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Rockies RHP prospect Karl Kauffman is torching the Eastern League

Prospect news and statistics from the Rockies minor league affiliates from May 16-22, 2022

The Colorado Rockies’ farm system had a great week, collectively. The Albuquerque Isotopes were the only affiliate that didn’t win its series, dropping four-of-six to Salt Lake (LAA). The A-Ball affiliates both won five-of-six in their match-ups, with the Spokane Indians taking down the Eugene Emeralds (SF) and Fresno Grizzlies getting the best of Rancho Cucamonga (LAD). Like their younger brothers, the Hartford Yard Goats also notched five wins in their series on the road against the Bowie Baysox (BAL).

A key contributor to the series was Karl Kauffmann (No. 20 PuRP), who delivered another strong performance in his start on Wednesday with just one hit allowed over 6 ⅔ shutout innings with eight strikeouts recorded. After a rough first professional season in 2021 – mostly spent in Double-A – Kauffmann has been spectacular in his second stint. Over 41 ⅓ innings, Kauffmann sits in the top-10 of the Eastern League leaderboard in ERA (2.61), SO (52), BAA (.197) and QS (4). Aside from one tough start on April 24, the former Michigan Wolverine has been on all season, allowing two runs or fewer while striking out seven or more in his six other starts.

Top 30 PuRPs

Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes (2-4, 18-24 overall)

After a lengthy delay to the start of his season following Tommy John surgery in 2020, Peter Lambert made his season debut this week, throwing three innings over two appearances. For now, the plan is to use Lambert as an opener to get him built up for the rest of the season. Ryan Feltner (No. 15 PuRP) also had a brief start, but thoroughly shined in his appearance. He was scratched from his originally scheduled start on Friday likely as a precaution for if he was added to the MLB roster for Saturday’s doubleheader. That transaction did not occur, so Feltner started on Saturday, dominating Salt Lake with seven strikeouts over three scoreless innings.

In the box, Elehuris Montero (No. 5 PuRP) delivered once again the Isotopes. Montero recorded seven hits and his eighth homer of the season in the series. He now has an even .850 OPS in 2022. Another highly regarded prospect, Ryan Vilade (No. 8 PuRP) also had a good week with seven hits and an .841 OPS. After a sluggish May, Vilade has posted a .322/.382/.441 line through May.

Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats (5-1, 24-15 overall)

Like the aforementioned Vilade, Aaron Schunk (No. 24 PuRP) got off to a rough start but has picked it up in May. Schunk tied for the team-lead with nine hits and four runs scored. He now has a line of .309/.381/.655 in May. Schunk’s nine knocks tied Ezequiel Tovar (No. 6 PuRP), who was tremendous for Hartford once again. Tovar hit two more homers to bring his season total up to eight while leading the team with 18 total-bases. Although Michael Toglia (No. 7 PuRP) finished strong with two home runs in the Sunday finale, it was a tough series overall for the former UCLA Bruin. Toglia struck out 14 times in 24 at-bats and posted an OBP of just .192.

Karl Kauffmann deservedly nabbed the headline with his performance, but one of the biggest factors to the Yard Goats’ success was the bullpen. Fineas Del Bonta-Smith led the way, spreading five shutout innings over three appearances. Stephen Jones and P.J. Poulin each nabbed saves and combined to allow just four base-runners over 5 ⅓ innings while registering 10 strikeouts. One less-effective reliever was Riley Pint, who walked five in two appearances.

High-A: Spokane Indians (5-1, 21-16 overall)

The high-scoring series between Spokane and Eugene started off with a pitcher’s duel thanks to Mike Ruff. Ruff allowed just one hit and two walks over six innings to lead Spokane to a 1-0 victory on Tuesday. Ruff’s dominance has been one of the biggest surprises in this system this season, as he now sits at a 2.52 ERA over 35 ⅔ innings.

Offensively, Julio Carreras (HM PuRP) was the star of the show. Five of Carreras’ seven hits went for extra-bases, including three home runs. He drove in five runs, scored four of his own and finished with a team-high 18 total bases. Not far behind was 1B Grant Lavigne (No. 22 PuRP), who went for extra-bases in five of his nine hits and posted a 1.227 OPS. Daniel Montano recorded eight hits in 16 at-bats while Zac Veen (No. 1 PuRP) hit two homers and scored seven runs in the series.

Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies (5-1, 25-14 overall)

The usual suspects showed up in Fresno’s series victory. Adael Amador (No. 17 PuRP), Juan Brito (HM PuRP) and Yanquiel Fernandez (No. 25 PuRP) all collected seven hits against the Quakes. Brito’s performance stuck out best of the three, as he scored six runs, drove-in five and went yard twice. Benny Montgomery (No. 2 PuRP) returned from the IL after going down at the end of April with a quadriceps injury, getting two hits in seven trips to the plate.

Several pitchers from the young Grizzlies’ staff delivered strong performances. In his third start of the season, McCade Brown (No. 29 PuRP) notched six strikeouts with no walks allowed over 4 ⅔ innings. While Brown was good, Mason Green and Victor Juarez were better. Both allowed just one hit in their shutout performances, with Green gathering four strikeouts in seven innings and Juarez seven in his six innings.

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Week of 9/26-10/2 (Hitters)

Name PuRP Ranking Level H/AB HR SO BB SB
Name PuRP Ranking Level H/AB HR SO BB SB
Zac Veen 1 Double-A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Benny Montgomery 2 Low-A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Drew Romo 3 High-A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Elehuris Montero 5 MLB DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Ezequiel Tovar 6 MLB DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Michael Toglia 7 MLB DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Ryan Vilade 8 Triple-A 2/6 0 2 2 0
Brenton Doyle 10 Triple-A 3/12 2 7 2 0
Colton Welker 11 SF Triple-A (IL) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Adael Amador 17 Low-A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Warming Bernabel 18 High-A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Grant Lavigne 22 Double-A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Aaron Schunk 24 Double-A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Yanquiel Fernandez 25 Low-A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Dyan Jorge 26 DSL N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Hunter Goodman 27 Double-A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Willie MacIver 28 Triple-A 1/7 0 2 1 0
Eddy Diaz 30 High-A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Julio Carreras HM Double-A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Jameson Hannah HM Double-A (IL) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Juan Brito HM Low-A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Bladimir Restituyo HM High-A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Week of 9/26-10/2 (Pitchers)

Name PuRP Ranking Level G/GS IP R/ER SO BB
Name PuRP Ranking Level G/GS IP R/ER SO BB
Ryan Rolison 4 Triple-A (IL) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Chris McMahon 9 High-A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Jaden Hill 12 Low-A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Helcris Olivarez 13 ACL (IL) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Sam Weatherly 14 ACL (IL) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Ryan Feltner 15 MLB DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Joe Rock 16 Double-A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Noah Davis 19 MLB DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Karl Kauffmann 20 Triple-A 1/1 4.0 1/1 2 5
Jordy Vargas 21 Low-A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Mitchell Kilkenny 23 Double-A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
McCade Brown 29 Low-A (IL) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Tony Locey HM Double-A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Julian Fernández HM Triple-A 1/0 1.0 0/0 1 1
Brayan Castillo HM Low-A DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP

Season to Date (Hitters)

Name PuRP Ranking Level H/AB HR SO BB SB
Name PuRP Ranking Level H/AB HR SO BB SB
Zac Veen 1 Double-A 114/466 12 132 64 55
Benny Montgomery 2 Low-A 73/233 6 71 21 9
Drew Romo 3 High-A 95/374 5 81 35 18
Elehuris Montero 5 MLB 79/255 15 63 27 4
Ezequiel Tovar 6 MLB 91/285 14 66 27 17
Michael Toglia 7 MLB 107/429 30 149 60 7
Ryan Vilade 8 Triple-A 95/379 6 72 53 11
Brenton Doyle 10 Triple-A 130/507 26 171 28 23
Colton Welker 11 SF Triple-A (IL) 12/37 2 7 6 0
Adael Amador 17 Low-A 131/449 15 67 87 26
Warming Bernabel 18 High-A 115/367 14 56 31 23
Grant Lavigne 22 Double-A 127/449 10 134 68 2
Aaron Schunk 24 Double-A 116/450 14 115 36 6
Yanquiel Fernandez 25 Low-A 135/475 21 114 39 5
Dyan Jorge 26 DSL 66/206 4 35 24 13
Hunter Goodman 27 Double-A 154/523 36 151 40 6
Willie MacIver 28 Triple-A 83/367 15 114 39 10
Eddy Diaz 30 High-A 102/391 6 89 30 37
Julio Carreras HM Double-A 130/462 11 127 36 19
Jameson Hannah HM Double-A (IL) 27/99 1 25 12 7
Juan Brito HM Low-A 115/402 11 71 78 17
Bladimir Restituyo HM High-A 111/396 8 87 11 22

Season to Date (Pitchers)

Name PuRP Ranking Level G/GS IP R/ER SO BB
Name PuRP Ranking Level G/GS IP R/ER SO BB
Ryan Rolison 4 Triple-A (IL) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Chris McMahon 9 High-A 8/6 28.2 18/17 25 5
Jaden Hill 12 Low-A 10/10 17.2 6/6 25 6
Helcris Olivarez 13 ACL (IL) 1/1 2.0 0/0 1 0
Sam Weatherly 14 ACL 5/3 11.2 5/5 23 2
Ryan Feltner 15 MLB 11/11 51.2 25/22 60 18
Joe Rock 16 Double-A 22/22 115.2 72/62 120 50
Noah Davis 19 MLB 26/26 133.1 86/82 152 60
Karl Kauffmann 20 Triple-A 28/28 141.2 84/78 144 79
Jordy Vargas 21 Low-A 13/11 51.1 23/17 64 17
Mitchell Kilkenny 23 Double-A 24/24 102.0 67/63 76 34
McCade Brown 29 Low-A 18/18 89.2 56/52 118 23
Tony Locey HM Double-A 26/20 102.2 82/71 93 67
Julian Fernández HM Triple-A 58/0 57.0 46/42 65 32
Brayan Castillo HM Low-A 22/22 99.1 72/62 89 51

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Upcoming Schedule

Triple-A Albuquerque: 5/24-5/29 vs Round Rock (TEX)

Double-A Hartford: 5/24-5/29 @ Richmond (SF)

High-A Spokane: 5/24-5/29 vs Everett (SEA)

Low-A Fresno: 5/24-5/29 vs Stockton (OAK)