Rockies prospect notes from Cal-Car League All-Star Game

On a warm Tuesday night in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., the California (Cal) League All-Stars cruised to an easy 9-2 victory over the Carolina League All-Stars. They did so with the help of a couple Rockies farmhands.

Down 1-0 in the second inning, outfielder Jordan Patterson grounded into a double play. But it was not for naught, as the double play drove in a run to tie the game. In the bottom of the third, third baseman Ryan McMahon hit an easy double into the left field gap, and he was then driven in on a sacrifice fly by Astros prospect Brett Phillips to give the Cal League the lead.

Raimel Tapia entered the game in the fifth inning, replacing Phillips in center field. At this point, the Cal League was up 6-1 and had no trouble putting the game away with an above average defense behind the top pitchers in the league.

Antonio Senzatela was also a Rockies representative, though he did not play because of an injury.

BATTING LINES

McMahon 2-4, 2 R
Patterson 1-4, 1 R
Tapia 1-2, 1 R, 1 K

Scouting notes

Ryan McMahon looked very relaxed at the plate and was seeing the ball well. His first at-bat in the game was a double on the second pitch he saw and there was no doubt he would get to second easily. The rest of his at-bats were five pitches or fewer, but he always got the barrel on the ball.

Defensively, McMahon was impressive and showed above average range at third base. He's improved defensively since the season begun and it really showed at the ASG. He made one error in the top of the 8th, however, on an easy grounder that went past the glove. If he continues to work on footwork and angles in Modesto, there will be no doubt of his above-average, 55-60 grade ability.

There's a lot to say about Raimel Tapia despite only four innings of play. Tapia didn't see many pitches at the plate—about 4-5 per appearance—but managed to see the ball well enough to foul off a few and line a solid base hit to left center field. He could use more plate discipline and see more pitches, generally being more patient and selective, but his current approach seems to be working most of the time.

On the defensive side, Tapia tested his arm in the top of the sixth and almost got a runner out at second base. He took some weird routes on a ground ball into the outfield in the seventh, though, which allowed another runner to get to third base. What Tapia has is raw potential. He's honed it a little bit at the plate in Modesto so far, but there is still a lot of rawness with his defensive skills. It'll be interesting to see if that's something that will be focused on in the second half of the Cal League season.