2008 first round pick Christian Friedrich was promoted last night to Modesto as part of a set of minor league moves. Friedrich moves into lefty Brandon Durden's spot in the rotation; Durden moves to Tulsa to take Andy Graham's spot as a result of an injury (he took Chaz Roe's spot earlier in the month); and Juan Nicasio will leave extended spring training to join Asheville.
It's about time this happened. Friedrich has dominated the Sally League for the most part with a not very good team behind him in Asheville. Modesto is 28-19, second best in the Cal League, and features Charlie Blackmon and Hector Gomez. The implication seems to be that we would have had to wait another month for this move had an injury not occurred. But it's better for Friedrich to spend as much time facing stiffer competition than to stay at a level he clearly has shown to be inferior to his abilities.
Troy Renck writes that this home series against the Padres will give us a better evaluation of where Clint Hurdle stands with the team. Eh. . . .
Jonathan Mayo offers his projection for the top 20 picks in the draft. He has the Rockies taking Missuori RHP Kyle Gibson. In this scenario, the Rockies could also go for North Carolina RHP Alex White. Either guy would satisfy me.