Sunday Pebble Report: Bettis looks good for Tri-City, Casper wins on a walk-off homer, more

by Bryan Kilpatrick on Jul 18, 2010 6:21 PM MDT in Pebble Report

AAA - Colorado Springs: W 9-1 (43-50)
Travis Metcalf doubled and homered, along with three RBIs, to lead the Sky Sox over Portland. In addition to Metcalf, the Sky Sox got two hits apiece out of Cole Garner, Matt Miller, and Chris Frey. Josh Muecke went five innings and allowed a run on seven hits while striking out five. Edgmer Escalona, Taylor Buchholz, and Matt Reynolds combined for four innings of scoreless relief.

AA - Tulsa: W 7-4 (44-45)
Jason Van Kooten went 3-for-3 with a homer (10) to lead the Drillers' offense. Nobody else had more than one hit, but Eric Young Jr. singled, walked, and scored a run. Brandon Durden earned the victory by going six innings and allowed two earned runs on five hits. Matt Daley allowed a solo home run in an inning of relief, but Ching-Lung Lo and Stuart Pomeranz were perfect in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, to preserve the win.

A (Advanced) - Modesto: L 3-1 (11-12 2nd half)
Jonnathan Aristil blew the save (and consequently, lost the game) in the bottom of the eighth inning, when he allowed two runs on a hit and a walk. Dan Houston, who started the game, ended up with a no-decision after allowing just a run on six hits and four walks in five innings. Nobody really did anything of note on offense; Joe Sanders' RBI triple accounted for the Nuts' only run.

More recaps after the jump...

A - Asheville: L 2-1 (42-51)
The Tourists' bullpen squandered what was a nice start by Wes Musick. Musick went just five innings, but struck out seven batters against just two hits and a walk in a scoreless effort. However, Leuris Gomez couldn't hold the lead, and Rhett Ballard allowed the go-ahead run and the virtually non-existent Asheville offense was unable to come back. The Tourists had just two hits - both of which were singles that came off the bat of shortstop Carlos Martinez.

A (Short Season) - Tri-City: W 6-0 (12-16)
Chad Bettis continues to pitch well for the Dust Devils, as he tossed five scoreless innings and allowed just five hits. He didn't walk anybody and struck out four, and now rocks a healthy 1.77 ERA. Dustin Garneau and Jared Simon each had two hits to pace the offense.

Rookie - Casper: W 5-4 (12-14)
The Ghosts won on a two-run walk-off homer courtesy of Corey Dickerson, who was making a pinch-hit appearance. It was his fifth longball of the season. Robert De La Cruz also homered for Casper, while Ryan Casteel had three hits. Coty Woods earned the victory by tossing a scoreless ninth in which he struck out three and walked one.

The DSL Rockies had the weekend off, as the Dominican Summer League played their All-Star Game today.

Tweet Comment 8 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Before anybody freaks out

Friedrich left in the first inning tonight because he got hit (ribs?) by a comebacker, not an arm issue. Still looked like he was in plenty of pain, and if it was the ribs, that can be a little unpredictable, but this shouldn’t be that serious, I don’t think.

Now, I’m going to start sounding like a broken record, but the saviest move the Rockies made in this year’s draft was drafting Bettis as a starting pitcher. His bulldog demeanor at Tech fits perfectly with recent picks Matzek, Balcom-Miller, and fellow draftee Tago. I would not be surprised to see Matzek, Balcom-Miller, and Bettis go 1-2-3 in Modesto’s rotation next year.

Lastly, Casper’s mid-round picks are really standing out. At this point, Dickerson is likely the only ratable Purp, but Tanos and Casteel should give Asheville fans something to look forward to next year, and contniued success will make those radar blips much bigger.

’10 draft already looking good heading into “Parker Week”. Now when can we talk Will Swanner?

by David OhNo on Jul 18, 2010 7:20 PM MDT via mobile reply actions

Speaking of Tago

any idea when he will sign.

My Hate List;

1) Cubs Fans
2) Charlie Manuel
3) The Giants
4) ESPN
5) Yankees and Red Sox Fans

by wolf213 on Jul 18, 2010 7:23 PM MDT up reply actions

I'm sure he's a little above slot

And last I heard, those guys weren’t getting announced yet. That’s all speculation, though. I haven’t heard that he has signed or agreed to sign, but we have even less evidence to suggest he won’t sign. Would be nice to get him some innings in Casper though.

by David OhNo on Jul 18, 2010 7:44 PM MDT via mobile up reply actions

Why would Balcom Miller be in Modesto next year?

He should be there now, he’s essentially repeating last year in Casper with some bad luck.

by MattBerger on Jul 18, 2010 7:26 PM MDT up reply actions

I'll expand

He’s posting close to the same K/BB ratio as last year, still giving up groundballs at very high rates, and less home runs in the same amount of innings. The only thing that’s changed really are the hits themselves, which comes to that his BABIP is increasing a ton.. As a groundball pitcher, more of the hits are probably leaking through this year for CBM. When I look at his Asheville numbers, the main thing that stands out is that he essentially retained his K/BB rate from Casper, which I think is extremely impressive. If what he’s controlling hasn’t changed at the level, then I believe he’s proven what he can do at Asheville and deserves to be at Modesto.

by MattBerger on Jul 18, 2010 7:36 PM MDT up reply actions

Because he's not there now

And luck is a little touchy as far as the minors go. You still want your top prospects to dominate, luck be damned. Nothing wrong if you don’t, as is the case with Friedrich, but you don’t promote a guy that’s simply been unlucky.

Besides, it isn’t always results only, it has to do with the player’s ability and mentality as well. As with Hollingsworth, Balcom-Miller is probably a future #4 or borderline #3 stuff-wise. No urgency to rush those guys along.

by David OhNo on Jul 18, 2010 7:40 PM MDT via mobile up reply actions