Peter Lambert debuted with the Rockies at Wrigley Field with a dream, and fun, in focus | The Athletic ($)
Thursday was a special day for Rockies’ top pitching prospect Peter Lambert. In addition to having family and friends in attendance for his MLB debut at Wrigley Field, he also had the wisdom of his teammates and coaching staff to guide him along.
Chad Bettis remembered his own big league debut, which did not go well for him. He imparted some advice on young Lambert— largely to enjoy himself on the mound and embrace the emotion of the moment instead of being overwhelmed by information.
Manager Bud Black offered his own advice, but as he told Nick Groke of the Athletic—“That’s between him and I.”
Brendan Rodgers, Ryan McMahon and the art of splitting time for Rockies | Mile High Sports
Brendan Rodgers and Ryan McMahon have risen through the prospect ranks to establish themselves as major league players. But they are having to adjust to something they’ve never experienced before at any other level—not playing every day. You can draw your own conclusions about how this might hinder the development of young players, but it’s a role the two young talents will need to get used to. For his part, Black has expressed his approval for how they two have played in their timeshare duties. First baseman Daniel Murphy also remarked on how professionally they have handled their new roles. Luke Zahlmann of Mile High Sports has more.
Rockies prospect Sam Hilliard—hardly recruited out of high school and a 15th-round draft pick—proving to be a five-tool steal | The Denver Post ($)
While Lambert, McMahon and Rodgers have all reached the major league level, outfielder Sam Hilliard is still proving himself in Triple-A. An overall batting line of .261/.323/.580 for the Albuquerque Isotopes shows he still has room to improve beyond the power numbers, but he seems to have already surpassed the expectations of all the colleges who didn’t have an offer for him out of high school (Navarro Community College was the only one). Hilliard could very well find himself as a September call-up for the Rockies in 2019. At the Denver Post, Kyle Newman has more on Sam’s story.
On the Farm
There was an ample supply of dingers hit in the Rockies’ organization on Friday. Roberto Ramos, Dom Nuñez, Colton Welker and Brandon Gold were among those to go deep.
Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes 8, Iowa Cubs 4
Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats 8, Binghamton Rumble Ponies 4
High-A: Lake Elsinore Storm 5, Lancaster JetHawks 0
Class-A: Asheville Tourists 4, Charleston RiverDogs 1