Isaac Stevens | @RoxMiLBReport | (8/1/23-8/6/23)
The Rockies have 7 Minor League Affiliate Teams from the Dominican Summer League all the way to Triple A. Single A through Triple A has every Monday of the week off, so the MiLB Recaps will come every Monday. This week I’ll be recapping DSL-AAA. I’m excited to share what I’ve gathered over the week with you guys, let’s get into it!
Albuquerque Isotopes: 2-4 W/L, 48 RS, 43 RA, +5 RDIFF
The Albuquerque Isotopes hosted a six game series against the Las Vegas Aviators, and won just two games. Right off the bat you can’t really be mad when you score 48 runs in six games, but there were a few frustrating losses thrown in there. The final game of the series the Isotopes were trailing 7-3 going into the bottom of the 7th inning, and they were able to tie it in the 8th. Unfortunately, the Aviators got a leadoff double in the top of the ninth, then Petersen balked the runner to second, and Kevin Smith scored the runner from third.
Pitching in the PCL is one of the harder things to do in all of professional baseball, so it’s good to look at certain statistics for Albuquerque pitchers. The one that I think is easiest to understand is E-F (ERA – FIP), Earned Run Averages will always be inflated just because of how hitter friendly the PCL is. So when you subtract the independent aspect of FIP it will give you a number for how unlucky that pitcher truly is. For example, Riley Pint has a 6.85 ERA on the season, but his FIP is 5.16. So his E-F would be a 1.69, which is one of the highest on the Isotopes roster.
The Isotopes will be on the road next week against the Round Rock Express!
These are my standout players for the Isotopes this week:
- 2B Hunter Stovall: 6 G, 24 AB, .333/.370/.583, 8 H, 2 HR, 2 SB
- OF Jimmy Herron: 5 G, 18 AB, .500/.609/.500, 9 H, 3 SB
- OF Wynton Bernard: 6 G, 20 AB, .250/.360/.400, 5 H, 2 SB
- OF Daniel Montano: 6 G, 24 AB, .292/.393/..667, 7 H, 2 HR, 6 RBI
- LHP Evan Justice: 2 G, 2.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 2 SO, 0 BB, 1 H
Hartford Yard Goats: 1-5 W/L, 16 RS, 34 RA, -18 RDIFF
The Hartford Yard Goats hosted a 6 game series against the Reading Fightin’ Phils, and only won one game. There’s not much I can say besides it was poor baseball all around. The offense was quiet the entire series, and the pitching wasn’t much better. The Fightin’ Phils were just taking advantage of bad pitches, and scored plenty of runs because of it. The impact of Yanquiel Fernandez was evident, he drove in 2 runs on 3 hits, and even had an outfield assist for the Yard Goats in their only win of the series.
The Yard Goats will have a six game series against the Portland Sea Dogs starting next week in Portland!
These are my standout players for the Yard Goats this week:
- 1B Grant Lavigne: 6 G, 22 AB, .227/.346/.364, 5 H, 1 HR
- RF Yanquiel Fernandez: 2 G, 9 AB, .444/.444/.667, 4 H, 2 2B
- RHP Andrew Quezada: 1 G, 5.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 2 SO, 2 BB, 5 H
- RHP Adam McKillican: 2 G, 4.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0 SO, 2 BB, 1 H
Spokane Indians: 2-4 W/L, 24 RS, 36 RA, -12 RDIFF
The Spokane Indians were away against the Everett AquaSox in a six game series, coming home with two wins. This series was pretty weird for the Indians. There were tons of great individual performances but they couldn’t put it all together as a team. It’s another case of opposing teams taking advantage of bad pitches, and the AquaSox executed the entire series. Still, there was a fair share of good individual performances. So I wouldn’t consider it a bad week for Spokane whatsoever.
Rockies Outfielder Sean Bouchard has been a part of the team the last week rehabbing from his left biceps surgery he received earlier this year. He made an immediate impact for Spokane, and looked great against the Everette squad. Bouchard drove in five runs throughout the series, all while having an OBP of .364. Statistically he looks ready for the next step of his rehab assignment.
The Indians will be hosting a six game series against the Hillsboro Hops starting next week!
These are my standout players for the Indians this week:
- 2B/SS Nic Kent: 6 G, 23 AB, .261/.320/.696, 6 H, 3 HR
- OF Braiden Ward: 5 G, 13 AB, .464/.588/.464, 6 H, 3 SB
- OF Sean Bouchard: 5 G, 18 AB, .333/.368/.611, 6 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI
- RHP Tyler Ahearn: 1 G, 1.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 4 SO, 0 BB, 1 H
- RHP Seth Halvorsen: 2 G, 2.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1 SO, 1 BB, 2 H
Fresno Grizzlies: 5-1 W/L, 27 RS, 18 RA, +9 RDIFF
I can’t emphasize enough how good of baseball this young Fresno team has. The Grizzlies were home against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, almost completing the sweep winning five of six games. Whenever the offense wasn’t awake the pitchers always clutched up and got the next out! Three of the game’s final scores ended within two runs, and I give much credit to Fresno’s pitching staff just because they were lights out. Four of the six starts from the starters were lights out stuff.
Whether it’s the position players or the pitchers everyone on this team has a constant winning mentality, and they’re having fun while doing it! There is something special about this squad of guys, it will be exciting watching them develop through the system in the next coming years.
The Grizzlies will be in San Jose for a six game series against the Giants starting next week!
These are my standout players for the Grizzlies this week:
- RHP Connor Staine: 1 G, 5.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 7 SO, 0 BB, 2 H
- RHP Zach Agnos: 3 G, 3.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 8 SO, 1 BB, 4 H, 3 SV
- LHP Michael Prosecky: 1 G, 6.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 11 SO, 2 BB, 2 H
- LHP Mason Albright: 1 G, 5.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 9 SO, 2 BB, 2 H
- LHP Caleb Franzen: 1 G, 6.0 IP, 1.50 ERA, 8 SO, 0 BB, 3 H
ACL Rockies: 3-1 W/L, 25 RS, 16 RA, +9 RDIFF
The ACL Rockies played against these four teams this week: ACL Angels (W/9), ACL D-Backs Black (W/7), ACL Giants Black (L/9), and ACL Dodgers (W/7). The past two weeks a lot of the 2023 draftees have made their professional debuts with the ACL Rockies. A lot of the players have been translating their college success over to pro-ball and it’s intriguing to see. All season long the ACL squad has been winning a lot of games, so the draftees being around this group is ideal.
The ACL has some of the most interesting baseball in the Minor Leagues. You can see 18 year olds fresh from the Dominican Summer League facing off number one draft picks, or even former MLB players. It’s such a wide margin of talent it always makes for intriguing baseball games.
These are my standout players for the ACL Rockies this week:
- 1B Aidan Longewell: 4 G, 16 AB, .500/.529/.688, 8 H, 3 2B, 6 RBI
- C Cole Carrigg: 4 G, 12 AB, .250/.400/.333, 3 H, 3 BB
- OF Jason Hinchman: 4 G, 13 AB, .308/.438/.308, 4 H, 2 RBI
- RHP Manuel Olivares: 1 G, 5.0 IP, 1.80 ERA, 1 SO, 0 BB, 4 H
DSL Colorado: 2-2-TBD, 20 RS, 22 RA, -2 RDIFF
The two DSL teams are the only teams in the organization that play on Mondays, so their recap is from 7/31/23. The DSL Colorado faced off against these teams this week: DSL Mets Blue (L/9), DSL NYY Yankees (L/9), DSL Nationals (suspended), DSL Mets Blue (W/9), and DSL Mets Blue (W/7).
The DSL teams are weird in the aspect that none of the players are proven Minor Leaguers (which is why it’s rare to see DSL players on top prospect lists), but it’s still good to get to know the players and how they ball. Something that I think is promising with DSL Colorado is how patient the bats are; 10 of the 15 players (min. 50 PA) have a BB% over 10.0%, which is above average. Granted that DSL pitchers don’t have the best command, it’s still nonetheless impressive.
With pitchers, I believe that showing good strikeout numbers in the earlier levels of the minor leagues can set them up for success in the future. DSL Colorado does a good job of striking out opposing players, 6 out of 11 DSL pitchers (min. 10 IP) have a K/9 over 9.00 which is above average. Overall, this team has a lot of exciting players and we will see their names a lot the next couple of years.
These are my standout players for the DSL Colorado this week:
- SS Roynier Hernandez: 4 G, 15 AB, .467/.556/.733, 7 H, 4 R
- 1B Ronny Ugarte: 4 G, 15 AB, .400/.438/.533, 6 H, 2 2B
- SS Wilder Dalis: 3 G, 11 AB, .546/.615/.546, 6 H, 2 SB
- RHP Enger Sanchez: 1 G, 4.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 6 SO, 1 BB, 5 H
- LHP Luichi Casilla: 1 G, 5.0 IP, 3.60 ERA, 9 SO, 1 BB, 5 H
DSL Rockies: 2-1-TBD, 30 RS, 15 RA, +15 RDIFF
The DSL Rockies faced off against these teams this week: DSL Royals Blue (W/9), DSL Mets Orange (W/9), DSL Nationals (suspended), DSL Giants Orange (suspended), and DSL Mariners (L/9).
When talking about an all around good team, the DSL Rockies fit that description perfectly. Firstly their offense is constantly putting pressure on opposing pitchers, whether it’s their advanced approach on the basepaths or their advanced approach at the plate to advance the runner. There are five players on the DSL Rockies that have 5+ home runs, which is promising to see DSL players who have game power. There are also four players who have 10+ stolen bases, and that is always an effective part of the game.
This team does a really good job at doing what it takes to win games, and their 24-17 record proves that. There are some legit players that will definitely perform at each affiliate they stop at for the Rockies.
These are my standout players for the DSL Rockies this week:
- C Franklin Lopez: 3 G, 14 AB, .357/.400/.357, 5 H, 2 RBI
- SS Kelvin HIdalgo: 3 G, 11 AB, .545/.625/1.182, 6 H, 2 HR, 3 SB
- SS Derek Bernard: 4 G, 13 AB, .385/.467/.769, 5 H, 3 2B
- CF Elisandro Alcantara: 2 G, 7 AB, .714/.778/.857, 5 H, 6 R, 2 SB
- LHP Johandry Milano: 2 G, 6.0 IP, 1.50 ERA, 6 SO, 0 BB, 4 H, 1 SV
Rockies MiLB Transactions 7/31/23-8/6/23
Albuquerque Isotopes:
- 8/1/23: Albuquerque Isotopes activated OF Jameson Hannah from the 7-day injured list.
- 8/1/23: Albuquerque Isotopes placed C Brian Serven on the 7-day injured list retroactive to July 31, 2023.
- 8/1/23: LHP Justin Bruihl assigned to Albuquerque Isotopes.
- 8/2/23: CF Roman Quinn assigned to Albuquerque Isotopes from ACL Rockies.
- 8/5/23: Albuquerque Isotopes placed 3B Aaron Schunk on the temporarily inactive list.
- 8/5/23: Albuquerque Isotopes activated OF Yorvis Torrealba.
Hartford Yard Goats:
- 8/1/23: RHP Alec Barger assigned to Hartford Yard Goats.
- 8/2/23: Hartford Yard Goats activated RHP Mike Ruff.
- 8/4/23: Hartford Yard Goats placed C Hunter Goodman on the temporarily inactive list.
- 8/5/23: Hartford Yard Goats activated RF Yanquiel Fernandez from the 7-day injured list.
Spokane Indians:
- 8/1/23: RHP Anderson Pilar assigned to Spokane Indians from Fresno Grizzlies.
- 8/1/23: Colorado Rockies sent 3B Sean Bouchard on a rehab assignment to Spokane Indians,
- 8/3/23: RHP Seth Halvorsen assigned to Spokane Indians from ACL Rockiesl
Fresno Grizzlies:
- 7/31/23: RHP Jake Madden assigned to Fresno Grizzlies.
- 7/31/23: LHP Mason Albright assigned to Fresno Grizzlies.
ACL Rockies:
- 8/1/23: RHP Cade Denton assigned to ACL Rockies.
- 8/1/23: RHP Hunter Mann assigned to ACL Rockies.
- 8/1/23: RHP Jack Mahoney assigned to ACL Rockies.
- 8/1/23: RHP Collin Baumgartner assigned to ACL Rockies.
- 8/1/23: RHP Troy Butler assigned to ACL Rockies.
- 8/1/23: RHP Chase Dollander assigned to ACL Rockies.
- 8/1/23: RHP Yanzel Correa assigned to ACL Rockies.
- 8/1/23: RHP Jace Kaminska assigned to ACL Rockies.
- 8/1/23: LHP Stu Flesland III assigned to ACL Rockies.
- 8/1/23: LHP Austin Emener assigned to ACL Rockies.
- 8/1/23: LHP Sean Sullivan assigned to ACL Rockies.
- 8/1/23: LHP Isaiah Coupet assigned to ACL Rockies.
- 8/1/23: LHP Kannon Handy assigned to ACL Rockies.
- 8/3/23: ACL Rockies released LHP Kevin Garcia.
- 8/3/23: ACL Rockies released SS Jake MacKenzie.
Final Thoughts: 17-18 W/L, 190 RS, 184 RA, +6 RDIFF
All of the affiliates had their fair share of ups and downs, but overall it was a good week. Both Yanquiel Fernandez and Jameson Hannah got activated from the injured list this week, and they’re going to be huge contributors to their teams going forward. We saw some great pitching performances, especially in Fresno this week. There were a lot of things to like about this week.
Thank you for reading!
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