Wednesday Pebble Report

by Russ Oates on Aug 27, 2008 6:48 AM MDT in Pebble Report

Rox Girl checks in at her RMN blog with her top 10 Rockies prospects. Will she stick to it when we have our end-of-the-season PuRPs poll?

Colorado Springs, L 8-15 (completion of 8/14 game) & W 6-1: In the first game, Sean Smith allowed five of the runs, but Valerio De Los Santos must be on life support after the beating he received last night. He allowed nine runs on 15 hits in five innings. Infielder Kenny Perez pitched the last inning of the game. Matt Miller drove in two of the run as he went 2-for-5.

Franklin Morales went six innings in the seven-inning second game. He walked five struck out three, and allowed the run. Christian Colonel hit a two-run homer, his 10th.

Tulsa, W 4-2: Justin Nelson (18) and Tony Blanco (23) each hit solo homers last night. Brandon Hynick held Springfield to three hits in seven innings and struck out four. Ryan Mattheus struck out three on his way to his 16th save.

Modesto: No game scheduled. Brian VanderBeek looks at what an 8-team California League may look like in two years.

Asheville: No game scheduled. Darin Holcomb was named the SAL Player of the Year, and Joe Mikulik the SAL Coach of the Year (second in a row).

Tri-City, L 0-7: Sheng-An Kuo second start with the Dust Devils was completely forgettable. He was charged with six runs on eight hits over two innings. Not much else to report.

Casper, L 1-2: Jose Gonzalez drove in the only run for Casper and Jimmy Cesario hit a triple. Omar Duarte allowed both runs in four innings. Alan Deratt allowed one hit over the next three innings and struck out three. Isaiah Froneberger struck out two over the last two innings of the game.

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Comments

Sky Sox game you mention was not main game.

The game you mention was just a completion from an 8/14 suspended game.

They won the originally scheduled 6-1, behind Morales

by RockyMtnRedbird on Aug 27, 2008 8:03 AM MDT reply actions

Thanks for catching that.

"Keep your head down, and inch toward daylight." - Blade of Tyshalle

Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!

by Russ Oates on Aug 27, 2008 8:14 AM MDT up reply actions

Typical Morales outing

or at least what appears to have become the typical Franklin Morales outing:

6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 5 BB, 3 K (104 pitches, 57 strikes)

He’s now 10-4 on the season in the Springs, but walking batters at a 16.6% clip, and only striking out at an even 17% clip. And while everyone says that “mechanical issues” have caused his step back this year, are we really certain that he hasn’t just been trending this direction over the last few years. I thought it would be interesting to compare his 2008 walk and strikeout % to prior years.

2008 (SkySox): 108.1 IP, 16.6% BB/PA, 17% K/PA
2007 (Tulsa/SkySox): 112.2 IP, 12.2% BB/PA, 19.5% K/PA
2006 (Modesto): 154 IP, 13.3% BB/PA, 26.7% K/PA
2005 (Asheville): 96.1 IP, 11.9% BB/PA, 26.7% K/PA

What I see here is that maybe mechanical issues are to blame for his walks taking a substantial jump this year, but the sinking K% is very disheartening. Here’s the scariest, in 64.2 IP in the Bigs (combined 07 & 08), his K/PA is down to only 12.4% (16% in 39.1 IP in ‘07 and 7.5% in 25.1 IP in ’08). That 12.4% doesn’t exactly elicit enthusiasm.

by RockyMtnRedbird on Aug 27, 2008 8:54 AM MDT up reply actions

No it doesn't.

A left-hander who takes his time, walks a lot of hitters, has decent stuff and despite struggles with baserunners is ultimately effective sound a lot like the guy we had pitching for the Rockies last night with one key difference, which is that JDLR has a solid K rate.

Really, I’m hoping the offseason getst Frankie Mo back on track as much as I’m hoping it does Tulo, but right now I’m more enthused about De La Rosa.

by Rox Girl on Aug 27, 2008 9:04 AM MDT up reply actions

I was at the Sox game

last night, and was overall not a bad performance from Franklin. Not a lot of hard contact and if I remember correctly he struck out Upton twice, so at least he is striking out the right guy.

I actually tend to wonder if the K rate dropping also has something to do w/ the Rox overall philosophy of pitching to contact and dropping pitch counts. I think we would see some similar trends w/ Jimenez. I did see some mid 90’s fastballs from Morales when he needed to get something extra and was working from 90-93. He threw a few decent changeups, but command is still an issue. I think that can be corrected and I still like his potential.

And by the way, the pickoff move was there and he was using it well. If he can keep the umpires off his back and not calling it a balk everytime, then that can be a significant weapon as well.

by smokinRox on Aug 27, 2008 10:21 AM MDT up reply actions

Arizona Fall League rosters announced

Rosters were announced yesterday.

Rockies playing for the Phoenix Desert Dogs this fall:
Shane Lindsay
Ryan Mattheus
Chaz Roe
Casey Weathers
Mike McKenry
Chris Nelson
Eric Young (interesting that they have him listed as an OF)

by RockyMtnRedbird on Aug 27, 2008 10:40 AM MDT reply actions

He's been playing centerfield recently

though is back at second with Dex back. Frankly, they need to try something, because he’s not good enough to play second every day defensively, and doesn’t offer the offensive upside to ignore the defensive struggles.

Two things that need to happen next year: Young needs to play some third, short, second, and center in preparation for a utility role down the line. The other, Nelson needs to be moved to second. His offensive upside is still there thanks to his plus bat speed, but moving him off the more demanding defensive position he’s not capable of playing at the big league level may help take some pressure off the bat (or at least prevent offensive struggles from carrying to the field at a demanding position).

As for the AFL roster, that’s one of their better contingents going to play in Arizona in a while. Hopefully Lindsay can begin to put some quality innings behind him this fall in hopes he can start in AA this coming season. With 40 man protection looming, they need to find out what they have a little quicker with Lindsay than they have with Strop, Rogers.

by David OhNo on Aug 27, 2008 11:36 AM MDT up reply actions