Summer Settles in
August 1st, 2013
W - 56 / L - 53 / GB - 10.5
It was a wild and fun ride for the month of July for the Colorado Rockies as they lit up the scoreboards and went 17-9 for the month as well as saw some new faces. The offense got hot months from players like
C Wilin Rosario (.295/.326/.648 8 HR 24 RBI),
LF Carlos Gonzalez (.321/.351/.623 7 HR 21 RBI), and
SS Troy Tulowitzki (.340/.395/.524 3 HR 19 RBI). The team also got a lot of improvement out of their bullpen with
RP's Rex Brothers and Rafael Betancourt combining to pitch 25.2 innings and giving up just 1 run.
On the management side of the house we saw a lot of movement within the organization. The first move made is something we haven't seen the Rockies do a lot. They went out and signed a young international free agent into their international complex. 17 year old Gilberto Moran is a highly scouted starting pitcher who could turn into an excellent pitcher one day. The Rockies also made multiple trades before the trade deadline without giving up any true impact players they could miss long term.
Trade #1 - On the 7th of July the Rockies traded 29 year old
RP Wilton Lopez to the Texas Rangers. Lopez was looking at arbitration in the offseason and with a 4.20 ERA on the season may not have been what the Rockies wanted to pay for. In return the Rockies got rookie
RP Joe Ortiz who is only just developing but has pitched 13.2 innings for the Rockies thus far and has a 3.29 ERA.
Trade #2 - On the 18th of the month, in the midst of the All-Star Break the Rockies traded
3B Chris Nelson to the Oakland Athletics along with 24 year old minor league
SP Eddie Butler. Nelson was playing fairly well at third for the Rockies hitting .282 on the season with 15 HR on the year. In return for those 2 players the Rockies got a player who pitched in the All-Star game 2 days earlier,
SP Tommy Milone. Milone entered the all star break with a 13-4 record and a 2.27 ERA in his second season. Rockies brass felt comfortable enough to trade their starting 3B because they were promoting
Nolan Arenado who in 12 games hit .346/.370/.558 with 2 HR and 6 RBI since coming up.
Trade #3 - Just a couple days after getting Tommy Milone the Rockies traded recently demoted
SP Jon Garland to the New York Mets for 21 year old minor league
3B Wilmer Flores. In AAA this season Flores has been ridiculous hitting .393/.429/.631 with 5 HR and 16 RBI. It is not clear yet whether he will continue to play 3B or be tried out at 1B, it may depend how 1B prospect Ryan Wheeler performs.
Trade #4 - One final trade was made by the Rockies and we will see why it may have been bad timing when you read below but first the trade. Utility infielder/outfield
Eric Young Jr. was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for 23 year old pitching prospect
Taylor Jungmann. Jungmann was 9-5 with a 4.15 ERA in AA this season.
The reason it looks like bad timing for the Rockies with the trade of EY Jr. is that on the last day of the month the Rockies lost
CF Dexter Fowler for 4 months as he tore a muscle in his back attempting to make a catch at the wall during an extra innings loss to the Atlanta Braves. Tyler Colvin will be taking his place in CF for the time being, he is hitting .273/.327/.547 in 139 at bats this year.
Top Team Performances
MLB Hitter - LF Carlos Gonzalez - .321/.351/.623 7 HR 21 RBI
MLB Pitcher - RP Rafael Betancourt - 14.1 IP 0.00 ERA 0.56 WHIP
AAA Hitter - 1B Ryan Wheeler - .366/.444/.624 4 HR 18 RBI
AAA Pitcher - RP Adam Ottavino - 16.0 IP 1.69 ERA 1.19 WHIP
AA Hitter - RF Kyle Parker - .317/.414/.667 5 HR 11 RBI
AA Pitcher - SP Christian Bergman - 1-2 2.70 ERA 1.56 WHIP