Given how well Johnny Cueto has pitched this season, I did not have high hopes for Colorado tonight. Fortunately, the Rockies didn't pay any attention to my negative vibes and knocked around the Cincinnati ace to the tune of 11 hits (a career worst) and 5 runs in 4.1 innings to win their 2nd straight game (winning streak!!!) and snap the Reds' 6 game streak.

Todd Helton led the charge for the Rockies, getting them going with a 2 run shot in the 2nd (his 5th on the year), and adding a RBI single in the 5th to push across the go-ahead run. Troy Tulowitzki added 3 hits and Wilin Rosario chipped in 2 for the Rockies -- actually, every starter including Christian Friedrich got at least one hit in the game.

Outside of a 4th inning in which Cincinnati scored all 3 of its runs, Friedrich looked solid on the mound -- much closer to the form of his first two starts than his 3rd. He only lasted 5 innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits, but he did punch out 6 and got the win (2-1). The bullpen (with the notable exception of Josh Outman) held onto a 5-3 lead, allowing only 2 hits in 4 innings, and that was all she wrote as Rafael Betancourt recorded his 8th save. The time for panic shall come a different night.

Graph after the jump.

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All right Purple Row, it's once again time for the community to vote on their top 30 Purple Row Prospects (PuRPs).

For your reference, here is the Fall 2011 PuRPs list.

The rules are pretty simple:

• Your list must be at least 30 players long -- partial ballots will not be counted. If you're having trouble filling out your list, check out great resources like RockiesRoster.com and Baseball-Reference to find any stats you might need. Only the top 30 names will be counted on the ballot -- if the same player is listed multiple times on the ballot, the player ranked 31st (if applicable) will be moved up to fill the list. To reiterate: if there aren't at least 30 distinct players on the list, the ballot won't be counted. Additionally, Charlie77 compiled a Google Spreadsheet of the stats from every level for your convenient reference.
• Feel free to give a rationale about the placement of each prospect, but you aren't required to do so by any means.
• Polls will be open from now until the end of Friday, June 1st (MDT). As needed, I or another staff member will bump this post to the top to keep it on the front page. Once I tabulate the results, I will reveal the list five names at a time over the next week or so after voting ends.
• Players are eligible for inclusion if they still retain their Rookie of the Year eligibility (less than 50 IP, 130 ABs, and/or less than 45 days on the active roster). Players on the fall list that have exhausted their ROY eligibility (two of them could win it this year but not next year) and who therefore are no longer eligible are Wilin Rosario (3), Alex White (6) and Jordan Pacheco (24). In addition, Albert Campos (23) is no longer in the organization and therefore is not eligible either. Note that Drew Pomeranz does still retain eligibility for this list, though just barely
• Scoring will be in done like the AP poll in college football -- that is, a first place vote gets a player 30 points, a second place vote 29, and so forth on down to 1 point for a 30th place vote. It's important to note that until a player is named on at least 1/3 of all ballots cast that their vote totals will only receive partial credit (on a sliding scale which depends on the total number of ballots cast). This is to prevent individuals from manipulating the poll with "vanity" votes for marginal prospects.
• All ballots are weighted equally (so long as the players on them are named on enough ballots to qualify). Rox Girl's ballot is worth the same as mine or my dad's. The PuRPs list is a community ranking of Rockies prospects and we're proud of that fact. As a result, we ask that you put some quality effort into compiling your list.
• Remember, everyone has their own methodology of ranking their PuRPs. You may disagree with how one user ranks their PuRPs over your own, but it remains in your hands to maintain civil discourse when discussing said PuRPs. That's what makes this ranking so unique

With that, have fun with this list. I look forward to a lively (but civil, in accordance with Purple Row's rules and regulations) debate over each others' lists. Let's try to keep this thread focused on the lists, please.

Coming off their first win in seemingly forever, Colorado travels to Cincinnati (where they've historically had some success) to try and build some momentum.

Colorado has Christian Friedrich going tonight. Friedrich struggled in his lone Coors Field start, and unfortunately the Great American Ballpark has more in common with Coors than it does with Petco and AT&T, where Friedrich was very successful. I'm hopeful that he can rebound in a meaningful way with a quality start tonight.

Christian Friedrich

#53 / Pitcher / Colorado Rockies

Height: 6-4

Weight: 215

Bats: R

Throws: L

Born: Jul 08, 1987

Too bad the Rockies are running into the Johnny Cueto buzzsaw. In 9 starts this year, Cueto has pitched 59.1 innings with a 1.97 ERA and a 5-1 record. According to rWAR he's already been worth 2 wins. So good luck with that, Rockies.

Johnny Cueto

#47 / Pitcher / Cincinnati Reds

Height: 5-10

Weight: 210

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Feb 15, 1986

Normally, I really like East Coast series because the games are over at a reasonable hour, but my plans are such tonight that the game wrap will probably be up well after the game ends. As such, overflow threads are scheduled for 6:15 and 7:45 tonight.

The Colorado Rockies have placed catcher Ramon Hernandez on the 15-day disabled list due to a strained left hand and have called up catcher Wil Nieves to replace him on the active roster, according to the team:

#Rockies place C Ramon Hernandez on 15-day DL (left hand strain). Select contract of C Wil Nieves. Transfer INF Hector Gomez to 60-day DL.

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) May 25, 2012

Hernandez, a 36-year-old, 14th-year veteran is hitting .215/.260/.398 in 27 games this season. This is his first season with the Rockies, but previously spent time with the Athletics, Reds, Orioles, and Padres. He's a career .265/.329/.419 hitter and almost twenty wins above replacement.

Nieves, 34, is hitting .299/.330/.448 for the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox and has not appeared in an MLB game this season. He spent the 2011 season in the Milwaukee and Atlanta organizations. He has hit .221/.268/.289 in eight years as a pro.

Following a four-game series sweep of the Braves, the Cincinnati Reds find themselves atop the NL Central with a record of 25-19. Winners of six in a row overall, the Reds have mostly relied on pitching; during their streak, they have allowed more than three runs just once - a 6-5 victory over the Yankees in the Bronx. However, we all know that the Reds can hang with anybody in the National League offensively, which makes them a very dangerous club if their pitching staff continues to be successful.

Joey Votto

#19 / First Base / Cincinnati Reds

Height: 6-3

Weight: 220

Bats: L

Throws: R

Born: Sep 10, 1983

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	AVG	OBP	SLG
2012 - Joey Votto	.295	.448	.550

---

The 28 year old Votto truly is this decade's version of Todd Helton, as the athletic first baseman has put up similar numbers through the first five years of his career. Votto has been well above average in every season, full or otherwise, and that is no different this year, as his 170 OPS+ leads his team and is sixth in the NL. The biggest reason why he is so similar to Helton in his early years is the on-base percentage; Votto is the two-time NL leader in OBP, and when the dust settles in 2012, he'll likely be at the top of the league this year as well. Despite seeing a decrease in homers last year, he led the league in walks and doubles, proving to be every bit as dangerous as he was in 2010 when he flirted with the triple crown. In 2012, his home run rate is down slightly again (both in terms of AB/HR and HR/FB %), but his walk rate is way up - to the point where he's walking more than he's striking out. Whatever numbers you choose to look at, it is undeniable that Votto is on pace for another MVP-caliber season.

The rest of the offense isn't bad either, albeit they're still trying to find their way as a whole. Jay Bruce isn't getting on base a whole lot (just a .301 OBP), but he still boasts a 119 OPS+, which is due in large part to his club-leading ten homers as well as a .522 slugging percentage. Ryan Hanigan is splitting time with Devin Mesoraco behind the plate, and Hanigan has been the better of the two, posting a 117 OPS+ in 98 plate appearances. Todd Frazier has added some big-time pop off the bench, as he has homered four times and is slugging .567 in 71 plate appearances, good for a 135 OPS+ (which is second on the team to Votto). Everyone else is below average in terms of OPS+, but history says guys like Brandon Phillips will come alive at some point (and he has been heating up as of late, anyway; his OPS is 1.040 during their winning streak).

Among starters, Johnny Cueto has been the Reds' best to this point. Although his strikeouts are down, Cueto has still been tough to hit, and he has had pretty good control, walking just 12 in 59.1 innings. The seemingly-rejuvenated Bronson Arroyo is enjoying a very fine season, as his 5.5 K/BB ratio is among the league leaders for starting pitchers, and is almost in Cliff Lee territory. Former Padre Mat Latos, for whom the Reds gave up considerable value in the offseason, leads the rotation in strikeouts but also walks more batters than any of their other starters. He hasn't been as hittable as, say, a Mike Leake, but the walks have caused his overall numbers to reflect poorly.

Aroldis Chapman is obviously their biggest story on the mound, rotation or otherwise. In 24.1 innings of relief, the fireballing Cuban has yet to allow a run, earned or otherwise. He has punched out 43 batters and walked just seven in those innings, and is currently maintaining a WHIP of 0.57. His level of dominance is rarely seen, and it will be interesting to see if he can hold it up for an entire season. Closing games for the Reds is Sean Marshall, who was acquired from the Cubs during the offseason. Marshall has been no slouch himself, striking out 12.4 batters per nine innings despite being fairly hittable. I don't envision the .444 BABIP-against continuing, though, so it's likely that Marshall's overall numbers will get a lot better as the season goes on.

Cincinnati's team ERA+ of 118 ranks second in the NL, and a lot of that is in correlation with how healthy they've been. They've only had five starting pitchers and eight relievers appear in games this season, which is about the bare minimum that you'll see in baseball these days. If they're able to sustain this kind of health throughout the season, they may very well beat out the Cardinals for first place in the division.

For more on Cincinnati, be sure to check out Red Reporter.

Projected starters and more after the jump.

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MLB:

Unsatisfied with Rex Brothers' performance, the team chose to let him spend some time at AAA rather than let him work himself out at the MLB level. Brothers was optioned down for the first time in his career, so once the assignment reaches 20 days, he will have two remaining for future seasons. Adam Ottavino was recalled from the Sky Sox for the second time this season to take his place.

Chris Nelson, who is recovering from an injured wrist, was assigned to the Sky Sox on a rehab assignment. Jonathan Herrera joined Nelson on the 15 Day Disabled List with hamstring issues. DJ LeMahieu was recalled from the Sky Sox for the first time this season to fill the roster spot.

AAA:

With the starting rotation full at AAA once again with Carlos Torres rejoining the rotation last week, the Sky Sox sent Brandon Hynick to Modesto, now the team most in need of starting pitching in the system. Dallas Tarleton rejoined the Sky Sox from the Nuts for the second time in 2012, again bolstering the catching depth with the team behind Wil Nieves, giving the team opportunities to play Matt McBride and Wilkin Castillo elsewhere. Also for the second time this year, Jimmy Cesario was promoted to AAA to fill the spot of LeMahieu when he was recalled.

AA:

Ben Paulsen was activated from the 7 Day Disabled List to fill Cesario's roster spot.

Lower minor leagues after the jump.

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Thanks to two doubleheaders, Colorado's minor league affiliates played six games last night, going 2-4.

Game 1: Oklahoma City 7, Colorado Springs 4

Drew Pomeranz suffered his first AAA loss of the season in this one. He lasted only 3 innings, allowing 6 runs (2 earned) on 7 hits, striking out 4. The 4 unearned runs came on two throwing errors by Brendan Harris.

PuRP 20 Tommy Field led the Sky Sox (23-23 for the moment) with a 2-3 night in which he hit his 4th homer (a solo shot) of the year and added a double. Andrew Brown added a 2 run homer for the Sky Sox.

Game 2: Colorado Springs 9, Oklahoma City 2

Game 2 went much better for the Sky Sox (24-23, 0.5 GB), as 5 separate players had multi-hit nights for the team. Leading the charge was Brown, who went 2-4 with 3 RBI. Field, Chris Nelson, Brandon Wood, and Wilkin Castillo added two hits each.

Guillermo Moscoso was solid on the mound to earn the win, going 6 innings (out of 7 in a minor league doubleheader), allowing 1 run on 6 hits with 3 strikeouts.

Frisco 4, Tulsa 0

After blazing out of the gates, Tulsa (26-20, 1st) has fallen back towards the pack a little bit with a 2-8 stretch. The main culprit is the offense, which hasn't scored more than 5 runs in the last 9 games. They were punchless tonight, mustering 7 hits but no runs.

Parker Frazier lasted only 2 innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits to get the loss. The bullpen only allowed 1 run the rest of the way, but it's hard to win when you don't score.

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Whatever dreams Rockies fans may have had for 2012, the clear goal of the season was to acquire as many young arms as possible, then identify which ones would be worth building around in the rotation. As Grant Brisbee expertly depicted yesterday, sometimes this all comes together quickly, and playoff contention follows. More often, the result of a season of auditioning is what the Rockies have seen: a lack of quality pitching, and a lack of quality starts.

"Quality starts" are defined as a start of 6 or more innings allowing 3 or less runs. The term gets criticism, considering the 4.50 ERA it engenders, but as Sky Kalkman pointed out yesterday, 6 IP of 3 ER plus 3 innings of an average bullpen equals 4.17 runs per game, which is league average this year. You can win every game that way. More accurately, the average quality start holds an ERA near 2.00. Beyond that, picking up consistent innings is easier on the bullpen, and the Rockies' deficiency in this department has the relievers significantly overworked.

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