Rockies prospects Zac Veen and Drew Romo win top awards for the Fresno Grizzlies

Sunday marked the official end of the minor league season, except for the Triple-A teams who finish at the same time as the major league regular season (Oct. 3). Overall, the Rockies farm system had a successful season. The High-A Spokane Indians and Low-A Fresno Grizzlies both clinched playoff spots, and the Grizzlies finished the season atop the Low-A West. The Indians began the season 9-15 in April, and their season was highlighted by a 20-6 August to propel them into the race. At the lowest level, the ACL Rockies finished atop the league with a 43-16 record. The Double-A Hartford Yard Goats finished the season 39-79, 6th in the Double-A Northeast division.

It was challenging to pick a player to highlight this week, but Zac Veen (No. 1 PuRP) and Drew Romo (No. 7 PuRP) finished their seasons as Team MVP and Hitter of the Year, respectively. This week, Veen went 5-for-20 (.250) with four runs scored, two doubles, one RBI, three walks, and eight strikeouts. In his inaugural pro season, Veen slashed .301/.399/.501 with 27 doubles, four triples, 15 homers, 75 RBI, 64 walks, 126 strikeouts, and 36 stolen bases in 53 tries.

Romo went just 2-for-20 (.100) with a run scored, two RBI, one walk, three strikeouts and a stolen base. It was an unfortunate end to an incredible season for the 20-year-old switch-hitting catcher. In his inaugural pro season, Romo slashed .314/.345/.439 with 48 runs scored, 17 doubles, two triples, six homers, 47 RBI, 19 walks, 50 strikeouts, and 23 stolen bases in 29 tries. Next up for the 2020 first-round duo: playoffs!

Top 30 PuRPs

Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes (3-3, 52-66 overall)

In a week that saw many of the Albuquerque PuRPs make their MLB debuts (Welker, Feltner, and Vilade), Ryan Rolison (No. 2 PuRP) continued to struggle a bit since his return from injury. The left-hander made two starts this week, pitching 11 ²⁄₃ innings. During that time, he allowed 14 total hits, eight total runs, one solo home run, four walks (one intentional), and eight strikeouts. Rolison has struggled since his return from injury on Aug. 27, with his lowest run total being four and that happened three times in September. Some of that could be chalked up to the PCL, but hopefully Rolison will be able to reset in the offseason and come back even stronger in 2022.

Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats (2-4, 39-79 overall)

Michael Toglia (No. 4 PuRP) put on a show during his final week of the 2021 season. The first baseman went 7-for-23 (.304) with four doubles, a triple (his first in Hartford), five RBI, three walks, and 10 strikeouts. After struggling to adapt in August (.202/.320/.333), Toglia started to hit his stride in September (.217/.331/.406). Like Rolison, hopefully an offseason of work will really help Toglia achieve even more success in 2022.

Unfortunately for the other two PuRP hitters in Hartford, they didn’t have as much success in the final week. Willie MacIver (No. 22 PuRP) went 4-for-21 (.190) with seven strikeouts, and Jameson Hannah (No. 23 PuRP) went 3-for-17 (.176) with seven strikeouts. After a spectacular start in Spokane and Futures Game nod, MacIver hit just .167/.241/.266 in 54 games with the Yard Goats. Perhaps an offseason of work will allow him to make adjustments. Hannah finished with a final slash of .255/.324/.351, which isn’t terrible, but we’ll see what he does next year.

High-A: Spokane Indians (4-0, 67-49 overall)

Helcris Olivarez (No. 13 PuRP) had a stellar final outing of 2021. The 21-year-old lefty has had his share of ups and downs this year, but he pitched 6 ²⁄₃ no-hit innings against the Everett AquaSox (SEA). He did allow two runs, but they came off an error by Brenton Doyle in the seventh inning. Olivarez also struck out eight, but walked four and hit two. Now that he has some High-A experience under his belt, I expect Olivarez to turn heads once again in 2022 like he has been since he was signed in 2016.

On the hitter side, Brenton Doyle (No. 11 PuRP) also went out with a bang. After the Saturday and Sunday contests were postponed due to rain, it was a short week for the Indians, but Doyle made the most of the limited opportunities. The outfielder went 7-for-14 (.500) with a double, two RBI, three strikeouts and a stolen base. Next up: playoffs.

Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies (2-4, 74-41 overall)

Outside of the star duo listed above, Eddy Diaz (No. 27 PuRP) finished his season strong as well. The 21-year-old went 10-for-23 (.435) with four runs scored, four RBI, three walks, six strikeouts, and two stolen bases in seven tries. Diaz has had a bit of an up-and-down season as well, being reassigned to the Grizzlies after a 15-for-78 (.192) start for Spokane. In Fresno, Diaz has slashed .295/.371/.362 with 97 runs scored, 13 doubles, three triples, one home run, 32 RBI, 28 walks, 58 strikeouts, and 48 stolen bases in 62 tries. It was a good Low-A season for Diaz, but he has been in the system for a while, so hopefully he will be able to take this momentum and continue to build on it next year back in Spokane.

ACL Rockies (5-0, 43-16 overall)

Hunter Goodman (No. 24 PuRP) finished strong, going 4-for-10 (.400) with two home runs and a double. The 21-year-old catcher was the Rockies’ 2021 fourth round pick, and had a really solid debut season. Goodman slashed .300/.419/.517 in 60-at bats with seven doubles, two homers (both this week), 12 RBI, nine walks, 14 strikeouts and a stolen base. He only went hitless in eight games, and has likely set himself up for success next year in Fresno.

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Upcoming Schedule

Triple-A Albuquerque: 9/20-9/21 @ Sugar Land (HOU); 9/23-9/26 vs Reno (ARI)

Low-A Fresno: 9/21-9/22 vs San Jose (SF); 9/24-9/26* @ San Jose (SF)

*9/25-9/26 if necessary