Even with the combined home run total among the four Rockies minor-league teams about to move into three digits, there’s still a question about a lack of power hitting in the organization.
As of Thursday, the Colorado Springs Sky Sox had 28 dingers, the Tulsa Drillers 26, the Modesto Nuts 20 and the Asheville Tourists 25. The total was 99, which might sound like a lot, but really not in the legacy of the Blake Street Bombers.
The 20 homers at Modesto is the lowest number in the high-level Single-A California League. Only four teams in the 16-team Triple-A Pacific Coast League had fewer than the 28 by the Sky Sox. Tulsa’s 26 and Asheville’s 25 were respectable numbers in the Double-A Texas League and Single-A South Atlantic.
Bill Schmidt, the Rockies’ director of scouting, isn’t alarmed.
“We see players with power potential every year,” Schmidt said. “It varies. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of them this year.”
First baseman Jared Clark at Asheville leads the Rockies’ minor-league players with eight home runs. The minor-league leader is Mike Stanton with 16 at Jacksonville in the Florida Marlins’ organization. There are 25 other players with nine or more.
Marc Gustafson, the Rockies’ director of player development, sees a different focus by the organization as a possible contributor to the early-season power outage.
“We have a few home run hitters in the organization,” Gustafson said, “but our focus has shifted somewhat to on-base percentage. Home run hitters can strike out a lot.”
The lack of power has filtered up to the Rockies. Their 38 home runs rank in the middle of the 30 big-league clubs.
The home run has been synonymous with the Rockies since Eric Young’s dramatic homer to lead off the bottom of the first inning in the major-league opener in Denver in 1993.
The home run trail started in Asheville, where home runs were heard throughout minor-league baseball. Joe Koshansky swatted 36 dingers there in 2005. Derrick Gibson smacked 32 in 1995. Matt Miller, with the Sky Sox this season, hit 30 in 2005, and Rockies third baseman Ian Stewart clubbed 30 in 2004.
Rockies right fielder Brad Hawpe’s 22 home runs in 2002 at Salem stands as the organization’s record for advanced Single-A.
Koshansky was back in business again in 2006 with 31 home runs in Double-A Tulsa, then had 31 with Colorado Springs in 2008. Ryan Sheely was among minor- league leaders with 29 at Tulsa in 2004.
Manager Stu Cole of the Sky Sox has seen most of the top home run hitters coming up through the organization.
“We’re early in the season, and I think our power numbers are going to come up with the more games we play,” Cole said. “They’re going to pick up.”
For the Sky Sox, the power outage started last season, hitting 87 home runs, the lowest number as an affiliate of the Rockies in a relationship that began in 1993.
Minor-league spotlight
Chris Iannetta, C, Sky Sox
Iannetta once again has found a visit with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox to be a rejuvenating experience.
In a 10-game span, May 6-20, Iannetta put on a hitting show that included six multiple-hit games, a batting average of .423, four home runs and 18 RBIs.
When he was sent down April 26 by the Rockies to find himself, Iannetta was hitting .133 with two homers and two RBIs.
“He has put together enough games to feel comfortable,” Sky Sox manager Stu Cole said. “He has done an outstanding job for us.”
Iannetta was shocked at first when demoted. He opened the season as the Rockies’ No. 1 catcher but was replaced by Miguel Olivo. But he didn’t sulk.
“He’s shown us nothing but a good attitude and a good work ethic,” said Marc Gustafson, Rockies’ director of player development. “Confidence is a special thing in baseball, and he’s been able to regain momentum and confidence.”
In 2007, Iannetta took a 16-game refresher course with the Sky Sox. When he was recalled, he hit safely in his first five games.
Iannetta seems ready to go again this year, but as Cole said, “That’s up to the people in Denver.”
Irv Moss, The Denver Post
Organizational leaders (Through Thursday)
BATTING: Jordan Pacheco, Modesto, .387; James Cesario, Modesto, .354.
RUNS: Matt Miller, Colorado Springs, 31; Thomas Field, Modesto, 31.
HITS: Pacheco, Modesto, 55; Cesario, Modesto, 52.
DOUBLES: Eliezer Mesa, Asheville, 16; Pacheco, Modesto, 13.
TRIPLES: Cesario, Modesto, 8; Cole Garner, Colorado Springs, 4; Field, Modesto, 4; Scott Robinson, Modesto, 4; Mesa, Asheville, 4.
HOME RUNS: Jared Clark, Asheville, 8; Brad Eldred, Colorado Springs, 6.
RBI: Clark, Asheville, 30; Cesario, Modesto, 29; Ben Paulson, Modesto, 29.
STOLEN BASES: Angelys Nina, Asheville, 10; Avery Barnes, Asheville, 10.
WINS: Ethan Hollingsworth, Modesto, 5; Alan Johnson, Colorado Springs, 4.
LOSSES: Chaz Roe, Colorado Springs, 6; Nicholas Schnaitmann, Asheville, 5.
SAVES: Adam Jorgenson, Modesto, 12; Juan Rincon, Colorado Springs, 6.
INNINGS: Hollingsworth, Modesto, 51; Juan Nicasio, Modesto, 45 2/3.
WALKS: Jonathan Vargas, Asheville, 21; Damian Moss, Colorado Springs, 20; Rob Scahill, Modesto, 20.
STRIKEOUTS: Hollingsworth, Modesto, 51; Nicasio, Modesto, 42.
ERA: (starters) Ching Lung Lo, Tulsa, 2.01; Hollingsworth, Modesto, 2.12; (relievers) Scott Rice, Tulsa, 1.08; Isaiah Froneberger, Modesto, 1.33.
