Weekly Pebble Report: Back to the Futures Game (July 8th-July 14th)

Colorado Rockies minor league report for Monday, July 15th, 2024

This is the new home of the Weekly Pebble Report here on Purple Row, your weekly Colorado Rockies minor league update. We have decided to make the Pebble Report a stand-alone article for ease of access and to better even out our content for our readers. Starting today, the Pebble Report will go up after the Monday Rockpile on Monday mornings to start the week!

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Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes (4-2, 36-57 Overall)

When the Isotopes get a series win, celebration is in order. The ‘Topes took four games of six from the Tacoma Rainiers (Seattle Mariners) to close things out before the All-Star break, including a 14-12 shootout on Tuesday. The Isotopes’ overall record may not be pretty, but they surprisingly lead their division in the PCL to start the second half.

Stock Up: Catcher Willie MacIver is pounding at the door of the big leagues with Rockies catchers Elias Díaz and Jacob Stallings having the potential to depart at the upcoming trade deadline. MacIver went 8-for-15 with three doubles, a triple, and a home run against the Rainiers while only striking out once. “Willie Mac” is hitting an outstanding .335/.421/.633 this season heading into the break.

Stock Up: Outfielder Jimmy “Neutron” Herron continued his outstanding 2024 campaign with a hit in every game he played against Tacoma, going 10-for-26 with two home runs and a double during the series. Herron, 27, is hitting .306/.380/.493 on the season while playing strong outfield defense and may be worth a late season call-up to explore his future with the organization.

Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats (3-3, 47-38 Overall)

The Hartford Yard Goats cruised into the break with a series split against the Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox). An unfortunate development in this series was left-handed pitcher Carson Palmquist (no. 18 PuRP) exiting his Saturday start early due to an apparent injury.

Stock Up: right-handed reliever Zach Agnos has taken well to his Double-A promotion. In two appearances and three total innings against the Sea Dogs he didn’t allow any runs and struck out three batters while also picking up his first Double-A save on Sunday. He did also walk three batters. Agnos has given up just one earned run in five outings since being promoted to Hartford.

Stock Up: Warming Bernabel (no. 17 PuRP) enjoyed a strong series at the plate against Portland. He went 10-for-23 with a home run heading into the break with just one strikeout. Bernabel still has work to do—owning a .680 OPS this season after being designated for assignment this spring—but he appears to be finding some rhythm. Bernabel has a .984 OPS with three home runs over 12 games this July.

High-A: Spokane Indians (5-1, 54-31 Overall)

The Indians took care of business with a convincing five game series victory against the Everett AquaSox (Seattle Mariners) on a week that included the giveaway of a much-coveted RIBBY the Redband Trout bobblehead.

Promotion: Chase Dollander (no. 2 PuRP) appears to have pitched his last innings with the Indians after striking out nine batters in three innings on Tuesday. Dollander than started on the mound for the National League squad at the MLB All-Star Futures Game, where he threw 16 pitches and navigated a scoreless inning despite giving up a walk and a base hit. Rockies pitching coordinator Doug Linton seemed to confirm on a Yard Goats broadcast this week that Dollander would be heading to Double-A Hartford after the break. Dollander’s 111 strikeouts leads the Northwestern League and is one of the best figures in all of Minor League Baseball.

Stock Up: Glenallen Hill Jr. started in three games against the AquaSox and made the most of his playing time by going 5-for-9 with four walks to just two strikeouts. He drove in two runs while scoring twice himself and hit his third High-A home run on Sunday. Hill Jr. is hitting .322/.403/.525 since being promoted from Low-A Fresno.

Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies (2-4, 46-40 Overall)

The Grizzlies had a tough series against the Lake Elsinore Storm (San Diego Padres), dropping four games including a 4-0 shutout on Friday. However, they were able to end the series on a high note by shutting out the Storm on Sunday as they head into the break.

Stock Up: Left-handed pitcher Michael Prosecky (no. 23 PuRP) had a spectacular second start since returning to Fresno, notching eight strikeouts over six scoreless innings after striking out nine batters last week. Prosecky lowered his ERA to 0.82 while giving up just two hits.

Stock Up: Right-handed pitcher Jace Kaminska has been a wonderful surprise this season, and he might be ready for a new challenge. Kaminska pitched seven scoreless frames while allowing just three hits and didn’t walk a batter on Sunday. He also struck out ten batters for the second time this season. Kaminska’s 95 total strikeouts is third-best in the California League.

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