Colorado Rockies’ farm system littered with promising options | Mile High Sports
While the big league club continues to enjoy first place in the National League West, there are plenty of successes to be had in the Colorado Rockies’ farm system as well.
For the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes, catcher Tom Murphy (PuRP No. 11) is tearing the cover off the ball. After an injury-plagued 2017 season, Murphy, 27, entered Friday’s action with a .307/.380/.675 slash line in AAA. There have been questions about Murphy’s defense behind the dish, but his offense could provide quite the spark for a team featuring catchers Chris Iannetta (81 wRC+) and Tony Wolters (33 wRC+). Murphy had a great deal of success in brief MLB call-ups in 2015 and 2016.
Jordan Patterson (PuRP No. 14) is seeing time at first base, and could wind up as a left-handed option to pair with the struggling right-hander Ian Desmond at the MLB level. Patterson is walking more than at any of his previous stops in the minors, but is also striking out more than ever. All in all, the .253/.368/.513 slash remains impressive, and Patterson is coming off a 26 home run season with the ‘Topes.
Garrett Hampson (PuRP No. 9) has also ascended through the ranks quickly, and recently received a call-up to the Isotopes, perhaps putting him on a faster track to the Majors than Rockies top prospect Brendan Rodgers (PuRP No. 1), who remains in Double-A with the Hartford Yard Goats.
Arenado has had another All-Star-worthy year | Rockies.com
Summer is upon us, so it’s time to start thinking about the 2018 midsummer classic, the All-Star Game. The 89th All-Star Game will be held at Nationals Park in Washington D.C. While statistics over the next month still have the potential to change dramatically, Nolan Arenado currently seems in position to be deserving of his second straight start at third base for the National League— and I would say he’s even more deserving this year than he was in 2017. Entering Friday’s games, Arenado leads NL third baseman in fWAR, wOBA, wRC+, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, stolen bases(!), triples(!), hits, walks, and many more. My vote has been cast. How about yours?
BSN Rockies Podcast: Thoughts on Jon Gray’s struggles, Ian Desmond’s rebound | BSN Denver
In the latest episode of the BSN Rockies podcast, Drew Creasman offers his take on the hot topic around the world of the Rockies lately- Jon Gray and the reason for his struggles, or at least for his high ERA, as Gray’s peripherals are excellent. Another topic of discussion is Desmond, who has started hitting better as of late. Since May 17, Desmond is producing a .271/.345/.500 slash. The 66.7% ground-ball percentage is still there, but Desi has undoubtedly been getting on base and driving the ball more in recent weeks.