It All Begins With The Asheville Tourists

I was browsing thru the Colorado Rockies Top Prospects List this morning (according to ColoradoRockies.com) and and I noticed that 9 out of the top 10 Rockies prospects had spent time with the Asheville Tourists. In fact, all but about 4 or 5 of the Top 20 had passed thru Asheville. There are several that have made it to AAA Colorado Springs including former 2009 First Round Draft Pick and #11 overall, Left-handed pitcher Tyler Matzek. He is listed as the Rockies #12 overall prospect. He had two different stints in Asheville in 2010-11 and compiled a 10-5 record in 30 starts for the Tourists. He has made it to AAA Colorado Springs and is 1-0 in 4 starts with a solid ERA. He has spent his entire minor league career as a starter but it seems that his future with the Rockies might be coming out of the bullpen from the reports that I have read. The Rockies had him coming out of the bullpen with moderate success in the Arizona Fall League. Control has always been Matzek's problem with a career walk of average of over 5 per 9 innings. Left-Handed pitchers, relievers or starters, are a hot commodity in major league baseball and if you have the ability to get left-handed batters out, you can usually work your way onto a major league roster somewhere. Even though it seems like he has been around in the Rockies system forever, Matzek is only 23 years old and he is only one step and figuring out the strike zone away from realizing every kid's dream of playing in the major leagues. It all started with the Asheville Tourists.