DENVER -- Believing that winning habits occur early, the Rockies are excited about Single-A Fresno, which will begin a California League Division Series against San Jose on Tuesday. The Arizona Complex League club made the playoffs, one of the Rockies’ two Dominican Summer League teams won its division, and Double-A Hartford is 1 1/2 games from a postseason spot with nine games remaining. “You’ve got to do what the game asks you to do,” Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt said. “Are you playing for a run? Are you playing for a rally? “If you watch the scoreboard, it tells you how you should be trying to play the game. It’s what we’re trying to teach guys up here.” Here are players to watch as you follow the California League postseason: Part of the rush to the playoffs was due to an infusion of talent that went deeper than the pro introduction of shortstop Ethan Holliday (Rockies' No. 1 prospect and No. 17 overall per MLB Pipeline), the fourth overall Draft pick who crushed his first professional home run on Tuesday and has slashed .210/.338/.290 over his first 62 at-bats. |
Outfielder Roldy Brito, a $420,000 international signee last year out of the Dominican Republic, was promoted after winning ACL Most Valuable Player honors while slashing .368/.445/.555 this year. He has continued producing at Fresno -- batting .352 with a .423 on-base percentage.
Shortstop Wilder Dalis hit .352 with three homers, 12 doubles and five triples in the ACL to begin the season, and he is now batting .236 with three homers and seven doubles in 29 games with Fresno.
|
|
|
Infielder Kelvin Hidalgo has helped win games on the bases with 43 steals -- third most in the league. Also, 2025 Draft picks such as catcher Matt Klein (sixth round) and first baseman Tanner Thach (eighth round) are getting their pro careers started in a postseason run. “They’re playing a good brand of baseball with that energy that they’ve infused in that clubhouse,” Rockies player development director Chris Forbes said. The pitching staff has been helped by the improving health of two high Draft picks. |
|
|
MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
|
|
ENCOURAGING WORDS BUT NO CALL |
Outfielders Zac Veen (No. 12) and Sterlin Thompson (No. 16) each are having strong seasons at Triple-A Albuquerque. But the improvement and need for playing time for rookie Yanquiel Fernández meant neither Veen, who played with the Rockies earlier this season, nor Thompson received a call when MLB rosters expanded, although there is still time. Forbes said Veen is in Albuquerque to work on his entire game. “Here’s where the growth needs to happen,” Forbes said. “We’ve got to work through those defensive metrics -- we’ve got to improve those. When the ball goes up, it’s got to be caught. And he understood, 'I can do this in Triple-A, but in the big leagues I’ve got to be aware of this.' “All that help has helped him in the growth aspect.” |
Thompson, also improving defensively, intrigues Forbes at what is a crowded position for the Rockies. “He can really hit,” Forbes said. “He can use the whole field and he’s got situational power -- he’s not a power guy but he’s a hard contact type who will get balls that travel.” |
Outfielder Jared Thomas (No. 8) achieved a .330/.427/.495 slash line at High-A Spokane before being promoted to Hartford in July along with first baseman Charlie Condon (Rockies' No. 2 and No. 58 overall). A right wrist injury sent Thomas to the injured list in July early in his Double-A stint, but he's since returned. Thomas is batting .234 with three homers and 12 RBIs while being tested at Hartford -- the highest professional level he's reached so far. “He’s got an advanced plan,” Forbes said. “There are times he doesn’t execute or he’ll chase early, or he’ll say, ‘I got a little sped up in that at-bat,’ where he wants to chase the hit. But this is his first full season and he’s in Double-A. He does everything pretty well and you’re hoping he’s going to be that type of player.” |
The Rockies are taking a look at right-hander Roansy Contreras, claimed off waivers from the Orioles on Tuesday. Contreras has a 4.63 ERA in 91 Major League games (33 starts) with the Pirates, Angels and Orioles. While he has experience, Contreras, originally a Yankees international signee in 2016, is still only 25 years old. He fits in age-wise with the Majors’ youngest roster (25.1 years average). “Our scouts like him, our analytics people like him,” Schmidt said. “It’s a good arm. The last time he pitched was in Baltimore, he threw the ball well [4 1/3 scoreless innings, three hits]. At this point, we thought he was worth taking a look at.” |
Early returns are strong from lefty Griffin Herring (Rockies' No. 9 prospect), acquired from the Yankees at the Trade Deadline. Herring earned Northwest League Pitcher of the Month honors by posting a 2.16 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 25 innings over six starts for High-A Spokane. A multi-inning reliever at LSU before the Yankees drafted him in the sixth round last year, Herring has held up through 114 1/3 innings -- with 141 strikeouts and 1.81 combined ERA at Single-A Tampa and High-A Hudson Valley and Spokane -- in his first full pro season. |
In addition to Herring's dominance, the Rockies also announced their organizational Pitcher and Player of the Month awards for August. Hartford righty reliever Victor Juarez and Spokane infielder Andy Perez took home the honors. |
HOW SPECIAL WAS TODD HELTON? |
He was a Hall of Famer, so … Still, it is always nice to let the numbers tell us about Helton’s greatness. The Coffee & Box Scores newsletter featuring the work of Roger Schlueter, former senior editorial director for MLB Productions, this week duly noted the extra-base-hit prolificness of Shohei Ohtani. But who recorded the most extra-base hits from ages 26-30 -- a span that includes most players’ prime years? Helton -- with 451. |
FORWARDED FROM A FRIEND? SUBSCRIBE NOW |
|
|
To subscribe to Rockies Beat, visit this page and mark "Rockies Beat" from our newsletter list. Make sure you're following the Rockies or that they're checked as your favorite team. |
|
|
|
