Grand Junction Rockies off to explosive start

Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes

MiLB Box

Tacoma 15, Albuquerque 10

W: Snow (5-4, 2.48); L: Flande (2-3, 8.42)

Yohan Flande got hit hard and often in this game, giving up 10 runs on 14 hits. In fact, Flande allowed more home runs (three) than he had strikeouts (two). As bad as Flande was, Rex Brothers was worse, allowing a hit and walking four on just twenty four pitches—all without recording an out.

From the offensive side, it appears Dustin Garneau can't make up his mind regarding who he is going to be. In April, he hit .316/.409/.579, then in May .197/.260/.288, and now in June .306/.407/.551. HIs spastic offense, however, doesn't overshadow his defense. Garneau has a 38 percent caught stealing rate in the minors and last year allowed just one passed ball in 66 games. If Garneau can hit even a little, then there is a good chance his defense will give him a shot at an MLB career.

Double-A: New Britain Rock Cats

MiLB Box

Richmond 1, New Britain 0

W: Marte (6-0, 2.66); L: Carpenter (4-6, 3.56); SV: Mizenko (1)

Ryan Carpenter worked six innings, allowing one run on just two hits. Unfortunately, that also meant he took the loss in this one, as the Rock Cats failed to score. Mike Tauchman had his third straight multi-hit game. He collected three of New Britain's four hits on the night.

High-A: Modesto Nuts

MiLB Box

Modesto 3, High Desert 2

W: Neiman (2-1, 6.45); L: Leclerc (1-1, 4.50)

Alex Balog allowed one run on three hits over seven innings, raising his CAL league ERA to 0.75 after two starts. Troy Neiman also allowed a run and three baserunners in his two innings of work, but since he did it last he also collected the win. The Nuts fell behind 2-1 in the top of the 11th but were able to push across two runs with two outs on an Ashley Graeter double.

Jordan Patterson collected his 20th double of the year and is posting his third consecutive .900 OPS month in Modesto, and he already has more walks (nine) in June, than he did in April and May (7), Patterson is certainly making a push for a midseason promotion.

Single-A: Asheville Tourists

MiLB Box

Asheville 6, Charleston 4

W: Polanco, C (3-8, 5.23); L: Del Bosque (3-2, 4.93); SV: Michalec (12)

Carlos Polanco worked 6.2 strong innings, allowing two runs and striking out five. Polanco has had some very uneven performances in the SAL but definitely continues to be an intriguing arm.

On offense, the Tourists were paced by another great game by Shane Hoelscher. The 23 year old third baseman is the latest in a run of college bats who have beaten up the South Atlantic League. Only time will tell if his bat can separate him from that group going forward.

Low-A: Boise Hawks

MiLB Box

Tri-City 8, Boise 2

W: Cox (1-0, 0.00); L: Villarroel, C (0-1, 12.00)

Not a lot of good news out of Boise from the pitching side in this one. Their starter Dylan Thompson allowed two runs in his 2.1 innings of work. Tyler Matzek then walked two in his inning but managed to keep the opponents scoreless. And Cesar Villarroel, making his stateside debut, allowed four runs on five hits in his three innings of work. On offense, the bright spot was Carlos Herrera, who went 1-3 with a walk and a stolen base. The shortstop joins a talented group of middle infielders in the Rockies low minors system and will be one to keep an eye on.

Rookie: Grand Junction Rockies

MiLB Box

Grand Junction 16, Idaho Falls 12

W: Zurat (1-0, 0.00); L: Haynes (0-1, 22.50)

Thirty two runs in 18 innings—that is what the Grand Junction Rockies have scored in their first two outings. The middle four of their lineup catcher Chris Rabago, first baseman Roberto Ramos, center fielder Ryan Stephens, and left fielder Bobby Stahel all hit over .500 in their first two games and all four reached at least three times in this game. Ramos had a particularly good game, collecting four hits, including two doubles and a home run. Starter Chad Zurat worked five scoreless innings despite allowing ten hits. Zurat is the only Grand Junction pitcher in the first two games to not allow a run, the other five have combined to allow twenty two runs in thirteen innings.

Rookie: DSL Rockies

MiLB Box

DSL Yankees1 13, DSL Rockies 8

W: Perez, F (1-0, 6.62); L: Eusebio (1-1, 2.37); SV: Sanchez, A (1)

The DSL Yankees must have looked like a relay race in this one, as they collected fifteen hits and seven walks en route to the win. It was another good day for top DSL prospect shortstop Pedro Gonzalez who's 2-5 night brought him to a line of .286/.329/.543 on the season. Catcher Hidekel Gonzalez played first base in this one and collected his fifth multi-hit game in his last ten and is hitting .366 in that stretch.

Today's probables

Triple-A Albuquerque: Jurrjens (1-0, 2.60)

Double-A New Britain: Arrowood (0-1, 23.14)

High-A Modesto: Jemiola (0-2, 3.38)

Single-A Asheville: Howard (2-7, 4.47)

Low-A Boise: Lezama (0-0, 0.00)

Rookie Grand Junction: TBD

DSL: TBD