Colorado Rockies prospect Brenton Doyle hit four home runs this week

Outfielder Brenton Doyle (No. 11 PuRP) continued his hot streak this week, going 9-for-24 (.375) with four home runs, nine RBI, and eight strikeouts. He was also caught stealing twice without notching a single bag. In the month of August, Doyle has been slashing .324/.359/.581 with seven extra-base hits (six homers and a double), 12 RBI, two walks, 24 strikeouts, and three stolen bases in five attempts. In fact, he has only gone hitless four times in 19 August contests. After a hot start (.280/.343/.462 with three homers) and cool June (.211/.292/.358 with three homers), the 23-year-old has turned on the jets in July and August.

Doyle continues to rank in the top three on the team in doubles (2nd, 14), homers (2nd, 16), RBI (3rd, 43), and stolen bases (T-3rd, 19). With one month of the season, what will September have in store for the Shepherd University alum?

Top 30 PuRPs

Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes (1-5, 43-56 overall)

LHP Ryan Rolison (No. 2 PuRP) made his highly-anticipated first start back in Albuquerque following an emergency appendectomy and a hand injury. It unfortunately did not go very well for Rolison. He pitched five innings against the Round Rock Express (TEX) on Aug. 27, allowing five runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and a walk. Three of those five runs came off solo homers, including two by center fielder Elier Hernandez. It was the first time Rolison had allowed five runs in a start since his Triple-A debut on May 22, where he allowed five runs on four hits in 1 ²⁄₃ innings against the OKC Dodgers. But after that, he really settled in so hopefully he is able to do the same this time around.

Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats (3-3, 34-66 overall)

Speaking of hitting prospects on a hot streak, Elehuris Montero (No. 5 PuRP) sure had one this week in his return from the Injured List. The 23-year-old third baseman hit in all six games this week, going 9-for-24 (.375) with a double, four RBI, two walks, and three strikeouts. Before his injury, Montero was hitting .274/.362/.535 with 22 home runs. In fact, he leads the team in homers and ranks in the top two in runs scored (2nd, 46), RBI (1st, 69), and walks (1st, 43). All three parts of his .281/.364/.528 triple slash also lead the team. After a slow start and an absolutely insane July (.416/.467/.831 with 12 homers in 89 at-bats), Montero has cooled off a bit again in August (presumably partially due to injury), but hopefully he can find his form again through the last month of the season.

High-A: Spokane Indians (5-2, 56-46 overall)

The Spokane Indians as a team snapped a ten-game winning streak this week, but have still won 19 of their 24 games in August. Because of that, there are tons of prospects to talk about. However, two in particular stood out, who haven’t stood out much yet this season.

Aaron Schunk (No. 19 PuRP) seems to maybe be finding his footing a bit in High-A. After a slow start in which he was hitting .223/.286/.339 as of last week, Schunk went on a bit of a streak this week. In six games, the infielder went 5-for-20 (.250) with two home runs (in three games), four RBI, two walks, seven strikeouts and a stolen base. In total, he hit three home runs in five games. Now, he did go 0-for-8 with three strikeouts to end the week, but I choose to focus on the positive. The Aug. 21 homer was Schunk’s first since July 16 and he did start the week 5-for-12. While the numbers are still lower than prospect watchers expected out of the Rockies’ 2019 second-rounder, hopefully this might be a bit of a corner turn for the 24-year-old.

On the pitching side, newly-acquired RHP Noah Davis (No. 28 PuRP) pitched lights out for the second start in a row. This time, the 24-year-old pitched five shutout innings against the Everett AquaSox (SEA) before allowing two solo shots in the sixth. He also struck out 11 and didn’t walk a single batter (but he did hit one). So far in Spokane, Davis has a 3.69 ERA in 31 ²⁄₃ innings over five starts. Some of that was from two rocky starts on Aug. 7 and 15, but hopefully Davis can keep pushing forward the way he has been in his last two starts.

Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies (3-3, 66-36 overall)

RHP Case Williams (HM PuRP) had a bit decent outing this week for the Grizzlies. The 2020 fourth-rounder threw four innings and allowed two runs on five hits. He also struck out two batters, but walked four. Since returning from the Reds organization, Williams has made four starts. He boasts a 4.00 ERA in 18 innings with just two home runs (nine total in 2021), 11 strikeouts, and nine walks. Overall, his strikeout-to-walk ratio is about even, so hopefully he can cut down on some of the walks as the season winds down.

ACL Rockies (3-2, 32-12 overall)

Benny Montgomery (No. 3 PuRP) has played well for the ACL Rockies thus far. The 2021 first-rounder is slashing .280/.280/.360 in just 25 at-bats (7-for-25 overall). This week, he went 2-for-7 (.286) with two RBI and two strikeouts. In eight professional games, Montgomery has nine total bases, a triple, three RBI, five strikeouts and a stolen base. He has yet to hit a home run or draw a walk, but there’s still plenty of time for that.

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Upcoming Schedule

Triple-A Albuquerque: 8/30-8/31 vs Round Rock (TEX); 9/2-9/5 @ OKC (LAD)

Double-A Hartford: 8/31-9/5 vs Reading (PHI)

High-A Spokane: 8/31-9/5 vs Tri-City (LAA)

Low-A Fresno: 8/31-9/5 @ Stockton (OAK)

ACL Rockies: 8/30 @ ACL Giants Orange; 8/31 vs ACL Giants Black; 9/2 @ ACL Cubs; 9/3 vs ACL Athletics; 9/4 @ ACL D-backs