Rockies pitching prospect Riley Pint has rough day for Asheville

An up-and-down season for Riley Pint, the Rockies’ number three prospect, reached its nadir yesterday, as Pint was unable to record an out against Lexington. He allowed nine runs (all earned) on six hits and three walks. Despite a strong offensive performance by the Tourists, they ended up falling to the Legends 12 to 11.

Pint has now allowed four or more earned runs in four of his last five starts. During that stretch, he’s allowed 22 earned runs in 20²⁄₃ innings, walking 15, allowing 26 hits, and striking out 17.

Pint isn’t the first high-school draftee to struggle in his first full season, especially among pitchers. That said, Pint’s performance lags well behind his potential. He has walked 13.6 percent of opposing hitters and struck out just 18.2 percent of them, the latter number being frustratingly low for someone who has Pint’s quality of stuff. The likely explanation is that the Rockies’ developmental plan involves Pint focusing on his command, perhaps at the temporary expense of whiffs. Hopefully, Pint will be able to harness his mechanics and develop even fringe-average command. His ceiling is still extremely high.

Yency Almonte put up a strong bounce-back performance for the Isotopes, throwing six shutout innings and helping his team secure a crucial 3-1 victory over the division-leading Salt Lake Bees. He allowed just three hits, walked four, and struck out three. The Isotopes are now 2.5 games behind the Bees, with two games remaining in their series. Albuquerque then finishes the season with eight consecutive games against the Reno Aces, the Pacific Northern Division leader. With a strong final push, the Isotopes could come out on top in a tight division race.

Top 30 Purple Row Prospects (PuRPs)

Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes 3, Salt Lake Bees 1

Yency Almonte (No. 10 PuRP): 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 3 K

Ryan McMahon (No. 2 PuRP): 1-for-4, RBI

Tom Murphy (No. 9 PuRP): 1-for-3, R, 2B

Ian Desmond (Rehab): 1-for-3

Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats 4, New Hampshire Fisher Cats 1

Konner Wade: 7 IP, 6 H, 0 R, BB, 4 K

Jan Vazquez: 2-for-3, R, HR, RBI, BB

Omar Carrizales: 1-for-3, RBI

High-A: Lake Elsinore Storm 5, Lancaster Jet Hawks 3

Wes Rogers (PuRP HM): 2-for-3, 2B, SB

Mylz Jones: 0-for-4, BB, SB

Roberto Ramos: 1-for-4, R, 2B

Low-A: Lexington Legends 12, Asheville Tourists 11

Riley Pint (No. 3 PuRP): 0 IP, 6 H, 9 ER, 3 BB, 0 K

Tyler Nevin (No. 22 PuRP): 2-for-5, R, 2B

Vince Fernandez (No. 25 PuRP): 1-for-2, 3 R, HR, RBI, 2 BB

Short-Season-A: Hillsboro Hops 2, Boise Hawks 1

Bret Boswell: 1-for-4, 2B, 2 K

Pearson McMahan: 3 IP, 4 H, ER, 0 BB, K

Rookie: Orem Owlz 11, Grand Junction Rockies 1

Chad Spanberger (No. 30 PuRP): 1-for-4, R, HR, RBI, 2 K

Anderson Amarista: 5 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 HR

DSL: DSL Rockies 6, DSL Phillies Red 4

Daniel Montano (No. 19 PuRP): 1-for-4, SB

Yolki Pena: 2-for-4, R, 2 2B, RBI

Triple-A: Matt Flemer

Double-A: Jack Wynkoop

High-A: Jesus Tinoco (PuRP HM)

Low-A: Rico Garcia

SS-A: TBD

Rookie: Lucas Gilbreath