Rockies Prospects: David Dahl makes his return and Eddie Butler pitches seven strong innings

Colorado Springs Sky Sox 10, Fresno Grizzlies 0

Rafael Ynoa, Angelys Nina, and Dustin Garneau all hit home runs and combined for seven of the Sky Sox 10 RBI yesterday.

Everyone in the lineup, including pitcher Chad Bettis, recorded at least one hit accept outfielder Jason Pridie. Ynoa led the pack with four, Nina had three hits, and Garneau, Kyle Parker, Christian Adames, and Tim Smalling each had a pair of hits.

Chrisitan Adames' success with the bat is particularly intriguing as he has been known mostly as a defense first shortstop during his tenure in the Rockies organization. Adames, 23, is hitting .324/.366/.410 in 27 games at the AAA level.

Even better news in this one was Chad Bettis pitching a 3 hit shutout over eight innings. He struck out seven batters, and walked nobody. Big fat zilch.

Bettis was about as good as you can be and if he can continue to grow, he may be a decent option at starting pitcher that most people haven't even considered moving into 2015. That's a long way off, but his progression now that he is converted back into a starter should be something to watch with a close eye for Rockies fans.

Tulsa Drillers 2, Frisco RoughRiders 8

This may not have been the dominant start for Eddie Butler that many of us were looking for, but there were still plenty of encouraging signs out of his seven inning, three run performance. Butler struck out five batters to one walk and it's nice to see him complete the seven innings.

Furthermore, he surrendered only a grand total of four hits, two of which were home runs that accounted for all three runs the RoughRiders managed against him. The two bombs make me wonder if he is working up in the zone a little more in preperation for a trip back to the big leagues, but that is purely speculation on my part.

The Drillers couldn't muster much offense, scoring two runs on solo home runs from Jason Langfels and Trevor Story.

Story is hitting only .197 since being called up to the Drillers, but interestingly he is getting on base at a .322 clip and has already hit seven home runs in only 180 plate appearances. He is still stricking out a whopping 35 percent of the time butthe OBP and power mitigate the impact of the Ks to some extent.

Modesto Nuts 9, Visalia Rawhide 2

David Dahl was back in the lineup for the Nuts after sitting out a few days with an injury and apparently didn't miss a beat. Dahl went 3-5, while hitting third in the order, to help power the Nuts past Visalia.

Dahl scored a run, tallied an RBI, and pulled his average up slightly to .269 with Modesto. Michael Tauchman and Juan Ciriaco also had mutli-hit days from the top of the lineup going 2-4 and 3-4 respectively.

Matt Flemer had his best outing of the year with an eight innings six strikeout performance. He gave up four hits and two runs.

Asheville Tourists 0, Augusta GreenJackets 5

Seeing the Asheville Tourists get completely shut out is like seeing an eclipse or a comet or something. Sure it happens, but not every day.

Asheville grabbed only three hits, two from Wilfredo Rodriguez and one from Zach Osborne, and that was it. Neither Ryan McMahon nor Raimel Tapia played in this game.

Things were more interesting on the hill where Kyle Freeland got the start and pitched an excellent 4.2 innings giving up four hits, with a strike out and a walk. Freeland's ERA in Asheville is 0.66.

All five runs came off relief pitcher Jefri Hernandez.

Tri-City Dust Devils 0, Spokane Indians 1

If you need a killer argument for why pitcher wins are a terrible stat, link somebody to Helmis Rodgriguez' Fangraphs page.

Rodriguez is 3-7 with a 2.16 ERA. He picked up another loss in this one, pitching six innings and allowing only one run on six hits. The Dust Devils picked up six hits themselves, though no player with more than one, but could not push any runs across.

Grand Junction Rockies 5, Great Falls Voyagers 3

Forrest Wall hit his third triple of the season to bring his line to .325/.412/.465 in his pro career thus far. He is striking out only 18 percent of the time, and has added two home runs and 11 stolen bases.

Dom Nunez and Kevin Padlo also continued their excellent hitting with one a piece. Nunez drove in two while Padlo's hit was a double and he added a walk on the day.

Robert Ramos and Omar Carrizalez each had two hits and a run scored.

Carlos Polanco took the hill and pitched six innings striking out ten men while walking only two. He did allow eight hits and three runs, but it was still an impressive performance for a very young man.