The watch all season in the Rockies’ farm system has centered on young right-hander Jhoulys Chacin.
Between his 16 starts in Asheville in the Single-A South Atlantic League and 12 starts for Modesto in the advanced Single-A California League, the 20-year-old Venezuelan has made a strong case for being the minor-league pitcher of the year. Chacin lost only three times, and his 18 victories set a record for Rockies minor-league pitchers, one better than Juan Acevedo won in Double-A in 1994 and Keith Weiser tied last year in Asheville.
But there’s more to Chacin’s pitching line than the regular-season wins. He earned the victory in Modesto’s first postseason game, a 6-5 triumph over Stockton. His regular-season numbers are impressive, with a 2.03 ERA, the best ever for a Rockies pitcher in the organization’s top four levels, from Asheville up to Triple-A. He allowed a combined 40 earned runs in 177 2/3 innings and had a 160-42 strikeout-to- walk ratio.
Marc Gustafson, the team’s director of player development, said Chacin’s outings were limited to five innings the last few weeks of the season because of his total innings. He still led the organization in innings pitched.
Gustafson rated the overall performance of the organization’s six teams as acceptable, although only Modesto and Asheville gained postseason play.
“We finished a game under .500 in Triple-A in Colorado Springs and that was remarkable when considering the number of players that moved up and down to the Rockies,” Gustafson said. “We were a little disappointed in the performance of the Double-A club in Tulsa. We thought we had a very good club there to start the season, but there were some injuries.”
Second baseman Eric Young Jr. missed time early in the season with an injured hamate bone in his wrist. Infielder Chris Nelson, a first- round draft pick in 2004, also missed time with the same injury as Young. While Young returned to action and finished with 46 stolen bases, Nelson never caught fire and ended up with pretty much a lost season.
“It was a step back for Chris Nelson,” Gustafson said. “He has a lot of work to do to get back where he should be.”
Gustafson saw some individual performances other than Chacin’s that signal encouragement.
Outfielder Dexter Fowler, a .335 hitter at Tulsa with 92 runs and nine triples, has Gustaf-son’s nod as the best position prospect in the organization. He won a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics. Fowler came up to the Rockies as a September callup. Matt Miller rebounded for a strong year, leading the organization with a .341 batting average between time at Tulsa and Colorado Springs. Another player of note was center fielder Charles Blackmon, who had 98 hits in 68 games for Tri-City of the short-season Northwest League. First baseman Joe Koshansky set a SkySox record with 121 RBIs. Blackmon’s 98 hits broke the previous high for that level of 93 by Juan Pierre in 1998.
Although Corey Wimberly (Tulsa) and third baseman Darin Holcomb (Asheville) had good years among farm-hand infielders, Gustafson pointed to second baseman Everth Cabrera at Asheville as his top infield prospect. Cabrera stole 73 bases and makes things happen as the leadoff hitter. Holcomb was the MVP of the South Atlantic League.
Behind the plate, Gustafson noted the defensive work of catcher Michael McHenry at Modesto, but is also excited about Wilin Rosario, who hit .320 in 65 games with 12 home runs for the Casper Ghosts in the Pioneer Rookie League.
Three pitchers besides Chacin reached double figures in victories with Connor Graham (Asheville) collecting 12, Brandon Hynick (Tulsa) closing strong for 10 and Franklin Morales (Colorado Springs) with 10.
Pitchers Greg Reynolds and Casey Weathers, both first-round draft picks, had some ups and downs. Weathers was on the U.S. Olympic team and finished with a 2-1 record, two saves and a 3.05 ERA in 44 relief appearances with Tulsa. After a 2-6 record in 11 starts for the Rockies, Reynolds, bothered with tendinitis, finished with a 1-3 record and 4.26 ERA with the Sky Sox.
MINOR-LEAGUE SPOTLIGHT ON …
1B, Mike Paulk, Single-A Modesto Nuts
Mike Paulk supplied some clutch hitting for the Nuts as they opened the California League’s best-of-three first-round playoff series. The Nuts split the first two games, winning 6-5 over Stockton in the first game and losing 7-6 in the second game.
Paulk drove in two runs in the victory, collecting a two-out hit. His hitting produced three runs in the first two games.
Paulk, who throws and bats left-handed, is completing his fourth year in the Rockies organization. He finished the regular season strong, hitting .452 over the last 10 games, with two doubles, two home runs and six RBIs.
Irv Moss, The Denver Post
ORGANIZATION LEADERS
Regular seasonfinal stats
HITTING (105 games): Matt Miller, Tulsa/Colorado Springs, .341; Dexter Fowler, Tulsa, .335.
RUNS: Miller, Tulsa/Colorado Springs, 98; Michael Mitchell, Asheville, 93.
HITS: Miller, Tulsa/Colorado Springs, 181; Darin Holcomb, Asheville, 162.
DOUBLES: Holcomb, Asheville, 46; Joe Koshansky, Colorado Springs, 36.
TRIPLES: Fowler, Tulsa, 9; Everth Cabrera, Asheville, 6.
HOME RUNS: Koshansky, Colorado Springs, 31; Tony Blanco, Tulsa, 23.
RBIs: Koshanky, Colorado Springs, 121; Miller, Tulsa/Colorado Springs, 107.
STOLEN BASES: Cabrera, Asheville, 73; Corey Wimberly, Tulsa, 59.
PITCHING VICTORIES: Jhoulys Chacin, Asheville/Modesto, 18; Connor Graham, Asheville, 12.
LOSSES: Alan Johnson, Tulsa, 14; Keith Weiser, Modesto/Tulsa, 12.
SAVES: Randall Taylor, Asheville, 32; Andrew Johnston, Modesto, 24.
INNINGS: Chacin, Asheville/Modesto, 177 2/3; Johnson, Tulsa, 175 2/3.
WALKS: Graham, Asheville, 83; Franklin Morales, Colorado Springs, 82.
STRIKEOUTS: Chacin, Asheville/Modesto, 160; Cory Riordan, Asheville, 160.
ERA: Starters — Chacin, Asheville/Modesto, 2.03; Graham, Asheville, 2.26; Relievers — Johnston, Modesto, 2.03; Craig Baker, Asheville, 2.22.
