The first week of MiLB action is in the books and a successful one for the future Colorado Rockies. Here are some early trends and where some prospects are heading. This quick whiparound will keep you in the know on what’s happening in the early going.
The Good
This series showed some regression considering how dominant Beck started the season vs. El Paso. Despite this “regression”, Beck still had a .992 OPS and added another home run to his season total. In this series, he also showed off his plate discipline, with five walks compared to six strikeouts. Beck has to keep those strikeouts in check but he’s absolutely mashing so far.
Jones didn’t have a great series, but I needed to find a way to include him in the article. Jones only played three games this week due to injury, but has flashed his unique skill set throughout the start of the season. His speed has been an issue for opposing teams, stealing four bases already. Add into this his hyper versatility, and it’s clear he will be in MLB soon. He still has some kinks that need to be ironed out, like his overall offensive play, especially regarding his strikeout rate, but Jones is getting on-base and stealing bags.
The southpaw from Florida, who I’m not sure is acclimated to the cold weather yet, pitched a gem. His five innings of two hit ball was the perfect start to his season. As I will get into later, the pitching side of the farm helped their stock immensely.
Chase Dollander & Sean Sullivan
These two were unbelievable, making batters look stupid. Their combined pitching line was 11 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 21 K. There isn’t much to analyze here besides that these guys are the future, not only of the pitching staff but of the organization as a whole.
It’s early in the season, but Agnos already has two perfect saves with three strikeouts. The lead is safe when Agnos comes in.
It was only three games in the first week, buts it’s obvious why everyone who breathes baseball is super high on this kid. In 11 at bats, Jorge has five hits, including a double. Pair that with two walks to just one strikeout, his talent is already taking center stage and Jorge figures to be an on-base machine.
Jack Mahoney, Isaiah Coupet, & Jace Kaminska
Even more pitching dominance! The combined line for this trio in their season debuts was 14 IP, 3 ER, 18 SO, 3 BB. All three were dominant and efficient. Just like Spokane, Fresno has a “must watch” pitching staff on their hands and we’ll be watching to see which one gets a push to the northwest first.
Drafted in the eighth round out of South Carolina, Wimmer has done nothing but rake. This weekend was much of the same. He had an OPS of 1.089, with a team high two home runs. Wimmer provides this lineup with a high-quality bat every game and Wimmer will be the straw that stirs the drink in Fresno.
In his 10 at bats this weekend, he had five hits and a home run. This accumulated him a 1.788 OPS and four RBIs. The veteran (by MiLB standards) has provided some shock to the Fresno lineup.
The Bad
I’m well aware Romo is a slow starter and the catching situation is awkward in Albuquerque, but he hasn’t been playing the way we all know he can. In 20 at bats, he’s only gotten two knocks, leading to a putrid .250 OPS. His offensive numbers haven’t been good, but I’m more worried about the rotation the catching position seems to be having. He should be getting most of the starts behind the dish, but it’s a near every day rotation behind the plate with Willie MacIver and Hunter Goodman.
A victim of the odd pitching environment the PCL has, Davis has had a nightmare start to his 2024 campaign. In his first two starts, he only lasted 6.2 innings, with a 12.15 ERA. Not good enough for the quality of pitcher we know Noah Davis is.
Not that he’s playing bad, but why is he here? He’s completed this level in the system already. His talent will just stagnate and be put to waste in this spot. Heck, give this man a key to the city. He played his college ball here and now for most of his professional career.
The Fresno Bullpen
The starters made the games easy to lock up, but even then, the bullpen still almost blew a couple leads. Tyler Hoffman, Caleb Franzen, Bryson Hammer and Welinton Herrera let up more than one run in their short relief appearances. Short sample sizes, definitely, but this series will make the ERA look bad for the next couple of weeks.
What’s Next?
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