I got into an interesting discussion with moderator Heltonfan (who's thoughtful opinions I greatly respect) over at the Scout.com Rockies discussion board regarding second base prospect Jonathan Herrera yesterday. Essentially what it boiled down to is Heltonfan felt that Herrera hasn't shown any improvement at the plate over the last two years because his numbers seem to indicate as much, while I felt his numbers said no such thing and what's more, the opposite is true, that Herrera has shown improvement at the plate in that time and the vast differences in league quality mask what he's accomplished. Who's right? Ultimately the answer could turn out to be moot, as we both see Herrera as lower than Quintanilla and Macri in the organizational depth chart, and unless he has a fairly significant surge in production, he'll have a hard time fitting into the Rockies future plans, but I can say that batting .262 after 144 AB's at Modesto isn't enough of a sample size to say a player is "completely overmatched". In fact, yesterday Herrera raised his OBP by a tenth of a percentage point by walking twice and getting a hit in three AB's. Still, that doesn't say diddly either and Heltonfan could turn out to be proven correct by the end of the season, luckily I have no hang-ups with being incorrect on things. All discussion is welcome here at the Row, even if it's in complete opposition to my own opinions -so don't be shy.
Onto the farm report:
Casper lost five to one, Corey Wimberly had two hits, but that was about all the good that came of the game offensively. Alan Johnson pitched well again, but I'll repeat what I've been saying that he's still too old for the league to be able to tell much from it.
Tri-City got roughed up, Buzz Vargas getting clocked for four homeruns and nine runs in all in less than five innings of work. Travis Becktel did get two hits for the Dust-Devils and remains on our radar for players to watch next year, and Brian Kirby had two doubles in as many at bats and remains an interesting statistical study if not an actual prospect.
Asheville also got thrashed, fifteen to nine as Jake Postlewait had an awful four run first, and then couldn't retire a batter in the second before getting pulled. The good news is the offense was in gear at hitter friendly McCormick Field. Matt Miller had two homeruns and Joe Koshansky one to lead the charge.
Modesto's win streak was snapped as the Nuts couldn't rally quite enough and lost eight to seven. Besides Herrera who I talked about, Chris Ianetta had a nice two for five with a double and Michael Davies went two for three with a triple and a walk. Aaron Marsden took the loss and wasn't as sharp as he's been of late for the Nuts.
Tulsa, meanwhile, broke their losing streak thanks to a strong outing by Sandy Nin and though there were no real offensive standouts, Luis Guance got on base four times with a single and three walks.
Colorado Springs seems to be warming to its new one-two-three-four punch of Salazar, Quintanilla, Shealy.and Davis. Davis, Salazar and Q had two hits apiece and Shealy had four, including two doubles, batting with real protection for the first time in a while. The three scored five of the Sky Sox' seven runs and Q added a walk and Salazar a SB in the cause. Jason Young (four hits, three walks, five K's) threw an effective five innings to pick up the win.