Thursday Pebble Report: Esmil Rogers Dominates, Wilin Rosario Goes Deep Again

For those that saw the FSN All-Access show on the minors affiliates last week, Tri-City in Pasco, WA was the affiliate that FSN has not visited.

A solid pitching performance by Bettis, even though he was taken out one out before qualifying for the win. The Dust Devils did also get some help from four Everett errors.

Geza Stadium is a pretty good ballpark, with a lot of foul territory, quite the opposite to Dehler Field on Billings.

BTW… The Dust Devils also has a Taco Bell promotion, similar to the Rockies. Instead of fans getting 4 tacos for $1 with the purchase of a drink after scoring seven runs, the Dust Devils version has fans at the ballpark getting a coupon for a free chalupa with six Tri-City runs, even though seven would’ve worked for the promotion Wednesday night.

The assumption with Esmil Rogers seems to be that he’s had a down year and hasn’t figured it out in AAA. That’s not necessarily the case, as Rogers carried an FIP into last night’s game of 4.52, and 2.52 for the month of July. He’s really been racking up the strikeouts of late, and if you remove luck and PCL parks from the equation, you still have a top ten prospect.

Hollingsworth’s results from High A have yet to carry over to Tulsa, but he appears to be a solid C+ prospect. He has a very athletic, loose build and repeats his delivery well, throwing from a 3/4 arm slot. In two AA starts, Hollingsworth has shown a fastball from 88-91, peaking at 93, with decent sink, a hard slider, and decent change-up, and a get me over slow curve. His troubles have come from failing to get ahead of hitters, and he telegraphs some of his off speed pitches by slowing his arm down at times. He may eventually wind up in the bullpen, where his fastball-slider-change combo should play up, and he shows the athleticism and arm action that should be able to rebound quickly between outings.

Rosario flashed all his tools early. His home run was a mammoth blast that clear the seating area in left field and took roughly eight hours to land after contact. He should have been credited with two CS’s on the night, but his SS was caught napping in the first inning and failed to reach the bag in time to collect the throw. Rosario even flashed his baseball savvy by swiping a bag himself when the NWA pitcher failed to keep him tight at first. Overall, his game exudes confidence, and he’s been a real joy to watch.

Most exciting part of the game had to be Bruce Billings’s outing. Tulsa recently had it’s radar gun fixed, and for the most part, the readings have gelled with scouting reports for most players… until Billings entered in relief last night. Bruce began pumping 96-98 mph fastballs up in the zone, absolutely blowing away the three NWA hitters he faced. Hard to say if the gun was reading hot, but my thinking here is that he was assuredly 93-97 mph last night. Like Rafael Betancourt, Billing’s game plan is to pump the zone full of heaters. He has 93 mph with plus life down in the zone, and last night, looked to be 95-97 mph up in the zone with little life, but because of his short stature and whippy like arm action, the ball just explodes out if his hand. He’s been a real revelation as a reliever this year, with a K rate now around 11 in relief, and a walk rate that looks much better if you take out his initial relief appearance. If these gun readings stay consistent, it’s Billings, not Borthers or Weathers, that is the Rockies top relief prospect.

Back to games I didn’t see… My man Chad Bettis was at it again. Can’t say enough what a solid pick this was.

Were about to say good buy to Russell Wilson for the summer, and what were losing is a mixed bag of results, but I wasn’t expecting anything from him this year after hardly playing at NC State. He’s showing his rawness in his K and contact rates, but the walk rate is impressive, and his athleticism seems to carry over the XBH’s. Not yet a top 30 Purp for me, but he also isn’t a throw away fourth rounder I sort of expected him to be.

I’ve been impressed with what he’s done so far this year. He’s not posting huge numbers but has shown a little power, a little speed and at least appears to be worth keeping an eye on.