Rockies prospects Ryan Vilade and Drew Romo are (11-game hit) streaking!

July is over, which means there are just two months left of baseball! Rockies affiliates performed pretty well in July overall, with the Hartford Yard Goats posting the only losing record (9-19). The MLB club finished 12-12, and the other three finished with winning records (Albuquerque Isotopes 17-8; Spokane Indians 15-12; Fresno Grizzlies 21-6).

Unfortunately for many PuRPs, they didn’t have great weeks to finish out the month. Two prospects, though, have 11-game hitting streaks. Ryan Vilade (No. 3 PuRP) of the Albuquerque Isotopes went 10-for-24 this week with three doubles, an RBI, a walk, five strikeouts, and a stolen base. During his 11-game hit streak, which dates back to July 20, Vilade has hit 19-for-41 (.463) with four doubles, three RBI, two walks, eight strikeouts, and two stolen bases.

Fresno Grizzlies’ catcher Drew Romo (No. 8 PuRP) has an 11-game hitting streak of his own dating back to July 6. He did miss some time between July 14-27, but didn’t seem to skip a beat as he hit 7-for-21 this week with two RBI, two strikeouts, and two stolen bases. During his hit streak, Romo has gone 16-for-44 (.364) with two doubles, seven RBI, one walk, six strikeouts, and five stolen bases.

Top 30 PuRPs

Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes (5-1, 34-41 overall)

Outside of Vilade, José Mujica (No. 29 PuRP) and Antonio Santos (No. 21 PuRP) both saw limited action both in Albuquerque and with the Rockies. Mujica made one start where he pitched three innings and struck out three batters. Santos made one appearance on July 26th against the El Paso Chihuahuas (SD). He pitched an inning of relief and allowed one earned run and struck out a batter.

Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats (2-4, 24-53 overall)

Hartford posted a 9-19 record in July, and their prospects are struggling. Willie MacIver (HM PuRP) has posted a .152/.256/.329 slash in 79 at-bats with the Yard Goats. He had that historic three-homer game on July 3rd, but has since gone just 9-for-71 (.127) with three extra-base hits (three doubles and a homer), two RBI, seven walks, 26 strikeouts, and three stolen bases. Hopefully “Willie Mac” can make some adjustments and get back to what made him so successful in Spokane!

On the pitching side, Ryan Feltner (No. 25 PuRP) also had a rough outing in his start on July 29th. The 24-year-old righty lasted six innings and allowed eight hits, but all three of his earned runs came via the home run. That’s right, three earned runs scored on three home runs. His 2.96 ERA in 2021 is still relatively low, but Feltner has given up six home runs in his last three starts. In his last two games, he has allowed five earned runs and five home runs. He also allowed a homer in his July 17th start. Feltner’s Hartford ERA is 3.67 in eight starts compared to his 2.17 ERA through seven starts in Spokane.

High-A: Spokane Indians (4-2, 37-41 overall)

Spokane had some weird numbers this week, too. Michael Toglia (No. 4 PuRP) went 5-for-23 this week with four home runs, upping his 2021 total to 17 — 10 more than Brenton Doyle (No. 12 PuRP), his next closest competition. While Ryan Vilade and Drew Romo are on 11-game hit streaks, Aaron Schunk (No. 6 PuRP) had a horrible cold streak this week. Schunk went 1-for-18 with a triple.

Pitching didn’t look much better. Chris McMahon (No. 7 PuRP) joined Feltner with a multi-homer game. He pitched 6 ¹⁄₃ innings against Vancouver (TOR) and allowed three earned runs on seven hits, but also allowed two home runs — a solo shot and a two-run shot. McMahon also struck out six and walked three in the eventual losing effort.

Helcris Olivarez (No. 10 PuRP) has also been sputtering recently. The 20-year-old left-hander had another short outing on July 30th — lasting just 2 ²⁄₃ innings before being pulled. During that time, he allowed nine earned runs on eight hits. He also walked five and struck out only three. Olivarez has had a bit of an up-and-down July, so hopefully he can find some consistency in August.

Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies (4-2, 52-26 overall)

Sam Weatherly (No. 17 PuRP) had a great pitching week for the Grizzlies. The 22-year-old lefty made one start against Lake Elsinore (SD) and bounced back spectacularly after a rough outing last week. Weatherly pitched six innings and allowed just one run (a solo homer in the second inning). He also struck out six batters and didn’t walk a single one.

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Upcoming Schedule

Triple-A Albuquerque: 8/2-8/3 vs. Salt Lake (LAA); 8/5-8/8 vs. Oklahoma City (LAD)

Double-A Hartford: 8/3-8/8 @ New Hampshire (TOR)

High-A Spokane: 8/3-8/8 vs. Everett (SEA)

Low-A Fresno: 8/3-8/8 vs. San Jose (SF)