Rockies Prospects: A look at May in Review

(Note: I wanted to apologize to my readers who have been requesting updates on injured pitchers Christian Friedrich, Chad Bettis, etc. I have made multiple requests throughout the week with the Rockies organization and will write an update as soon as it is made available to me.)

Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox (16-12) - 2nd Place

Who's Hot

Utilityman Matt McBride had the hottest month for the Sky Sox as he smoked 11 home runs in May at a 1.268 OPS. Showing great plate discipline and an eye for the strike zone, Matt crushed Triple-A pitching this month in a bid to solidify his place on the 40-man roster.

Left-fielder Corey Dickerson earns the honorable mention this month as he recorded 16 extra base hits, including four triples. Dickerson carried over an 18 game hitting streak from April and had seven 3-hit games during the month. Corey isn't on the 40 man roster and the Rockies would have to make some kind of cut to work him into the roster, although his hitting has been valuable enough to consider it.

Who's Cold

Although he's maintained a good strikeout-to-walk ratio, starter Drew Pomeranz posted a 5.53 ERA this month. Pomeranz has struggled on the road and is plagued overall this month by an outlier BABIP of .383.

Double-A Tulsa Drillers (10-16) - 3rd Place

Who's Hot

Starter Christian Bergman had a solid month, posting a 2.56 ERA through five starts. The Drillers pitcher struck out 21 to only four walks. Bergman is coming off a year when he was named the California League's Pitcher of the Year and is part of a tough rotation that includes Chad Bettis, Tyler Matzek and now Roy Oswalt.

Honorable mention goes to Kiel Roling, who slugged eight home runs and was also among the Rockies organizational leaders in walks during May. Kiel is repeating Double-A, where he has played primarily at first base over the season.

Who's Cold

Most of Tulsa's offense belongs on this list for the month, where guys like Joey Wong and Delta Cleary Jr. are hitting well below the Mendoza line. However Cristhian Adames has struggled the most, walking infrequently and struggling to put the ball in play with any type of meat on it. Adames has a slash line of .216/.277/.338 in May.

High-A Modesto Nuts (15-11) 5th Place

Who's Hot

The entire pitching staff, but primarily Chris Jensen who posted an ERA of 1.99 through five starts and was second only to Dan Winkler in strikeouts within the organization this month.

Honorable Mention goes to Ryan Casteel who simply smoked six home runs and put up a 1.018 OPS for May. His defensive game has taken a hit since moving up to the CAL, where he's throwing out a mere 19% of runners, down from his career average of 27%.

Who's Cold

He's actually moved the needle a little this month, but Trevor Story continues to make this list where he's hitting a mere .218 for the month. The good news is that he's cut down his strikeout rate from April, but it's still really bad. If adjustments aren't made soon, then Story may be repeating High-A, if not moving down to Asheville.

Low-A Asheville Tourists (14-13) - 3rd Place

Who's Hot

Shortstop Rosell Herrera is putting on a clinic this month, leading the organization with 10 doubles and posting a 1.005 OPS. Wouldn't it be amazing if the Rockies swapped Rosell and Trevor Story? Not saying that could happen, but the performances of the two who shared the shortstop position in Casper have gone in different directions this season. Herrera has five home runs and is one of the leaders in that category for the South Atlantic League.

Honorable Mention goes to Julian Yan, even though he was added to the disabled list on May 23rd. In 49 plate appearances Yan posted a slash line of .333/.469/.590 with one home run and seven doubles.

Who's Cold

Starter Shane Broyles was drafted in the 14th round of last year's draft, but he's struggling in the month leading to this year's selections. Broyles is walking too many batters and giving up too many hits. His ERA sits at 8.53 for the month and he's in danger of losing his starting spot to Mark Appel or Jonathon Gray.

Table

Top Power hitters of May, sorted by home runs:

Tweet of the Week

Special thank you to all of the men and women who fight for our great country! Both past and present! #America

— Trevor Story (@Tstory2) May 27, 2013

Twitter Pic of the Week

This guy had a tough day .. @chuck_nazty @eyjr twitter.com/JstyleP/status...

— jordan pacheco (@JstyleP) May 28, 2013