Colorado Rockies’ top pitching prospect Jeff Hoffman struggles for the Albuquerque Isotopes

Monday’s action in the Colorado Rockies farm system did not go as planned. No. 4 PuRP Brendan Rodgers left his game early with an injury and No. 3 PuRP Jeff Hoffman left his game early due to poor performance.

Hoffman, acquired just over a year ago in the Troy Tulowitzki trade, has been on a limited pitch count recently as he approaches his innings limit for the season. After an outstanding performance his last time out, this time Hoffman was unable to make it out of the third inning as he allowed six earned runs on seven hits and saw his ERA on the season rise to 4.35. It was the second time in his last four outings he has allowed six or more earned runs and during that time he’s seen his ERA balloon by nearly a full run.

Pair Hoffman’s recent inconsistency with his approaching innings limit—we don’t know exactly what that limit is, but an educated guess is somewhere between 140 and 150—and it has become very possible that Hoffman doesn’t reach the big leagues this season after all.

Here are the rest of the highlights from Monday’s games:

*All prospect rankings reflect preseason PuRPs voting.

Triple-A: Tacoma Rainiers 8, Albuquerque Isotopes 3

If you’re looking for a bright side in this game, it’s Tom Murphy. The scorching hot catcher was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and is now hitting .537/.573/1.075 over his past 18 games. That isn’t a typo.

Jeff Hoffman (No. 3 PuRP): 2⅔ IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, K

Tom Murphy (No. 10 PuRP): 2-for-4, 2 2B, RBI, K

Sam Moll (No. 25 PuRP): ⅓ IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, K

Gerardo Parra: 0-for-4, 2 K

Ben Paulsen: 2-for-3, HR, RBI, BB

Double-A: Day off

The Yard Goats are back in action on Tuesday evening against the Trenton Thunder.

High-A: Visalia Rawhide 5, Modesto Nuts 3

The Nuts had more errors (four) than they did runs (three), and that normally is not a good combination. Wes Rogers was one of the few bright spots for the good guys with two hits and a stolen base.

Forrest Wall (No. 11 PuRP): 1-for-4, CS, E

Dom Nunez (No. 13 PuRP): 1-for-3, HR, RBI, E, PB

Omar Carrizales (No. 26 PuRP): 1-for-4, 2B, RBI, CS

Wes Rogers (HM PuRP): 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, SB, K

Parker French: 5⅔ IP, 8 H, 5 R (4 ER), 2 BB, 5 K

Low-A: Greenville Drive 10, Asheville Tourists 5

It was an ugly night for the Tourists, who lost both the game and No. 4 PuRP Brendan Rodgers to a knee injury in the third inning. As is the case with most minor league injuries, we know very little about its severity, though it seems likely that he’ll sit for at least a few days. Cross your fingers, everybody. Jesus Tinoco was also shelled for seven runs in just 4⅓ innings and is sporting a 7.54 ERA between Low- and High-A this season.

Brendan Rodgers (No. 4 PuRP): 0-for-2

Jesus Tinoco (No. 14 PuRP): 4⅓ IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, K

Carlos Herrera (No. 29 PuRP): 1-for-5

Brian Mundell: 1-for-5, SB, 2 K

Short-Season A: Day off

The Hawks are back in action on Thursday, August 4 against the Tri-City Dust Devils.

Rookie: Day off

The Rockies play again on Thursday, August 4 against t he Mizzoula Osprey.

DSL: DSL Rockies 9, DSL Tigers 3

The DSL Rockies pounded out 14 hits and got five scoreless innings from 17-year-old Gabriel Estrada en route to improving to 35-14 on the season. Estrada now has a 1.97 ERA and has struck out more than a batter an inning in his first taste of professional baseball. He’s another name to watch as he likely moves stateside in 2017.

Daniel Montano (HM PuRP): 1-for-5, 2B

Gabriel Estrada: 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, BB, 6 K

Enrique Saldana: 3-for-5, 2B, 3B, 4 RBI, E

Hidekel Gonzalez: 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, BB

Cristopher Navarro: 3-for-4, BB

Tuesday probables:

Triple-A: TBD

Double-A: Zach Jemiola (HM PuRP)

High-A: Helmis Rodriguez

Low-A: Trey Killian

Short-Season A: Day off

Rookie: Day off