Riley Pint, last year’s No. 4 overall pick in the draft, got his first win in an Asheville uniform on Friday. He went five innings without allowing a run, conceding four hits and walking three of the twenty hitters he faced. He struck out four, all of them swinging. The Tourists backed up Pint with five runs, leading to a 5-1 win over the Kannapolis Intimidators.
As is the case for most young pitchers, command has been Pint’s biggest challenge. He has walked 17.8 percent of opposing hitters in the early going, up from 13.2 percent last year. As Pint matures, he should learn to repeat his mechanics and release point, which in turn should improve his command.
Pint has, by a good margin, the highest ceiling of any pitcher in the Rockies’ minor league system. If he can reign in his triple-digit fastball, he could become a dominant high-octane starting pitcher in the mold of Justin Verlander or Noah Syndergaard.
In other prospect news, Raimel Tapia extended his hitting streak to 12 games, as the Isotopes beat the El Paso Chihuahuas 5-2. Tapia, who is now hitting .388 [fire emoji], had three hits, including a pair of doubles. For Hartford, lefty Sam Howard threw seven excellent frames, allowing just two runs and racking up seven strikeouts, but the Yard Goats only scored one run, leading to the 2-1 loss to Harrisburg.
Top 30 Purple Row Prospects (PuRPs)
Game Recaps:
Triple-A: Albuequerque Isotopes 5, El Paso Chihuahuas 2
Raimel Tapia (No. 4 PuRP): 3-for-5, R, 2 2B
Jordan Patterson (No. 13 PuRP): 1-for-5, R, HR, 2 RBI
Matt Carasiti (PuRP HM): 1 IP, 1 H, 2 K, S
Double-A: Harrisburg Senators 2, Hartford Yard Goats 1
Sam Howard (No. 20 PuRP): 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
Ryan McMahon (No. 7 PuRP): 0-for-3, BB
Dom Nunez (No. 14 PuRP): 0-for-2, BB
High-A: Visalia Rawhide 5, Lancaster JetHawks 4
Brendan Rodgers (No. 1 PuRP): 1-for-4
Sam Hilliard: 1-for-4, RBI
Brian Mundell (PuRP HM): 3-for-4, R, RBI
Low-A: Asheville Tourists 5, Kannapolis Intimidators
Riley Pint (No. 3 PuRP): 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
Colton Welker (No. 19 PuRP): 2-for-4, R, BB
Vince Fernandez: 3-for-5, 2 R, 2B, RBI
Saturday probables:
Triple-A: TBD
Double-A: Ryan Castellani (No. 9 PuRP)
High-A: Criag Schlitter
Low-A: Antonio Santos