There’s a little more attention than usual on the Tri-City Dust Devils in the Rockies’ farm system this year.
Most of the time, Tri-City is the first stop for the younger players coming into the organization. The Dust Devils play in the short-season, Single-A Northwest League.
But this season, the Dust Devils’ roster also contains three pitchers — starters Parker Frazier and Josh Sullivan and reliever Casey Weathers — who command more attention than a first-year player.
All three are coming off Tommy John surgery, and the Rockies want to get them into tougher competition as soon as possible to make up for lost time.
“I know I’m not going to have them here all year long,” Tri-City manager Fred Ocasio said. “So far, so good for all three of them, and the velocity seems to be there. Weathers has hit 97 on the gun.”
Marc Gustafson, Rockies director of player development, is setting a schedule for moves up the development ladder sooner than later.
“In a perfect scenario, we’d like to get Weathers back up to Double-A before the end of the season,” Gustafson said. “We’d like to see if Frazier could make it up to advanced A in Modesto. Sullivan has been injured so much during his time in the organization that we’ll just have to see.”
In all three cases, they’re starting over. Weathers, the eighth player taken in the first round of the 2007 June draft, missed all of last year after injuring his elbow in the 2008 Arizona Fall League. He climbed through Asheville and Modesto in 2007 and pitched for Tulsa in 2008. He had a combined 3.36 ERA in his first 58 minor- league games.
For the Dust Devils, Weathers has worked an inning in each of his four appearances, giving up one hit, no runs, striking out 10 and walking one.
Frazier was injured in late August while compiling a 10-7 record for Asheville. His recovery from surgery has been faster than usual. He’s 1-1, picking up the victory as the opening-day pitcher.
“It was a little nerve-wracking starting opening day,” said Frazier, an eighth-round pick in 2007. “I did a ton of shoulder work in my rehab, and I’ve never felt this strong before. I never expected to be going down this road. I was nervous before my first bullpen session several months ago, but I didn’t feel any pain and haven’t since.”
Sullivan, drafted in the fifth round in 2005, is in his sixth season in the organization with only 30 games on his record. He made only three starts in 2008 and missed the entire 2009 season.
“Frazier gave us five good innings in the first game,” Ocasio said. “Sullivan worked four innings and gave up one hit in his first start.”
Next up.
Rockies left-hander Jorge De La Rosa makes a rehab start today for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. If all goes well, he could pitch July 7 for the Rockies against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Minor-league spotlight
Jason Van Kooten, 2B, Tulsa
Van Kooten’s play over 10 games the last two weeks has drawn a comparison that puts him in good company.
Marc Gustafson, the Rockies’ director of player development, compared Van Kooten’s never-give-up attitude to what Rockies infielder Clint Barmes showed coming up through the farm system.
“He’s a blue-collar guy who comes to work every day,” Gustafson said of Van Kooten, who hit .353 over the 10-game span.
But there was more to Van Kooten’s burst than just his batting average. Included in his 12 hits were two doubles and three home runs. The three homers raised some eyebrows because it brought Van Kooten’s season’s total to eight. That total after three months isn’t earthshaking, but Van Kooten’s career high is 10 — last year in 120 games.
“I don’t think I’m swinging the bat any differently,” Van Kooten said of the upturn in power numbers in his first experience at Double-A. “I’m not trying to hit more home runs. I’ve had a good consistent approach to hitting, and I’m trying to keep it that way.”
“We’re seeing a little more power from him this year,” Gustafson said. “He could reach 15, 16 for the season. We’d like to get the Tulsa team clicking as a whole over the second half of the season.”
Van Kooten was selected by the Rockies in the 46th round of the 2003 June draft out of Regis Jesuit High School.
Irv Moss, The Denver Post
Organization leaders (Through Thursday)
HITTING: (62 games) James Cesario, Modesto, .335; Jordan Pacheco, Modesto, .331; Eliezer Mesa, Asheville, .331.
RUNS: Matt Miller, Colorado Springs, 54; Thomas Field, Modesto, 52.
HITS: Cesario, Modesto, 86; Miller, Colorado Springs, 85.
DOUBLES: Mesa, Asheville, 22; Brian Rike, Modesto, 21.
TRIPLES: Cesario, Modesto, 9; Mesa, Asheville, 6.
HOME RUNS: Brad Eldred, Colorado Springs, 18; Ryan Harvey, Tulsa, 10; Field, Modesto, 10.
RBIs: Eldred, Colorado Springs, 57; Cesario, Modesto, 44; Pacheco, Modesto, 44.
STOLEN BASES: Anthony Jackson, Tulsa, 17; Mesa, Asheville, 17.
PITCHING VICTORIES: Kenneth Durst, Modesto, 7; Alan Johnson, Colorado Springs, 6.
LOSSES: Brandon Durden, Tulsa/Colorado Springs, 8; Chaz Roe, C. Springs, 7.
SAVES: Adam Jorgenson, Modesto, 16; Sheng-An Kuo, Asheville, 7.
INNINGS: Roe, Colorado Springs, 86 2/3; Juan Nicasio, Modesto, 84.
WALKS: Rob Scahill, Modesto, 32; Jonathan Vargas, Asheville, 32.
STRIKEOUTS: Nicasio, Modesto, 79; Ethan Hollingsworth, Modesto, 78.
ERA: Starters — Tyler Matzek, Asheville, 1.84; Ching Lung Lo, Tulsa, 2.91; Relievers — Scott Rice, Tulsa, 1.02; Sean Jarrett, Tulsa, 2.00.
