Rockies Triple-A prospects quietly finish 2021

The minor league season has officially ended. The Albuquerque Isotopes went 3-3 in their final week, and took two of five against the Sacramento River Cats (SF). Overall, the Isotopes finished 58-72 and finished fourth out of five in the Triple-A West East Division. Up next is the Arizona Fall League, which starts on October 13. Rosters haven’t been officially released yet, but stay tuned for AFL coverage!

Top 30 PuRPs

Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes (3-3, 58-72 overall)

To finish out the Triple-A season, the two PuRP hitters finished a combined 11-for-42 (.262). Elehuris Montero (No. 5 PuRP) went 6-for-21 with two homers, four RBI, four walks, and three strikeouts. After his promotion to Albuquerque, he hit .278/.355/.546 with six homers in 108 at-bats. Comparatively, he hit .279/.361/.523 with 22 homers in 323 at-bats in Hartford. He also was named Double-A Northeast Player of the Month for July. After being brought over in the Nolan Arenado trade, the future is bright for the 23-year-old Dominican infielder.

Ryan Vilade (No. 10 PuRP) went 5-for-21 with one double, one RBI, three walks, and four strikeouts. Vilade slashed an admirable .284/.339/.410 in his first year in Triple-A after skipping Double-A entirely. His year was highlighted by a selection to the All-Star Futures Game and his MLB debut on September 18. The three-game stint is definitely not the last we’ll see of the 22-year-old outfielder, but he certainly needs some more seasoning before he is a permanent part of the Rockies future.

Finally, Ryan Rolison (No. 2 PuRP) made one final appearance against the River Cats. He pitched four innings and gave up one run (a solo homer) on seven hits and struck out two. It wasn’t a horrible way to go out, but it was a quiet ending to a weird season for the left-hander. After spending time on the IL with appendicitis and a subsequent broken hand, Rolison only pitched 71 ²⁄₃ innings in 2021 and 45 ²⁄₃ of those were in Albuquerque. Specifically in the hitters paradise that is the Triple-A West (formerly Pacific Coast League), Rolison performed about as expected. He posted a 5.91 ERA and allowed seven home runs. When he pitched in Lancaster — also a hitters paradise — he posted a 4.87 ERA in 116 ¹⁄₃ innings. Hopefully some winter ball action will really help Rolison get back on track, and he’ll likely see major league action in 2022.

Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats (0-0, 39-79 overall)

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High-A: Spokane Indians (1-3, 67-49 overall)

N/A

Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies (0-3, 74-41 overall)

N/A

ACL Rockies (0-0, 43-16 overall)

N/A

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2022 Schedules

Triple-A Albuquerque

Double-A Hartford

High-A Spokane

Low-A Fresno

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Thank you all for another great season of minor league baseball! It’s always an honor to bring this coverage to you all, and I’m looking forward to doing it again in 2022!