The Rockies got three prospects in return for Troy Tulowitzki in July 2015. Jeff Hoffman was the clear centerpiece, and the two other names seemed to be one and two tiers below Hoffman, respectively. Miguel Castro had big league experience and a big fastball. He seemed to be the tier two prospect. Since then, Castro had uneven major and minor league performances. His time with the Rockies ended when the team traded him to Baltimore in early April. The guy two tiers below, Jesus Tinoco, made an excellent first impression. He struck out 8.33 batters per nine innings and posted a 1.80 ERA in 40 innings for Class A Asheville. But Tinoco’s second year with the club was disappointing. He was awful in Class A Advanced Modesto (5.4 K/9 and a 14.85 ERA) and was sent back down to Asheville, where he was better but still bad (5.53 K/9 and 5.63 ERA).
He’s been fine so far this season, but he was outstanding last night. He had a perfect game heading into the seventh inning for Class A Advanced Lancaster, and he wrapped up with seven scoreless innings pitched. He allowed one hit and struck out four without walking a batter. More significantly, his fastball was hitting the high 90s. In fact, all of his pitches were working. Baseball Prospectus’s Wilson Karaman got a close up view:
Jesus Tinoco to Eric Filia: 88 SL, 97 FB, 90 CH #Rockies pic.twitter.com/a35O03J1MD
— Wilson Karaman (@vocaljavelins) May 12, 2017
It’s just a start, and Tinoco had plenty of struggles last season to overcome. He’s probably not going to stick as a starter, but this is a pitch mix and profile that would fit wonderfully in the Rockies bullpen.
Rockies top 30 prospects (PuRPs List)
Triple-A: Albuquerque 7, Nashville 5
Raimel Tapia (No. 4 PuRP): 1-4, R, BB
Jordan Patterson (No. 13 PuRP): 1-4, RBI
Cristhian Adames: 2-4, BB, 2B, 2 R, RBI
Austin House: 2 IP, 2K, BB, H,
Matt Carasiti: 1 IP, 2 H, K
Double-A: Erie 7, Hartford 1
Ryan McMahon (No. 7 PuRP): 1-4, HR, R, RBI
Dom Nunez (No. 14 PuRP): 1-3
Ryan Castellani (No. 9 PuRP): 5 IP, 6 K, 2 BB, 7 H, 2 ER
High-A: Lancaster 6, Modesto 0
Brendan Rodgers (No. 1 PuRP): 2-3, BB, 2B, R
Garrett Hampson (No. 22 PuRP): 1-5, 2B, R, SB
Sam Hilliard: 2-4, 3B, RBI, R
Jesus Tinoco: 7 IP, 4 K, H
Single-A: West Virginia 2, Asheville 1
Colton Welker (No. 19 PuRP): 2-4, 2B, R
Jose Gomez (No. 30 PuRP): 1-3, BB
Vince Fernandez: 1-3, BB, 2B
Riley Pint (No. 3 PuRP): 4 IP, 1 K, 3 BB, 4 H