Chat: Chat with Jayson Stark - SportsNation - ESPN
During his chat yesterday, Jayson Stark mentioned that he has heard some rumblings that Troy Tulowitzki could be out until September. I'd like to see some more concrete evidence on this, but if Stark and his source are correct, that is obviously, as Stark says, "a potential killer." Currently, I'm working on trying to get some confirmation - or, at least, a few details on why people within the game think that Tulo could miss that much time. For what it's worth, Stark still thinks the Rox will find a way to win the division.
ESPN's National League All-Stars - ESPN
Ubaldo Jimenez gets some nice front page love, and also gets picked among ESPN's "experts" as the projected starting pitcher for the National League in this year's midsummer classic. Like we didn't know that already. Also, Miguel Olivo fell one vote short of being their projected starter at catcher, while Troy Tulowitzki still garnered three votes despite being injured. ESPN concedes that the voting probably would have been different if not for the injury.
MLB: Futures Game prospects in the news - ESPN (Insider only)
Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein writes about ten prospects that are worth keeping an eye on in the Futures Game. One of those ten is none other than Rockies prospect Wilin Rosario. Here is what Goldstein had to say:
Between a day off on Friday and rain on Sunday, Rosario played in just one game over the weekend, but he made it count. He blasted a pair of home runs in a 12-9 loss to Springfield. The 21-year-old Dominican remains arguably the best catching prospect nobody seems to talk about, as he's hitting .282/.337/.505 and using his plus arm to gun down 42.6 percent of opposing base stealers. One could argue that he could use a more patient approach, but he's a catcher; finding a backstop about whom you can't nitpick is pretty hard. As it is, his combination of offensive and defensive skills is a rarity.
More links after the jump...
Rotation likely to be tweaked for Ubaldo, De La Rosa | All Things Rockies
Renck says that Jim Tracy will probably move Ubaldo Jimenez's next start (after tonight) up one day to accommodate the return of Jorge De La Rosa, who would pitch the following day. De La Rosa makes what looks to be his final rehab start tonight against Salt Lake.
Is it time to be concerned about Helton’s back? | All Things Rockies
Troy Renck raises his concerns about Todd Helton's seemingly nagging back injury. I don't think there is one person out of those who are familiar with the organization that does not think that Helton's back has taken a turn for the worse. As Renck stated, any doubt that Helton shouldn't have been in the game was erased when Jason Giambi was replaced by Melvin Mora as a defensive replacement.
Grass grows, lights up at Salt River Fields
Here's an update on the progress of the Rockies' new spring training facility, via Peter Corbett of The Arizona Republic. Click here for photos.