bounce back

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:28:26 -0700

Christopher Nelson was considered by many scouts to be the 2004 draft's top available high school athlete when the Rockies picked him with the ninth overall selection. While his initial season showed much promise, his career since then has shown just one more glimpse of that promise, his breakout season in Modesto in 2007. What exactly does this sort of performance foretell for this once promising prospect? Are there examples of major leaguers who have had similar delays in their development but still found success? The answers aren't all promising, but there is one recent example with a remarkably similar athlete to Nelson that should give Rockies fans some hope that Nelson still can play a significant role with the team.

McKenry gunning for the bigs

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:57:55 -0700

To evaluate catching prospects, one must weigh two distinct sets of data -- one for offense and one for defense -- and hope that the aggregate measures up to an MLB level player.

Mid-season Review

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:57:10 -0700

With most of the full season leagues switching over to the second half it's a good time to take a step back and look at some of the frontrunners among our prospects and those that might have some catching up to do.

Casper and Tri-City Season Previews

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:03:56 -0700

The Rockies two short season affiliates kick off their season Tuesday night; I thought it would be good to give a brief glimpse of some of the prospects to watch on these two teams. The outfield in Tri-City this season might be the most talented the Rockies have put at that affiliate, and the pitching figures to be very strong, especially should the team sign first round selection Christian Friedrich and send him there. Meanwhile, Casper's changed their experience level to go along with their name and logo. The pitching looks to be more polished than usual, and should be better able to compete with an increasingly competitive and refined Pioneer League than the underdeveloped 2007 team was.

Rockies draftees are students of themselves

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:59:39 -0700

You can read the thoughts of scouts from Baseball America of all the Rockies draft picks as Tracy Ringolsby reported in his blog here, but I thought it would be interesting to get some first hand perspectives. Doing so has led to the discovery that there's an impressive theme of self improvement, players learning about their strengths and limitations and working to maximize their potential, running through this year's draft. For our first ten selections, I've collected quotes from around the Internet by the players themselves or their coaches. Reading through the links, you'll pick up really quickly that the Rockies have drafted self motivated players who aren't going to rest on their given talent.

Tools Turning to Skills for Fowler

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:14:44 -0700

Dexter Fowler has been considered one of Colorado's top prospects from the day he signed with the club when the Larry Walker trade allowed the Rockies the financial freedom to meet his asking price. Highly athletic, he shows speed, power and a quick bat from both sides of the plate as well as enough intelligence to draw a basketball scholarship from Harvard. For all the hoopla, however, Fowler has yet to have a season where he's tallied the kind of eye popping statistics, prospect watchers look for. The first two months of 2008 haven't been any different in this regard. Fowler's still displaying a solid skill set, but with just enough holes in his game to keep him in the unrealized potential category for now.

Patience required with the young

Tue, 27 May 2008 16:55:36 -0700

For the three youngest players currently with a full season affiliate in the Rockies organization, there's one example of the early maturing prodigy in Jhoulys Chacin, but also a pair of players that hope to someday prove why it's important to not jump to hasty conclusions based on early career struggles. The first two position players taken by the Rockies in the 2006 draft, David Christensen and Helder Velazquez, hope to follow in the footsteps of Matt Holliday and prove number crunching skeptics wrong.

A tale of two pitchers

Tue, 20 May 2008 14:55:40 -0700

Greg Reynolds and Franklin Morales have their stock going in opposite directions right now. Reynolds in two MLB starts has stepped in and solidified a rotation desperate for help in part because of the early season struggles of Morales. Meanwhile, Morales, lacking consistency as well as command, just went from starting the first no hitter ever at Security Service Field on May 11, to giving up nine runs in three innings against Fresno on Saturday night. A comparison of the two makes for an interesting study into what it takes to be a successful pitcher at the major league level, and how quickly fortunes can turn for prospects trying to make it in the show.