2010 Colorado Rockies Top 20 Prospects in Review
Here is a review of the 2010 Rockies prospect list, originally published January 15, 2010. THIS IS A REVIEW OF THE OLD LIST AND PRE-SEASON GRADES. THIS IS NOT A NEW LIST. The 2011 list and new grades won't be ready until the season is over and I start writing the book.
1) Christian Friedrich, LHP, Grade B+: 4.96 ERA, 76/35 K/BB in 85 innings for Double-A Tulsa, 97 hits. Not a good year, bothered by a sore elbow early in the season but even after that got better he hasn't been too effective overall, despite some brilliant outings.
2) Tyler Matzek, LHP, Grade B+: 2.75 ERA, 78/51 K/BB in 79 innings for Low-A Asheville, 56 hits. Good K/IP and H/IP ratios, walk rate is too high. Not throwing as hard as he did in high school, but I'm not too worried about that right now since the Ks are there. But the walks worry me a bit.
3) Jhoulys Chacin, RHP, Grade B+: 4.33 ERA, 93/43 K/BB in 87 innings for the Rockies, 75 hits. A pretty solid rookie year.
4) Rex Brothers, LHP, Grade B-: 2.68 ERA with 43/19 K/BB in 37 innings for High-A Modesto, 4.86 ERA with 18/13 K/BB in 17 innings for Tulsa. Command issues have hurt him in Double-A. K/IP and H/IP are strong.
5) Esmil Rogers, RHP, Grade B-: 5.75 ERA, 53/19 K/BB in 61 innings for Triple-A Colorado Springs, 62 hits. 5.01 ERA in 41 major league innings, 35/15 K/BB, 50 hits. Not a great year, but still has a chance to be useful.
6) Juan Nicasio, RHP, Grade B-: 4.10 ERA, 142/28 K/BB in 149 innings for Modesto, 162 hits. Excellent K/BB ratio, good strikeout rate, but has given up a lot of hits. Still intriguing due to the K/BB.
7) Wilin Rosario, C, Grade B-: .285/.342/.552 for Tulsa in 270 at-bats. On the DL with torn ACL, out for at least the rest of the year. This was a strong breakout season with a huge power surge. Too bad he got hurt.
8) Eric Young Jr, UT, Grade B-: .250/.335/.324 with 10 steals in 37 games for Colorado Springs, .273/.373/.341 with seven steals in 16 games for the Rockies. Missed two months with a stress fracture in his leg, but now getting a chance to play regularly.
9) Mike McKenry, C, Grade C+: .275/.337/.427 in 86 games for Colorado Springs. A Blah season considering park/league environment. Has thrown out 31% of runners, error and passed ball rates are low, so the glove is decent.
10) Sam Deduno, RHP, Grade C+: 3.65 ERA with 22/14 K/BB in 25 Triple-A innings, 5.51 ERA with 20/5 K/BB in 16 innings of rehab work at Tri-City in the Northwest League. Missed most of season with stress fracture in elbow, but back in action now.
11) Nolan Arenado, 3B, Grade C+: .276/.311/.462 for Asheville in the Sally League. Has shown doubles power and has a low strikeout rate, but walks are also low.
12) Tim Wheeler, OF, Grade C+: .248/.342/.388 for Modesto, 11 homers, 21 steals, 54 walks, 98 strikeouts in 443 at-bats. He steals bases and has occasional sparks of power, but it is a fairly disappointing season considering where he went in the draft.
13) Hector Gomez, SS, Grade C+ .269/.300/.404 in 27 games between Tri-City and Tulsa, has missed most of the season with a back injury.
14) Charles Blackmon, OF, Grade C+: .291/.360/.469 in 66 games for Tulsa, 15 steals. Texas League sources are impressed with his tools.
15) Chris Balcom-Miller, RHP, Grade C+: 3.09 ERA, 97/18 K/BB in 96 innings, 74 hits for Asheville, 2.08 GO/AO. A very solid season.
16) Parker Frazier, RHP, Grade C: 5.59 ERA with 41/13 K/BB in 48 innings between Tri-City and Modesto, 55 hits. Throws strikes, doesn't dominate, still in the projectable category at age 21.
17) Delta Cleary, OF, Grade C: .248/.289/.324 with 14 steals in 57 games for Asheville. Speed and tools, but still quite raw with the bat, plate discipline remains poor.
18) Chaz Roe, RHP, Grade C: 5.80 ERA with 96/48 K/BB in 135 innings for Colorado Springs, 169 hits. Getting killed at home (6.46 ERA) but road stats aren't much better.
19) Cory Riordan, RHP, Grade C: 3.92 ERA, 115/34 K/BB in 135 innings for Tulsa, 139 hits. Sharp control the best attribute here.
20) Kiel Roling, 1B, Grade C: .222/.286/.390 for Tulsa, 12 homers in 89 games, 27/96 BB/K in 315 at-bats. He tore up the Sally League in '09 but was too old for the level, which is why I just gave him a C.
Not a great campaign for this pre-season list. Chacin has been decent as a rookie, but injury attrition has taken a tool. Rosario's power breakout against Double-A pitching was good to see; the injury is unfortunate.
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