Weekly Pebble Report: Summoning More Rookies (April 7th-April 13th)

Colorado Rockies minor league report for Tuesday, April 15th, 2025

All four Colorado Rockies affiliates now have at least one full six-game series in the books as the minor league season comes into full swing. However, only the Double-A Hartford Yard Goats came away with a series victory—despite missing a game due to inclement weather. The Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes have also seen their roster become more depleted as a struggling big-league club fills holes caused by injury and desperately tries to find a way to win ballgames or even score a run.

The Call-Ups

Open the Amadoor: With CF/2B Tyler Freeman placed on the injured list due to an oblique injury, Brenton Doyle dealing with a quadriceps injury that might also land him on the injured list, and Kyle Farmer roped into designated hitter duties due to Kris Bryant being sidelined, the Rockies suddenly found themselves short on infielders. Adael Amador (No. 3 PuRP) was called up from Triple-A on Sunday. Although he is now 0-for-6 with two strikeouts, there is hope he can find a rhythm with consistent playing time. In ten games with the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes Amador was 11-for-40 with a double, two home runs, four RBIs, and drew eight walks to only four strikeouts.

The Braxton Bomber: The Rockies announced that they were calling up Triple-A Albuquerque starting catcher Braxton Fulford (HM PuRP) after placing Bryant on the injured list. Fulford took over starting duties to start the season in Albuquerque after Drew Romo suffered a broken finger in camp. Since claiming the starting job, he has hit 15-for-38 with three doubles and five home runs through 12 games. Fulford will wear no. 37 on the big league roster, the first position player to wear the number since Jay Gainer in 1993.

Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes (2-4, 6-9 Overall)

The Isotopes’ first full road series against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (Houston Astros) kicked off with an absolutely brutal 17-walk affair, including nine from starter Jack O’Loughlin. Despite that, the first two games were close and the Isotopes managed to come away with two wins. However, the series ended on quite the dud as Albuquerque was shut out 7-0 with just one hit.

Dancing in the Palmquist of his hand: Left-handed starting prospect Carson Palmquist (no. 9 PuRP) halved his ERA in a much stronger second start of the 2025 season. He held the Space Cowboys to just one run—via a solo home run—on three hits and a walk, and struck out seven batters over five innings. He threw 77 pitches—52 for strikes—and had overall sharp command minus the walk and a single hit batter. The tricky lefty is another candidate for a call-up this season, especially if he can find his way in the PCL.

King of the Hill: Hard throwing reliever Jaden Hill (no. 19 PuRP) made two strong appearances out of the bullpen during the series against Sugar Land.He pitched two scoreless, hitless innings and totalled five strikeouts against a strong offensive opponent. If the Rockies’ big league bullpen continues to struggle, we may see Hill back in the bigs soon. Hill has struck out 13 of the 21 batters he has faced to start the season.

Zach Doesn’t Crack: Right-handed reliever Zach Agnos (no. 23 PuRP) continues to impress in Triple-A after doing the same at every other level. In five appearances and 5 ¹⁄₃ innings he has given up just two hits, one earned run, and two walks while striking out eight batters. He pitched two more scoreless, hitless innings against Sugar Land while striking out three batters.

Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats (3-2, 5-3 Overall)

The Hartford Yard Goats got just five games in against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (New York Mets) despite playing two doubleheaders last week thanks to inclement weather. Hartford won three of their first four games against the Rumble Ponies, but did experience a 10-1 drubbing somewhere in-between.

The King in his Betancourt: Yard Goats catcher Bryant Betancourt (HM PuRP) enjoyed a strong series at the plate, going 5-for-10 with two doubles over three games. After having just one hit in the season opening series against the Somerset Patriots (New York Yankees), Betancourt has increased his batting average to .333—although he has also struck out nine times and drawn only one walk in 18 at-bats since the season began.

Simply Jorgeous: After a tough season in 2024, infielder Dyan Jorge (No. 21 PuRP) experienced a slide in his prospect stock after being ranked ninth before the 2024 season. Thankfully, Jorge is off to a strong start in Double-A. He’s hitting 9-for-21 with four doubles, a home run, five RBIs, and three walks to five strikeouts. In four starts against the Rumble Ponies he hit 5-for-13 and had an explosive game on Friday. He went 3-for-4 with an RBI and all three of his hits were doubles.

You won’t rake against Blake: In his first start of the season, right-handed pitcher Blake Adams (HM PuRP) was unhittable. Literally. Adams worked five shutout innings in the series opener against the Rumble Ponies without giving up a hit. His only baserunner came via a walk, and he struck out 11 batters. Adams was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for his efforts.

High-A: Spokane Indians (3-3, 4-5 Overall)

The Spokane Indians took a trip north of the border for a six game rematch against the Vancouver Canadians (Toronto Blue Jays). The Canadians were their opponent for the 2024 Northwest League championship. The Indians pulled off a 3-3 split of the series and scored eight runs in two of their victories.

Reach for the Skyler: After playing mostly corner infield or DH for the Fresno Grizzlies last year, Colorado native Skyler Messinger has a new position in his skillset: right field. Messinger made his first start in right field on Sunday. Over the series against the Canadians, Messinger went 7-for-22 with a double, four RBIs, and slugged his first High-A home run.

He went to Jared: Outfielder and first baseman Jared Thomas (no. 14 PuRP) has been shining so far this season with the Indians and is currently riding an eight game hitting streak. Thomas started in all six games against Vancouver and went 10-for-26 with two doubles, six RBIs, and his first High-A stolen base.

All’s Welinton that ends well: Indians reliever Welinton Herrera (no. 34 PuRP) has only allowed two baserunners to start the season via one hit and a walk. He’s also blanked his opponents through 3 ²⁄₃ total innings. Herrera earned his first win and second save of the season in two appearances against the Canadians. He pitched two scoreless frames and struck out three batters.

Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies (2-4, 4-5 Overall)

It was a rough week for the Grizzlies pitching staff as they were outscored 25-45 by the Inland Empire 66ers (Los Angeles Angels) and lost four of six. It wasn’t much better for the hitters, who struck out a whopping 74 times and averaged over 12 strikeouts per game.

The Big Red Dog: Middle infielder Nolan Clifford had a solid series against the 66ers, hitting 5-for-16 and driving in two RBIs. He also stole his first professional base and hit a game-winning RBI single on Saturday. Clifford made his professional debut with the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes last season due to a sudden roster need, but the 17th-round pick out of Creighton is beginning his season at a much more conventional level.

Just Jewett: 22-year-old right handed reliever out of UCLA Luke Jewett has yet to give up an earned run this season over 5 ²⁄₃ innings of work, and has also given up just two hits. One of the few pitchers to not give up a run to Inland Empire last week, Jewett pitched 3 ²⁄₃ innings over three appearances, giving up just one hit and striking out two batters. He did walk three in his first appearance of the series, but didn’t give another free pass for the rest of the series.

Hittin’ Hernandez: 20-year-old shortstop Roynier Hernandez has successfully reached base in all but one game so far this season with the Grizzlies, and had either a walk, a hit, or both in all six games against the 66ers. Hernandez hit 9-for-22 during the series with three walks to five strikeouts, one double, and eight RBIs.

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