Wednesday Rockpile: Surprise! Drew Pomeranz is the Player to be Named Later

Okay, so you probably aren't surprised. The big "news" today is that we can officially say that top pitching prospect Drew Pomeranz has joined the organization as the player to be named later in the Ubaldo Jimenez trade. This is possibly the worst kept baseball secret in recent memory, brought upon by the rule that states a player must remain with the team that drafted him for at least one calendar year from his signing date. If you're curious about this heretofore mystery prospect, there is video of Pomeranz in the above link.

I'm just happy that the big southpaw didn't hurt himself during his strange 17 day sabbatical at Cleveland's Arizona facility. Pomeranz doesn't plan on tarrying -- he's slated to start tonight for AA Tulsa. There were murmurs went the trade went down that Pomeranz would be in the big league rotation by year's end. I don't know if that will be the case, but I do know that Colorado will be eager to promote Pomeranz to the big league club by early next year should all the pieces fall into place -- if nothing else than to show Rockies fans that life after Ubaldo isn't so bad. I certainly hope that the front office is right.

If Pomeranz and the other major Jimenez acquisition, Alex White, acquit themselves with style and aplomb next year in the middle of Colorado's rotation, all will be well in the Rocky Mountain region. Should this not be the case, the pressure on Dan O'Dowd, fair or not, will increase significantly in this short attention span world we live in today.

Off-Topic.

Tim Wheeler was the Prospect of the Day yesterday over at Minor League Ball. John Sickels does a great job of summarizing Wheeler's career so far. I don't know if Wheeler will be even a decent starter at the MLB level, but I do know that he's earned at least a long look for the big league roster next spring with his .293/.374/.555, 29 HR 2011.

Juan Nicasio intends to pitch for the Rockies again. Considering that he feels lucky to be alive, it's great that he can make such statements so soon after the injury. All of the encouraging progress he's made over the past week would seem to indicate that pitching for the Rockies again is a plausible goal.

For those of us who don't like the RBI stat (or maybe just the undue praise given Ryan Howard), here is a look at Howard's RBI prowess in the NY Times. Baseball Reference looks at players who would have at least Howard's 95 RBIs if given the same opportunities. There are 21 players in all, including Nelson Cruz -- whose RBI totals would increase by 34 (to 111) if he had Howard's spot in Philadelphia's order. Chipper Jones would have an incredible 48 more RBIs if he had Howard's advantages. One Colorado player is among these RBI titans, though his identity might surprise you.

Finally, Grant's SB Nation power rankings from a week ago ranks ballparks on their distinguishing feature. Colorado comes in at #3 with the humidor. And here's this week's power rankings.