Rockies prospect Ryan Rolison dazzles against Reno Aces

The Albuquerque Isotopes are officially the only Rockies minor league team still playing, after both High-A Spokane and Low-A Fresno were eliminated by the Giants affiliates in the championship rounds. Spokane was outdueled three games to one by the Eugene Emeralds, and Fresno was swept in three games by the San Jose Giants.

In Albuquerque, Ryan Rolison (No. 2 PuRP) had a tremendous bounce-back performance. The lefty pitched five innings of one-hit ball and struck out eight Reno Aces (ARI). The single hit came in the fourth inning — a single by Cooper Hummel. The wheels started to fall off in the fifth when Rolison walked three straight batters and threw a wild pitch after striking out the first two, but he was able to get out of the jam by getting Alek Thomas to ground out to first. Rolison likely has one more start this season, so we’ll see how he finishes after his injury-shortened Triple-A debut.

Top 30 PuRPs

Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes (3-3, 52-68 overall)

The other Ryan (Feltner) had a rough Triple-A debut. The righty pitched against the Sugar Land Skeeters (HOU) and allowed five runs on four hits over 2 ²⁄₃ innings. Four of the runs were scored on a pair two-run homers in the third inning, and the other came on a sacrifice fly in the first. Feltner had stellar stints in High-A (3-1, 2.17 ERA in 7 starts) and Double-A (5-2, 2.85 ERA in 13 starts), so hopefully the rough introduction to the upper levels hasn’t set him back.

As far as hitters go, Joshua Fuentes had an outstanding week. Fuentes went 10-for-25 (.250) with eight runs scored, three doubles, a triple, two homers, 10 RBI, two walks and three strikeouts. On Sept. 23, Fuentes hit for the cycle — only the ninth cycle in Isotopes history. He started with a triple and finished with a grand slam to give the Isotopes a 13-5 victory over the Aces.

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

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

The Indians played for the High-A West Championship this week, but unfortunately came up short. However, Grant Lavigne (No. 15 PuRP) and Niko Decolati (HM PuRP) put up good numbers during the series. Lavigne went 7-for-15 (.467) with one run, one RBI, and five strikeouts. Decolati went 4-for-11 (.364) with four walks and two strikeouts.

Jack Blomgren and Brenton Doyle (No. 11 PuRP) were the only two Indians to hit home runs this postseason — Blomgren hit a solo shot in the third inning of Game 1 to break the 10-0 shutout and Doyle hit one in the eighth inning of Game 3 to start the three-run rally and seal the only victory of the playoffs for Spokane. Doyle also hit a triple in Game 4.

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

While the Indians won at least one game, the Grizzlies were unfortunately swept in three games and were outscored 14-5. Warming Bernabel (No. 29 PuRP) had the best performance among Purple Row Prospects, going 3-for-8 (.375) with two runs scored, one RBI and a walk.

The five runs were scored by:

• Zac Veen (No. 1 PuRP) — RBI single, Game 1, third inning
• Warming Bernabel (No. 29 PuRP) — sacrifice fly, Game 2, fifth inning
• Bladimir Restituyo — RBI single, Game 2, fifth inning
• Robby Martin — two-RBI single, Game 3, first inning

Even though it wasn’t the ending they wanted, it was still a highly successful debut season for all of the new affiliates (High-A, Low-A and ACL). The future is bright in the lower minors!

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

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Upcoming Schedule

Triple-A Albuquerque: 9/27 vs Reno (ARI); 9/29-10/3 @ Sacramento (SF)