Sam Howard finishes the season strong in Double-A

All four of the Colorado Rockies’ full season affiliates wrapped up their respective seasons on Monday. Only the Double-A Yard Goats put together a winning season, finishing 74-67, with the four clubs combining for a 271-291 record in 2016. Sam Howard, the Rockies’ third round pick in 2014, finished the season strong in the Yard Goats’ loss, pitching seven strong innings and lowering his ERA in Double-A to 3.99 for the year.

After struggling in his first six Double-A starts to the tune of a 6.46 ERA with 5.28 strikeouts and 3.82 walks per nine innings, Howard really turned it around. Across his final 10 starts of the season, the 23-year-old lefty posted a 2.72 ERA while improving his strikeouts per nine innings to 7.39 and dropping his walks per nine to 2.26.

Here are news and notes from the rest of Monday’s action.

Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes 4, El Paso Chihuahuas 2

Eddie Butler threw seven shutout innings for Albuquerque in this one, but struck out just one hitter. He’ll finish the season with an almost impossibly low 3.54 strikeouts per nine innings in Triple-A, the lowest number of any minor league pitcher in 2016 (min. 80 IP).

Jordan Patterson (No. 16 PuRP): 1-for-4, K

Sam Moll (No. 26 PuRP): ⅓ IP, 3 H, 2 ER, K

Eddie Butler: 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, K

Dustin Garneau: 2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB

Double-A: Harrisburg Senators 5, Yard Goats 4

Ryan McMahon reached base three times in the Double-A finale. We’ll see more of him soon in the Arizona Fall League.

Ryan McMahon (No. 6 PuRP): 2-for-3, 2 RBI, BB, 2 CS

Sam Howard (No. 23 PuRP): 7 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K

Omar Carrizales: 2-for-4, 2 SB

High-A: Modesto Nuts 10, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 5

Modesto picked up a win in their final game as a Rockies’ affiliate. Collin Ferguson paced them with two homers and five RBI. So long, Modesto!

Forrest Wall (No. 13 PuRP): 1-for-5, 2 K

Collin Ferguson: 2-for-4, 2 HR, 5 RBI, K

Shane Hoelscher: 2-for-5, HR, 2 RBI, K

Wes Rogers: 1-for-5, RBI, 2 K, 2 SB

Low-A: Hagerstown Suns 9, Asheville Tourists 5

The Tourists had a rather uneventful finish to their 2016 season. Scott Burcham, a 25th round pick in 2015, had three hits, two of which were doubles.

Ben Bowden (No. 27 PuRP): 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, BB, K

Scott Burcham: 3-for-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI, SB

Carlos Herrera: 3-for-5

Brian Mundell: 0-for-5, 2 K

Short-Season A: Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 12, Boise Hawks 2

Certainly not how Boise wanted their season to end; they’ll finish the 2016 season at 33-43. Garrett Hampson had a hit and a stolen base—his 36th in just 68 games. Look for him to graduate to full-season ball in 2017.

Garrett Hampson: 1-for-3, SB, 2 K

Willie Abreu: 0-for-4

Antony Brito: 2-for-4, 2B

Justin Lawrence: 1 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K

Rookie: Ogden Raptors 6, Grand Junction Rockies 5

Jose Gomez continues to hit for the GJ Rockies. He picked up two more hits and a walk on Monday and now boasts a .369/.422/.473 slash line on the year. There are still a few more games to go (as well as a possibility at the playoffs) for Grand Junction, but he’s another player we’ll probably be seeing in Asheville next season.

Pedro Gonzalez (No. 21 PuRP): 0-for-3, BB, K

Jose Gomez: 2-for-3, BB, SB

Roberto Ramos: 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K

Jonathan Piron: 1-for-3, BB, 2 K, SB, 3 E

Tuesday probables:

Rookie: Alejandro Requena