Baseball ‘was his whole being’: Troy Tulowitzki changed the Rockies at their core | The Athletic ($)
One way or another, as the title of Nick Groke’s article suggests, Troy Tulowitzki changed the Rockies at their very core, both literally and metaphorically. Tulo was amazing at the game of baseball—a generational talent, you might say—but he also served a critical role in the clubhouse as a bridge from the Todd Helton era to the Nolan Arenado era of Rockies baseball. He was an intense leader and role model for other guys like Chuck and DJ, but once he was traded to Toronto, the core officially centered on Nolan.
When he was with the Rockies (and healthy, of course), Troy was the embodiment of greatness. As fans, we got to witness a very special talent right before our eyes. Like Tulo-Fan-Extraordinaire Matt Gross explains, Troy was one of the best ever when on the field:
Since Tulo retired, I looked up the top shortstops since World War II (with at least 60% of games at SS) and sorted them by WAR per 162 games. (Minimum 1,000 career games played.)
— Matt Gross (@MattGross87) July 27, 2019
Tulo has no equal.
Here's the top ten (based on Baseball Reference WAR): pic.twitter.com/maitShTaTs
Nick Groke’s piece tells a tale of greatness and tragedy, and it’s well worth your time. There are many interesting Nolan Arenado quotes, and it’s very clear how special of a relationship they still share. Love him or hate him, Troy Tulowitzki will always hold a special place in the history of the Colorado Rockies.
Juggernaut Dodgers, Yankees, Astros may be sucking air out of trade deadline | Washington Post
There’s a dark cloud hanging over the trade deadline, an elephant in the room, and one bird in the hand of many GMs who see two in a bush. Dave Sheinin writes about how team’s hovering around .500 and on the fringe of Wild Card contention may be less inclined to make a big trade and compromise some of their farm system for a rental because the path to the World Series is uncharacteristically blocked by juggernaut teams.
In the National League, any team vying for a Wild Card spot has the privilege of immediately playing in a one-and-done game followed by a series against the behemoth Dodgers. Is that really worth selling off some of your future for a rental? Do any teams really stand a chance? In the AL, there could be as many as three 100-win teams this year winning their respective divisions. Suddenly, sneaking in as a Wild Card might not seem so appealing...
In Sheinin’s article you will also find some intriguing words from Rockies’ GM Jeff Bridich. I won’t spoil it all for you, but let’s just say Jeff sounds like a man with a plan—and that plan is to do nothing when the time comes.
Assessing Blackmon’s trade value among Rockies’ deadline rumors | Mile High Sports
There have been rumors spreading around the league about the availability of Charlie Blackmon at this year’s deadline, and while it seems like an incredibly long shot that he would be traded, Luke Zahlmann wanted to explore the potential value for the Rockies of moving Chuck Nazty to a contender.
Luke’s short answer is, “it’s complicated.” But as logic suggests, the most value Blackmon has is playing for the team he’s already on. Charlie’s splits, age, and contract status (i.e. money owed) are a big barrier to other GMs looking for help. Because of this, the “haul” the Rockies would get back would likely be limited to middle-tier prospects, so is it really worth getting rid of your most marketable player and fan favorite? In my opinion, no.
NEW: Midseason Top 100 Prospects list | MLB.com
Jim Callis of MLB.com has the mid-season shuffle of Major League Baseball’s Top 100 prospects. The biggest news is Vlad Jr. graduated, so the new number one prospect is Tampa Bay’s Wander Franco. In fact, five of the top six prospects from the beginning of the year graduated, so there’s a lot of movement at the top of the board.
As for the Rockies, well, there isn’t much. Brendan Rodgers is still holding steady near the top ten, coming in at number twelve. Otherwise, it’s just Ryan Rolison joining Rodgers on the list, and the young lefty falls in at number 89. It’s a tough look for the Rockies, whose farm system seems to be drifting toward the “mediocre at best” tier these days.
On the farm
A handful of Green Chili Cheeseburgers had big days despite the Triple-A squad losing both games of a doublecheddar yesterday. Roberto Ramos was 2-for-4 with a big two-run home run in the nightcap (he’s slashing .319/.403/.599 with 21 HR in 94 games—insert eye emojis here), Sam Hilliard had two hits with a double and two RBI, and Pat Valaika had a two-run double, as well. In the first game, Brian Mundell was 2-for-3 with a HR and three RBI.
Up in Boise for the Hawks, Aaron Schunk continued his hot professional debut by going 2-for-4 with a home run, double, and three RBI. His young teammate Bladimir Restituyo also had two hits, including his own home run and double, scored three runs, and had two RBI.
Triple-A Game 1: Salt Lake Bees 8, Albuquerque Isotopes 4
Triple-A Game 2: Salt Lake Bees 8, Albuquerque Isotopes 7
Double-A: Akron RubberDucks 6, Hartford Yard Goats 0
High-A: Visalia Rawhide 14, Lancaster JetHawks 0
Low-A: Hickory Crawdads 7, Asheville Tourists 1
Short Season-A: Boise Hawks 8, Hillsboro Hops 7
Rookie: Grand Junction Rockies 10, Rocky Mountain Vibes 9