We started discussing this in a thread last evening, but the Rockies have made their moves to protect players from the Rule 5 draft coming up in December. Players added to the roster include RHP's Shane Lindsay, Ryan Mattheus and Samuel Deduno, as well as infielders Chris Nelson, Hector Gomez and Eric Young Jr. (who can also be used in the OF). The Rockies had space on their roster for all but one of these six, which necessitated outrighting catcher Edwin Bellorin to Colorado Springs to open the final spot.

I had speculated in August that Bellorin's stock had fallen when the team chose to call up Adam Melhuse instead of him to back-up Chris Iannetta after Yorvit Torrealba got injured. Yesterday's move was the confirmation that I was right. With Michael McKenry ascending the depth chart rapidly, it seems that Bellorin, Rick Guarno and Neil Wilson are having to get out of the way.

As for the six who were protected, there really weren't any surprises given strong fall performances from at least four of them (with the exceptions of Deduno and Gomez), and solid MLB level tools for all six.

Have the Rockies left any critical players exposed to the Rule 5? The team has excelled at identifying who is really of interest to teams around the league, safely letting EY2 and Lindsay go exposed last year at this time without seeing them drafted. This season, there are three players, right-hander Aneury Rodriguez, left-hander Xavier Cedeno (update, these two are ineligible, see comments), and infielder Daniel Mayora, that I could see as possibly desirable, and none of them are of the caliber or have the advanced skills of the six we did protect, so I think the Rockies will probably be safe with that trio. Right-hander Andrew Johnston might be an interesting wildcard, however. He's got some hallmarks of a typical Rule 5 pick (bullpen friendly, one MLB caliber pitch) that could entice a team, much like Steven Register did last season with the Mets. Similarly to Register, I wouldn't be surprised to see Johnston drafted, let's hope it's to another contender that can't afford to keep him all year.

Today, we start with the back end of the Top 30 Purple Row Prospects (PuRPs) List:

Aaron Weatherford is the first of the 2008 draftees to appear on this list, but there are three more from that draft to appear later on. Juan Morillo has no options left entering 2009, so if he doesn't make the team out of Spring Training we'll have to wait and see if he can slide through waivers. Cabrera stole 73 bases (16 CS) and hit .284/.361/.399 for Asheville. He struck out 101 times and walked 51 times.

While the Colorado Rockies aren't playing October baseball, six Rockies prospects are currently playing baseball for the Honolulu Sharks in Hawaii. Those six are pitchers Connor and Andy Graham and David Patton and position players Lars Davis (C), Darin Holcomb (3B), and Mike Mitchell (OF).

Here's how the pitchers have done so far (play began on September 28):

And now the position players:

The Arizona Fall League begins tomorrow. Rockies prospects are pitchers Shane Lindsay, Ryan Mattheus, Chaz Roe, and Casey Weathers and position players Mike McKenry (C), Chris Nelson (SS), and Eric Young, Jr. (listed as OF). They'll play for the Phoenix Desert Dogs.

Casey Weathers should use this time as a tuneup for competing for a roster on the major league team come February and March. I'd also like to see Ryan Mattheus have a strong campaign in order to compete for a spot in the bullpen this spring. I'm not saying he'll make it at the start of the season, but Mattheus has to be better than some of the guys who were thrown out there this past season. Also, let's see what Chris Nelson can do after a disappointing year. The AFL is usually a good place to pick things up with the bat, so take that however you want to.

Free7694 has graciously offered his help in remembering Rocktober. He should check in soon with an entry on Game 3 of the NLDS.

Colorado Springs, W 5-3: Mike McCoy hit a sac fly in the top of the ninth to break the 3-3 tie and Christian Colonel had an RBI single to give the Sky Sox a little cushion. In the fourth inning, McCoy hit his fourth homer of the season. Joe Koshansky and Chris Frey each hit a triple.

Greg Reynolds allowed three runs on 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings and struck out nine. Matt Daley allowed the tying run when he put one of the runners he inherited from Reynolds across the plate. Juan Morillo pitched hte last two innings, walked two, and didn't allow a run.

Tulsa, W 5-3: Dexter Fowler and Chris Nelson both went 3-for-5with two RBI, but it was Fowler who had them all go for extra-bases. He had two doubles and a triple. Corey Wimberly was caught stealing twice, but also swiped his 59th base.

Josh Hall allowed three runs in six innings after allowing four hits and walking four. Ryan Mattheus picked up his 17th save.

Modesto, L 6-7: Mike McKenry hit his 18th homer, a three-run shot, in the fourth inning. Victor Ferrante and Angel Cabrera each hit solo homers.

James Burok started the game and allowed two runs in three innings. Jon George, Tommy Baumgardner, and Austin Chambliss (making his first appearance for Modesto this season) held Bakersfield to one run over the next three innings. David Patton allowed four runs in the seventh inning.

Asheville, L 1-3: Everth Cabrera went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, and his 73rd stolen base. Christian Friedrich allowed one run on four hits and two walks in five innings. The run scored on a first-inning homer. He struck out six.

Tri-City, L 3-5: Parker Frazier allowed five runs (three earned) on eight hits and a walk in six innings.

Casper, L 0-10: Delta Cleary had the only Casper hits last night. They did walk five times, but nothing got done. Ethan Hollingsworth allowed five runs (three earned) in four innings. He walked three and struck out five. Craig Benningson allowed three runs in 1 2/3 innings. Nick Schnaitmann, making his first appearance for Casper, allowed a hit and struck out one in one inning of work. Eric Schaler gave up two runs the next inning.

The Springs, L 6-9: Joe Koshansky hit his 31st homer, a solo shot in the ninth. Franklin Morales allowed six runs on five hits and a walk in 2+ innings. Matt Herges allowed a run in one inning of relief.

Tulsa, W 9-5: Chris Nelson's three-run triple in the middle of the fourth ripped open the scoring in this contest. EY Jr. had an RBI double earlier in the inning, and Jeff Kindel and Corey Wimberly each had RBI singles after Nelson unleashed the triple. Jeff Kindel knocked in two runs in the first. Dexter Fowler had three singles and scored twice.

Xavier Cedeno allowed four runs in four innings, but the relief corps held things in check (with some minor problems along the way). Tomas Santiago allowed only a hit in three innings but also walked three. Casey Weathers went 1 1/3 innings but allowed a run on three hits. He struck out two. Ryan Mattheus picked up the last two outs with little trouble.

Modesto, L 2-4: In the  fourth inning, Daniel Mayora hit his seventh homer and Jay Cox had a sac fly. That was all the offense the team has, as Mayora's homer was the only hit for the Nuts. Brandon Durden allowed three runs in six innings and struck out four.

Asheville, L 6-10: Brian Rike drove in three runs on a single and a double. Bo Bowman collected three hits, and David Christensen had two hits and an RBI. Robinson Fabian went one inning and allowed two runs. Joey Williamson went four innings and allowed three runs. 

Tri-City, W 7-0: Sheng-An Kuo and J.R. Murphy combined on a two-hitter yesterday. Kuo allowed both hits and struck out nine in 7 1/3 innings. Murphy struck out three in 1 2/3 innings.

The offense scored all seven runs in the second inning. Johnny Bowden started the inning off with a double, but after a Ryan Peisel walk and Austin Rauch single, Bowden was out at home on the force out Chad Lembeck hit into. After that, the scoridng started: a James Sims RBI single, a Derek Kinzler two-run double, and a Charlie Blackmon two-run single. After an Erik Wetzel sac bun and pitcher's throwing error, Patrick Rose put Charlie Blackmon across home plate. After a wild pitch, Johnny Bowden hit a sac fly to score Erik Wetzel, the seventh and final run.

Casper: Cancelled due to rain.

Miscellaneous: Rox Girl does a team-by-team review of the minor league system over at her RMN blog, but I'm sure we'll go a bit more in-depth here once the minor league seasons end (playoffs included).

The Springs, L 4-5 in 10 innings: Scott Podsednik collected two hits, stole a base, scored once, and drove in one in another game for the Sky Sox. His on-again-off-again teammate Cory Sullivan hit two doubles and drove in two runs.

Jason Hirsh allowed four runs over seven innings, walked two, and struck out five. Juan Morillo came in and pitched solid eighth, allowing two hits and no runs. Unfortunately, Matt Daley surrendered a homer in the bottom of the 10th to Salt Lake's Bobby Wilson to lose the game.

Tulsa, L 4-5: Chaz Roe allowed four runs on eight hits in 7 2/3 innings, striking out five. He allowed two home runs (a two-run and a solo). Ryan Mattheus allowed a homer in the top of the ninth, which turned out to be the winning run.

Tony Blanco, Daniel Carte, Justin Nelson, and Gary Cates each had two hits. Nelson drove in two and Cates knocked in one.

Modesto, L 4-11: Wins have been rare lately for the Nuts, and last night was no exception. Simon Ferrer allowed seven runs in 4 1/3 innings, walked three, and struck out six. Chris Malone gave up three more over the next 1 1/3 innings. James Burok struck out five over the last 3 1/3 innings of the game.

Daniel Mayora hit a three-run homer in the third inning, but then the run scoring died. Brian VanderBeek tells us a bit about Modesto's newest player, Angel Cabrera, and that the July 24 game that was cancelled will be made up only if necessary to complete the playoff picture.

Asheville, W 10-6: It was a big night for 6-8 in the lineup. Helder Velazquez went 4-for-5 with three runs, Kevin Clark drove in two (one on a solo homer), and David Christen went 2-for-3 with five RBI and a homer. The homer was a two-run shot.

Bruce Billings allowed two runs on six hits and a walk in seven innings. He struck out six. Edgmer Escalona allowed the other four runs, but Ethan Katz held things down in the ninth.

Tri-City, W 8-4: Charlie Blackmon and Jordan Pacheco both hit their first homers of the season last night. Blackmon's, a solo shot, led off the eighth inning, and Pacheco's was a two-run shot with two outs in the eighth. The Dust Devils also had a big fourth inning. Leonardo Reyes had a two-run double, then scored a little bit later on a fielding error on a Ryan Peisel-hit ball, and Blackmon singled in Thomas Field. Pacheco had a sac fly in the sixth.

Juan Nicasio pitched four innings and allowed two runs. Brad McAtee was charged for two runs in 1/3 of an inning, but both runs scored while Hector Luna pitched. J.R. Murphy struck out five in two innings, and Sean Jarrett struck out two over the final two innings of the game.

Casper, W 9-1: Delta Cleary and Alex Feinberg both drove in three runs. Feinberg joined WIlin Rosario in the doubles category with two each.

Dan Houston had one of his best starts this season by going six innings and allowing an unearned run on five hits and two walks. He struck out five. Kurt Yacko struck out three to complete the ninth.

The Springs, W 8-3: Franklin Morales allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings and struck out five. Kenny Perez drove in three runs, and Mike McCoy and Dog Bernier two. Matt Miller and Chris Frey had three hits.

Tulsa, L 5-6 in 13 innings: Daniel Carte hit his 10th homer in the fourth and drove in one of the three runs scored in the eighth inning. Eduardo Cornejo and Tony Blanco drove in the other runs that inning. Unfortunately, Darren Clarke couldn't hold the 4-1 lead Brandon Hynick left him. Hynick allowed one run on three hits in seven innings. Clarke allowed three runs in the bottom of the eighth. Neils Wilson hit a homer in the top of the 13th, only to see Ryan Mattheus allow the game-winning two-run double.

Modesto: The Cal League had the night off.

Asheville, L 1-2: Mike Mitchell's three singles were part of a five-hit night by the Tourists. He also swiped his 45th base. Connor Graham went seven innings, allowed two runs on four hits and three walks, and struck out three.

Tri-City, L 9-13: Kenny Durst went four innings and gave up five runs, and that was one of the better Tri-City pitching performances last night.  J.R. Murphy allowed four runs in 1 2/3 innings and Tyler Trice saw three runs score on five hits in an inning. Carlos Luna struck out four and allowed a run in 2 1/3 innings.

Leonardo Reyes drove in three runs (two on a triple) while Scott Robinson (one RBI) and Ryan Peisel (two RBI) each had three hits. Austin Rauch also drove in a run and scored three times.

Casper, L 2-5: Orem's Roberto Lopez drove in all five runs for his team (four on a grand slam), and Wilin Rosario drove in both runs for Casper. Casper hitters struck out 11 times. Matt Baugh was charged with all those runs in 4 1/3 innings. Brandon Dill struck out three in 2 2/3 innings. Brandon Walker and Kurt Yacko followed with a scoreless inning each.

Colorado Springs, W 6-5 - Poor Chris Frey was lonely yesterday, as he was the only starter to not have a hit. Even Frankie Morales, who we know was originally an outfielder, had a hit and an RBI. Most of the damage was done on singles, but Christian Colonel had a solo shot in the fifth. In fact, the first six batters all had at least two hits, with Adam Melhuse collecting three.

On the pitching side of things, Morales allowed only two runs on three hits, but he also walked five batters. Of his 103 pitches, 53 went for strikes. Matt Daley allowed three runs, allowing one hit and walking three. Cedrick Bowers actually saw two of those runs score before Alberto Arias and Steven Register closed out the game. Register picked up his 15th save.

Tulsa, L 5-6 - Jeff Kindel two-run homer in the eighth inning was part of a four-run ininning that tied the game at five. Alas, Darren Clarke put some men on in the bottom of the eighth and then saw Ryan Mattheus allow the go-ahead run to cross home plate.

Xavier Cedeno allowed two unearned runs over five innings. Justin Nelson hit a homer earlier in the game and Dexter Fowler walked three times.

Modesto, L 4-5 - Victor Ferrante and Mike McKenry each had a two-run homer in the contest, and that was about it for the offense. Keither Weiser allowed four runs on nine hits in six innings.

Asheville, L 3-4 in 11 innings - Gotta give a whole lot of credit to Riordan last night despite allowing a run in the ninth to tie the game. Riordan went nine innings and allowed three runs on 10 hits. He struck out eight. Craig Baker allowed a leadoff homer in the 11th. 

Helder Velazquez, Kevin Clark, and Beau Seabury each had an RBI, and David Christensen had two hits. Mike Mitchell stole his 41st base. Brian Rike continued to pileup the strikeouts, collecting three more.

Tri-City, W 5-4 - Austin Rauch's second homer of the season was a big one since it won the game for the Dust Devils. Down 3-4 in the ninth, Rauch stepped to the plate with ne out and hit the ball out of the park. Erik Wetzel had two hits and drove in two runs. Charlie Blackmon had two hits and stole his sixth base.

Christian Friedrich had a good start, striking out eight over five innings and allowing one run on two hits. Sean Jarrett, who's on his way back from injury and surgery, allowed three runs, but saw two of them score while Austin Chambliss was on the mound.

Casper, L 11-19 - Casper gave it a go in the ninth for a comeback, but only five runs scored. Dan Houston went three innings, allowing four runs on three hits. Alan Deratt allowed seven runs in two-thirds of an inning, and Andred Marrero saw five score in 1 2/3 innings.

Carlos Martinez, Wilin Rosario, and Shane Lowe led the offense with two hits each, but Lowe failed to drive in a run like the the other two. Almost everyone had an RBI, including the pinch-hitters, and it's too long to list.

After yesterday's start, it appears Jorge De La Rosa won't be back in the rotation once the second half of the season starts. De La Rosa will give way to Kip Wells, who still has two more rehab starts to make. Farther down on the article, Franklin Morales and Jason Hirsh are mentioned, but the possiblity of either pitching for the Rockies any time soon appears remote.

Aaron Cook and his family will add a baby girl in late July.

In a look at which teams have interest in which Rockies, Tracy Ringolsby's column mentions that Juan Morillo, Ryan Mattheus, and Casey Weathers are possible call-ups should some team trade for Matt Herges.

Mark Kiszla. Matt Holliday. New York. Scale of 1-10. Yankees at 11. Or something.

Colorado Springs, L 2-4 - Not much was done offensively last night, but Seth Smith had two hits (his double being the only extra-base hit for the Sky Sox). Glendon Rusch allowed four runs and walked four in 4 2/3 innings. Half of those runs came on a third inning home run. Cedrick Bowers, Juan Morillo, and Josh Newman held Tacoma to one hit (Bowers) and two walks (Morillo) over the final 3 1/3 innings. Newman struck out three.

Tulsa, W 4-3 in 11 innings - David Parrish's first homer was an important one since he hit it in the top of the 11th to give Tulsa the lead. Earlier in the game, Dexter Fowler had three singles and an RBI, Eric Young Jr. had two singles and an RBI, and Tony Blanco hit his 14th homer.

Chaz Roe went six innings, allowed two runs, and walked three. Ryan Mattheus, Adam Bright, and Darren Clarke held San Antonio to two hits over the next two innings. Casey Weathers blew the game in the ninth, allowing a run on a HBP, a walk (his second one, an IBB, came after the run scored), and a single. Jarrett Grube held San Antonio to a hit over the final two innings.

Modesto, L 4-5 in 10 innings - Mike McKenry went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI, and Jay Cox had a solo homer (3) in th eighth inning to tie the game at four. Brandon Durden started the game, went four innings, and allowed foru runs on a solo homer and a three-run sho. Chris Malone struck out four over his three innigs of relief.

David Patton took the loss after pitching 2 2/3 innings. Michael Massaro, the leadoff batter for the inning, reached base on a single and then advanced to second on a throwing error by Patton on the pickoff attempt. After a strikeout, the next batter appeared to single in Massaro, but Anthony Jackson gunned him down with his throw to McKenry at the plate. The batter advanced to second and scored on a single by the next batter.

Asheville, W 9-3 - Robinson Fabian went six string innings, allowing only two runs. Joey Williamson pitched the final three innings to pick up his first save. He allowed one run on a homer and struck out three.

Everth Cabrera fell a homer short of the cycle, drove in two, and stole his 51st base; Kevin Clark drove in three on a ground out, a sac fly, a and a single; Darin Holcomb drove in two on a sac fly and a double; and Jeff Cunningham (13) and Helder Velazquez (6) each had a solo shot.

Tri-City, W 5-3 - Charlie Blackmon went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI, while Chris Vasami and Thomas Field each had a triple (and an error) Field and Patrick Rose accounted for the other two RBI.

Jonnathan Aristil yielded three runs over six innings to Boise. He walked two and struck out four. Bobby Paschal allowed three hits in two innings, but Boise was unable to do anything else. Austin Chambliss picked up his fifth save.

Casper - Off.