Zach Wilson insists that moving shortstop Trevor Story to Triple-A Albuquerque from Double-A New Britain is just part of the normal process of developing players for major-league duty.
Wilson, the director of player development for the Rockies’ farm system, wouldn’t add substance to any other reason for Story’s promotion to the Isotopes. There was thought that the Rockies may have wanted Story closer to Denver in Albuquerque than in Connecticut.
“We looked at what he has done in our organization over the last 18 months and it showed us that he is ready for the next challenge,” Wilson said. “At each level there are new things that players learn about the game.”
Wilson called Triple-A a melting pot for players of different levels of experience and a good level for young players to develop mentally to better compete at the highest level of the game.
So when will Story be ready to play for the Rockies?
“Trevor Story will get to the big leagues when he’s ready to get to the big leagues,” Wilson said.
Story was the 45th player selected in the 2011 draft. Last year he climbed to Double-A in Tulsa, Okla. The Rockies put him back in Double-A this year at New Britain, and Story posted prominent numbers in most of the hitting categories for the first two months of the season.
Story, 22, departed Double-A hitting .281, with 20 doubles, 10 home runs and 40 RBIs.
Harrison Musgrave is rolling along. Left-hander Harrison Musgrave at Single-A Modesto notched his 10th win, the first pitcher in the Rockies’ farm system to reach double figures this year. He has one loss.
“It has been kind of a team thing,” Musgrave said Friday. “It seems like when I pitch I get pretty good run support.”
Musgrave credits the little things he focused on in spring training before his second season in professional baseball.
“We worked a lot on pitch command,” Musgrave said. “I’m not walking as many batters as before. It takes some time to figure things out, and I’ve had a lot of help from all my pitching coaches so far.”
Musgrave is working on developing a better breaking pitch to go with his fastball and changeup.
While Musgrave has the best record among the organization’s starting pitchers, closer Josh Michalec at Single-A Asheville is piling up saves.
A 21st-round draft pick in 2014 out of Baylor, the right-handed Michalec had a save in nine of his last 11 appearances going into Friday.
His 17 saves this season rank second in the Rockies’ farm system, behind Austin House’s 19 with New Britain.
ORGANIZATION LEADERS
(Through Thursday)
HITTERS
BATTING AVERAGE: (minimum 60 games) Matt McBride, Albuquerque, .349; Raimel Tapia, Modesto, .312.
RUNS: McBride, Albuquerque, 55; Jordan Patterson, Modesto, 52.
HITS: Tapia, Modesto, 99; McBride, Albuquerque, 90.
DOUBLES: Ryan McMahon, Modesto, 28; McBride, Albuquerque, 27.
TRIPLES: Patterson, Modesto, 11; Forrest Wall, Asheville, 8.
HOME RUNS: Tom Murphy, New Britain, 12; McBride, Albuquerque, 11.
RBIs: Tapia, Modesto, 44; Drew Weeks, Asheville, 44.
STOLEN BASES: Wes Rogers, Asheville, 44; Weeks, Asheville, 22.
PITCHERS
VICTORIES: Harrison Musgrave, Modesto, 10; Shane Carle, New Britain and Albuquerque, 8.
LOSSES: Ryan Carpenter, New Britain, 8; Carlos Polanco, Asheville, 8; Sam Howard, Asheville, 8.
SAVES: Austin House, New Britain, 19; Josh Michalec, Asheville, 17.
INNINGS: Carle, New Britain and Albuquerque, 95 ; Zach Zemiola, Asheville and Modesto, 93 .
WALKS: Jon Gray, Albuquerque, 31; Johendi Jiminian, Modesto, 31.
STRIKEOUTS: Musgrave, Modesto, 78; Gray, Albuquerque, 76.
ERA: (starters) Antonio Senzatela, Modesto, 2.44; Musgrave, Modesto, 2.76; (relievers) Kraig Sitton, New Britain, 1.67; Jerry Vasta, Asheville, 1.74.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296, imoss @denverpost.com or irvmoss
