Top pitching prospects Kyle Freeland and Jeff Hoffman were inefficient on the mound for Hartford and Albuquerque, respectively. Freeland let up six runs in seven innings, five coming in the fourth inning. Hoffman took 93 pitches to get through five innings and was behind hitters all night long, despite only walking three.
After hot starts, both pitching prospects have cooled off. Freeland isn’t striking out batters - only 47 strikeouts in 81⅓ innings - and relying on his defense to get him through games. That’s not a bad strategy because it means he’s not afraid to throw strikes, but I’d expect more deceptiveness and stuff from a top prospect like Freeland.
Hoffman got himself into extended counts and constantly was fighting back from being behind batters. Hoffman needs to show more consistency and efficiency before the Rockies consider bringing him up to the majors.
Here’s how the rest of the Rockies affiliates fared on Tuesday;
Other Games
Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes 5, El Paso Chihuahuas 4
Jordan Patterson (18 PuRP): 3/4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 SB
Mike Tauchman: 2/4, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB
Ben Paulsen: 3/5, 2 2B, R, 2 RBI
Jeff Hoffman (3 PuRP): 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R/ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 93 pitches
Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats 6, Reading Fighting Phils 8
David Dahl (2 PuRP): 2/5, R, SB
Ryan McMahon (5 PuRP): 1/4, HR, 2 RBI, BB
Raimel Tapia (6 PuRP): 2/5, 2B, 2 R
Dillon Thomas: 2/5, R, 2 RBI
Kyle Freeland (8 PuRP): 7.0 IP, 7 H, 6 R/ER, 4 BB, 5 K, 99 pitches
High-A: Modesto Nuts 4, Stockton Ports 1
Josh Fuentes: 1/3, HR, BB
Max White: 1/3, BB, 2 SB
Shane Hoelscher: 1/4, RBI
Carlos Polanco: 6⅓ IP, 3 H, 1 R/0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 93 pitches
Low-A: Asheville Tourists 5, Greensboro Grasshoppers 6 (14 innings)
Carlos Herrera (29 PuRP): 3/5, 3B, HR, RBI, 2 R, BB
Brian Mundell: 1/6, 2B
Yonathan Daza: 3/7, 2B
Jack Wynkoop: 8⅓ IP, 9 H, 3 R/ER, BB, 6 K, 92 pitches
Dominican Summer League: DSL Rockies 3, DSL Angels 2
Shael Mendoza: 2/3, RBI
Daniel Montano: 1/3, HR, BB, SB
Ever Moya: 4.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Tomorrow’s Games and Probables
Triple-A: Albuquerque (TBD) at El Paso (SDP), 7:05 pm MT
Double-A: Hartford (Senzatela, 4-1, 2.05 ERA) vs. Reading (PHI), 4:35 pm MT
High-A: Modesto (Balog, 1-0, 0.00) vs. Stockton (OAK), 8:10 pm MT
Low-A: Asheville (Lambert, 2-4, 2.45 ERA) at Greensboro (MIA), 10:30 am MT
DSL: Rockies (TBD) at Angels (LAA), 8:30 am MT