Weekly Pebble Report: The End in Sight (August 26th-September 2nd)

Colorado Rockies minor league report for Tuesday, September 3rd, 2024

The final month of the 2024 baseball season has dawned at last and the end of the minor league season is rapidly approaching. Low-A Fresno and High-A Spokane have just one regular series left to play, both of which have already started. Double-A Hartford has two series left while Triple-A Albuquerque has three.

For the Yard Goats and the Indians, the playoffs are on the horizon. The Grizzlies are on the outside looking in, but playoffs are very unlike. For the Isotopes… Well, that ship sailed months ago. The final dog days of summer are here, and this is your Weekly Pebble Report.

Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes (4-2, 53-79 Overall)

The Isotopes surprised us all by winning the series against one of the better teams in the PCL. The Reno Aces (Arizona Diamondbacks) were held to three or fewer runs in five of the six games played thanks to solid Isotopes pitching—a shocking statement on it’s own!

Where there’s a Hill there’s a way: Jaden Hill (no. 21 PuRP) was activated off the injured list late in the Reno series and battled for a scoreless inning on Saturday. Hill walked a batter and gave up two hits, but also struck out two batters to escape unscathed. There is still a solid chance Hill makes his big league debut at some point this month.

We left the Stovall on: Infielder Hunter Stovall is currently riding a seven-game hit streak, and during the series against the Aces he tallied at least one hit in the five games he appeared in. Stovall went 8-for-18 with a home run and drew three walks to two strikeouts.

Zac and the Veenstalk: While Zac Veen’s (no. 4 PuRP) introduction to Triple-A has been a bit bumpy, there have been some highlights. Veen slugged his second Triple-A home run against the Aces and drove in six total runs, while also stealing his first base in the PCL. However, Veen also struck out 11 times during the series while going 3-for-23 and at times looking visibly frustrated. Though I’d be surprised to see Veen called up before the end of the season, he still has a chance to finish the season strong.

Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats (5-1, 70-54 Overall)

The Yard Goats are playing like a playoff team, combining stunning pitching performances with solid offensive output in the waning days of the season. Friday’s game against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (New York Mets) was a clunker, but they more than made up for it throughout the other five.

Chasing a dream: Rockies top pitching prospect Chase Dollander (no. 1 PuRP) has been everything advertised and more since in the month of August. On Friday’s start he struck out another ten batters in 5 ²⁄₃ scoreless innings to wrap up the month. In August starts he went 2-0, had an ERA of just 0.92 in 29 ¹⁄₃ innings, and struck out 41 batters. Dollander was unsurprisingly named the organizations’ Pitcher of the Month.

Quite Fulford-filling: Dollander’s battery-mate Braxton Fulford similarly finished off the month of August strong with a 4-for-13 series against the Rumble Ponies, drawing three walks, hitting two doubles, and stealing a base. Fulford was named the organization’s Position Player of the Month after hitting .298/.385/.597 in August with three home runs and 11 RsBI.

Carry Juan, my wayward son: Okay, I promise I won’t be beating this bit to death again this week, but Yard Goats outfielder Juan Guerrero had an excellent series against the Rumble Ponies. Guerrero went 10-for-21 with a home run and a stolen base, had five RsBI, and only struck out twice while also driving in the game winning run for the walk-off on Saturday night.

High-A: Spokane Indians (5-1, 76-48 Overall)

The Spokane Indians may be playoff-bound, but their bats have been slumping hard over the past few weeks. While they did pull out a commanding series victory against the Tri-City Dust Devils (Los Angeles Angels), they were also nearly no-hit for the second time in as many weeks before late game heroics led to a 1-0 victory. I wouldn’t have a lot of nickels, but it’s weird that it happened twice.

King of the Hill: The Rockies might have found a diamond in the rough when it comes to former Arizona Diamondbacks fourth round pick Glenallen “GJ” Hill Jr., who was playing indie ball last season. At time of writing, Hill has hit 269/.360/.527 across Low-A and High-A, but has really shined since his promotion to Spokane. With the Indians Hill has an OPS of .959 with six doubles, a triple, has gone a perfect 10-for-10 on stolen bases, and has crushed a career high 13 home runs. Hill was the hero of Sunday night when he hit a solo home run to end the Dust Devil’s no-hit bid in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Sweet, sweet Victor-y: Young right-handed starter Victor Juárez (no. 40 PuRP) turned in one of his best outings of the season against Tri-City to open up the series. Juárez pitched seven innings of shutout baseball, giving up just one hit, walking two batters, and racking up a season high 10 strikeouts. For his sterling outing, Juárez was named the Northwest League’s Pitcher of the Week.

Cond-off: It does need to be discussed that Rockies 2024 first round pick Charlie Condon’s professional career is off to a rough start in Spokane. The power hitter from Georgia is hitless in 10 of his first 20 games played with the Indians with 27 strikeouts to just two walks. While he does have five extra base hits—three doubles, a triple, and a home run—there’s still work to be done. Condon (no. 2 PuRP) went 3-for-19 against the Dust Devils with one RBI and seven strikeouts.

Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies (2-4, 64-61 Overall)

A losing series to the Visalia Rawhide (Arizona Diamondbacks) knocked the Grizzlies down to six games back and likely sealed their fate when it comes to the playoffs. The four losses were all close games but the Grizzlies were unable to scratch out victories.

High-Quality Stu: Grizzlies pitcher Stu Flesland III is now fully stretched into starting form after working most of the season in a relief role. Flesland III pitched his longest career outing on Sunday, giving up just two earned runs on four hits and a walk while striking out three batters. This was also Flesland III’s first career Quality Start.

Wimmy-Wam-Wam-Wozzle!: Yes, this reference might just be for me, but Grizzlies infielder Braylen Wimmer wrapped up the series against the Visalia Rawhide with a nine-game hitting streak. He also had two three-hit games against Visalia while hitting a triple, a home run, and stealing four bases. While going 10-for-22 he struck out just once.

Take a long walk with Longwell: As of the end of the Visalia series, Grizzlies first baseman Aidan Longwell had reached safely in 10 of his last 11 games. While Longwell only went 6-for-19 against the Rawhide, his OBP for the series was a whopping .458 as he drew five walks.

Arizona Complex League: ACL Rockies (Season Complete)

Nothing but Calaz: With end of season awards beginning to trickle out as the minor league season draws to a close, the Arizona Complex League named their MVP for the long-over season. Robert Calaz (no. 8 PuRP) led the ACL in most offensive categories. The 18-year-old hit .349/.462/.651 with 12 doubles, five triples, 10 home runs, and drove in 45 runs. He went a near-perfect 12-for-13 in stolen base attempts and had a very healthy 32 walks to 47 strikeouts.

★ ★ ★

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