David Dahl

Outfielder David Dahl is one of the newest ex-Asheville Tourists to make an early impact with the Colorado Rockies.

Middle Of The Pack

The Asheville Tourists have struggled in the second half playing near .500 baseball (16-18) and at one time within the past couple of weeks were only 1 1/2 games out of first place in the South Atlantic League's Southern Division. They are now in fourth place but only 5 1/2 games out, still within striking distance with 35 games left to play.

David Dahl Gets The Call

Ex-Asheville Tourists Outfielder David Dahl got the call to the major leagues from the Colorado Rockies yesterday. He made his major league debut batting sixth and playing leftfield against the Baltimore Orioles. Dahl got his first major league hit, a single in the seventh inning, in four at bats. He scored the Rockies second run in the 3-2, ten inning loss to the Orioles.

Dahl played in parts of two seasons for the Tourists in 2013-14 and had a combined total of 10 homeruns and 48 runs batted in. He has spent this season at two different levels at AA Hartford and AAA Albuquerque. He only played 17 games in Albuquerque but was batting .484 with five homeruns and 16 RBI's when he got the call. He hit a combined .314 with 18 homeruns and 61 RBI's between the two stops.

Dahl is considered a five tool prospect by most scouts and he will get a chance to prove himself at the major league level for the rest of the season. Dahl's recall before the trade deadline frees the Rockies up to make some moves. The Rockies still have a slight chance at the second wild card spot as they are 5 1/2 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Mets. The Rockies need pitching. Dahl could potentially be trade bait.

Rookie of the Year

Ex-Asheville Tourists shortstop is still making headlines in his rookie season and has to be considered the frontrunner for the National League Rookie of the Year Award. He his two more homeruns last night against the Atlanta Braves giving him 26 on the season to go along with 67 runs batted in. He also has a .272 batting average and has made some highlight reel, ESPN worthy defensive plays as well.

I first mentioned Trevor Story in one of my Asheville Tourists blog on February 25th as he battled for the Colorado Rockies starting shortstop job in Spring Training. He has taken the major leagues by storm this season showing extreme power, a solid glove, and he is also has above average speed on the bases.

Story's emergence allowed the Rockies to cut Jose Reyes loose and Reyes ended up rejoining the New York Mets and playing a little bit of third base. Reyes has also flashed a little bit of power in his return but I would say the advantage in this exchange went to the Rockies.

The Asheville Tourists at the All Star Break

The Asheville Tourists finished the first half of the South Atlantic League season with a 34-35 record, eight games behind Southern Division winner, the Charleston RiverDogs. The Asheville Tourists had an up and down first half in the wins and losses column but after a very slow start when they only were only batting .209 after their first five games, the Tourists caught fire and lead the South Atlantic League in batting with a .276 average and 351 runs scored.

The Tourists also placed four players on the South Atlantic League's Southern Division All Star squad lead by the South Atlantic League's leading hitter Brian Mundell. He leads the South Atlantic League in several categories including hitting, with a .351 average and 31 doubles. Shortstop Brendan Rodgers is fifth in the South Atlantic League with eight homeruns and 34 runs batted in. Outfielders Yonathan Daza, .322 batting average, and Sam Hilliard, with a .286 batting, five homeruns and 33 runs batted in. He also has six outfield assists.

The Asheville Tourists pitching ranks near the bottom of the South Atlantic League with a 4.31 Earned Run Average and 344 runs allowed. Starters Peter Lambert tops the starters with a 2.25 Earned Run Average but he has only pitched 60 innings in his 13 starts and the Rockies organization is content to build his arm strength. Starter Jack Wynkoop has compiled a 6-3 record with a respectable 3.47 ERA. Primary closer Sam Thoele has 11 saves with a 2.89 Earned Run Average.

Still A Story

I started following the rise of Rockies shortstop and former Asheville Tourist Trevor Story from the beginning of spring training as he competed to make the Opening Day roster of the Colorado Rockies. I still got no credit for following him from the beginning of Spring Training but it wasn't like I predicted the season Trevor Story would be having. Story has cooled off quite a bit from his record breaking start of seven homeruns in his first six games as he has only hit seven over the course of the next 40 plus games. He is still second on the Rockies with 14 homeruns and second with 36 runs batted in but he does lead the National League with 76 strikeouts in just over 200 at bats.

Story has to be considered one of the early front runners for the National League Rookie of the Year. The player that Story replaced in the lineup, veteran shortstop Jose Reyes, will be coming off his suspension on June 1 and Reyes begins a rehab assignment in the minors to get himself back in game shape and to work on his timing. It will be interesting to see how the Rockies handle Reyes return and how it affects Story's playing time.

Offensively, Story and Reyes play two totally different games. Story bring much more power to the table whereas Reyes brings speed and defense to the Rockies lineup.

On The Fly

The less I write about the Asheville Tourists, the better they seem to play. After a slow start to the season which netted the Tourists only one win in the first week of the season and a team batting average that was barely above the Mendoza line, the Tourists have rebounded with a vengeance leading the league in batting with a .280 average and leading the league in runs scored. They have also moved themselves up into second place in the South Atlantic League's Southern Division.

The Tourists have five players batting over .300 led by third baseman Josh Fuentes' .398. He was a late addition to the Tourists roster after opening the season with the Advance A Modesto Nuts. First baseman Brian Mundell at .348, catcher Hamlet Marte who has only appeared in 20 games but is hitting .321, outfielder Yonathan Daza is next at .319, and #1 overall Rockies prospect Brendan Rodgers is batting .309 with a team leading eight homeruns and 33 runs batted in in only 37 games.

The pitching is led by Jack Wynkoop's six wins and reliever Sam Thoele's 11 saves. The Asheville Tourists sport a team ERA of 4.16 which is near the bottom of the South Atlantic League but there is a McCormick Field factor that has to be examined.

The Home Opener

The Asheville Tourists were able to snap a five game losing streak against the Rome Braves in their home opener winning 5-4 in ten innings in walk off fashion. The Tourists faced a 4-0 deficit going into the bottom of the seventh inning as they only managed two hits in six innings off of Rome starter Max Fried. The Tourists cut it to 4-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning and an infield pop fly from centerfielder Mylz Jones that fell between the Rome pitcher and the third baseman and plated Jonathan Piron with the tying run. In the bottom of the tenth inning, Sam Hilliard hit a one out double to left field, was moved over to third base on a fly ball to right by Piron, and scored on a fly ball by Max George that landed in between the Rome leftfielder and third baseman, just a few feet fair.

This was not the offensive explosion I was hoping for but the Tourists still got 11 hits, nine of those in the last four innings. Starter Jack Wynkoop gave up three runs (all in the first inning) in six innings and relievers Drasen Johnson and Juan Pena pitched two innings a piece and only gave up one run between them.

The Tourists really needed this win after losing six of seven on the road to begin the season and a walk off win is a great way to start a home stand.

A Pitcher's Duel

The Asheville Tourists offensive slump continued last night as they lost 2-1 to the Charleston River Dogs. The Tourists only had six hits in the loss but only left four men on base and were zero for two with men in scoring position. The runners were just not out there for them to score. The Tourists got another strong pitching performance from right hander David Hill (six innings, one run) but he did not factor in the decision.

It is too early in the season for Tourists fans to be hitting the panic button as far as the offense goes and hopefully a return home on Thirsty Thursday will bring the bats out of their slump. The Tourists have finished near the top of the South Atlantic League for the past several seasons under hitting coach Mike Devereaux and I believe that they will come out of their slump very soon.

Offense As Cold As The Mountain Air

The Asheville Tourists have gotten a slow start to the season only winning one game out of their first five. The offense has only scored 15 runs in five games and were shut out by the Charleston River Dogs in their latest effort. The team is only batting .209 and the Tourists are near the bottom of the South Atlantic League in runs scored. The pitching has not fared well either as their 4.61 ERA is second to the last in the league.

The Tourists have two more games in Charleston before they have their home opener on "Thirsty Thursday" in the friendly confines of McCormick Field. If anything will get the Tourists offense going, it ids playing a few games at home.

First

I just want to say I was one of the first to start following Asheville Tourist alumni and current Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story as he began spring training trying to earn a spot on the Colorado Rockies roster. I, nor anyone else for that matter, predicted the kind of success that he is having. Seven homeruns in his first six major league games. It is almost redundant to list all of the records he has set. Throw in a .333 batting average and 12 runs batted in, and he is the National League Player of the Week.

Baseball bloggers and writers are a dime a dozen. My baseball blogs blog have not captured anyone's attention and probably won't but I can say that I was one of the first (if not the first) to start following Trevor Story. I started out spring training writing about several ex-Asheville Tourists that had a chance to make the team but Story's name is the one that kept appearing at the top of the list. Story is the #11 ranked Rockies prospect and he wasn't even on the team's radar for this season. Story had a very good camp and throw in Jose Reyes' legal problems and Story emerged as the starting shortstop. He knocked the rest of it out of the ballpark.

The Season Opener

The Asheville Tourists started their 2016 season on the road against the Greenville Drive at Fluor Field. The Tourists dropped the opener 4-3 giving up the deciding two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Tourists starter David Hill pitched six strong innings only giving up two earned runs, striking out seven and walking only one.

Top Rockies draft pick, shortstop Brendan Rodgers, went one for three in his Tourists debut with a double and a walk. Leadoff hitter Mylz Jones got two of the Tourists five hits but was picked off first base and was caught stealing.

The Story Turning Into Legend

Ex-Asheville Tourist Trevor Story hit two homeruns off of Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke in his major league debut on Opening Day leading the Colorado Rockies to a 10-5 win in the season opener. Story hit the first pitch Greinke threw to him in the third inning for a three-run homer for his first major league hit and hit a monstrous solo homerun in the fourth inning that traveled well over 400 feet. The first homerun came off an outside fastball that Story took to the opposite field and the second homerun was on an inside breaking pitch that Story pulled into the left field stands.

That is a historical debut for a player that is only the #11 ranked prospect in the Rockies organization. Story hit these homeruns off major league veteran and former Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke. Granted, there is probably not a "book" on how to pitch to Story yet but Story's power display was impressive nonetheless.

Another ex-Asheville Tourist I have been following this spring, Cristhian Adames, got into the game at second base but went hitless in three at bats.

The Asheville Tourists Opening Day Roster

The Asheville Tourists announced their Opening Day Roster and the Colorado Rockies are unlike most other major league baseball teams in that their top prospects are playing in the higher levels of their minor league system. Most of the Rockies top 30 prospects have already passed through Asheville at some point and time and played for the Tourists.

Mlb.com has shortstop Brendan Rogers as the #1 ranked prospect in the Rockies system and he will start the season in Asheville with the Tourists. The Tourists will have several other top prospects start the season with the team. Pitcher Peter Lambert (#16) and infielder Jonathan Piron (#29) also made the top thirty prospects list.

The Tourists will also have several top draft picks of the Rockies start the season with them. Pitchers David Hill (second round), Parker French (fifth round), Jack Wynkoop (sixth round), and Trey Killian (ninth round). Lambert and those four pitchers are expected to form the Tourists starting rotation to start the season.

The Tourists are going to carry 13 pitchers and 12 position players to open the season. They are also only going to carry three outfielders with middle infielder Mylz Jones also being able to play the outfield. Jones spent 2015 with Grand Junction in the Rookie League and he played every position except for pitcher, catcher, and first base. Jones has already filled the Rockies criteria for positional versatility.

Opening Day Roster

Two ex-Asheville Tourists that I have been following since the beginning of training camp have made the Colorado Rockies Opening Day roster. Trevor will open the season as the Rockies starting shortstop and Cristhian Adames has made the roster as a backup infielder. When Story starts tonight, it will be his first appearance in the major leagues. Adames has made brief appearances with the Rockies in 2014 and '15 totaling 33 games, batting .206 with three runs batted in.

Major league rosters are always in a state of flux. The Rockies put six players on the Disabled List and as the players come off the Disabled List, moves will have to be made. Infielder Daniel Descalso is on the Disabled List with a fracture of his left hand and shortstop Jose Reyes is still on the Restricted List and both of these players play shortstop. When these players are eligible to come off the Disabled List, moves will have to be made that could affect the status of Story and Adames.

Breaking Camp

Two days before the Colorado Rockies season opener and the Colorado Rockies do not have still their 25 man roster set. The Rockies are going to start the season with 13 position players and 12 pitchers. There are still 17 pitchers on the roster and 14 position players.

Brandon Barnes is still being considered for a roster spot as the fifth outfielder but the Rockies believe in positional versatility and infielders Ben Paulsen and Mark Reynolds can play the outfield. Ex-Asheville Tourist Trevor Story will begin the season as the starting shortstop and it looks like Cristhian Adames has made the roster as a backup middle infielder. Tony Wolters has won the backup catching job in spite of the fact the highest level he has played at is AA.

The Rockies announced that they have released former 2010 first round draft pick (#26 overall), ex-Asheville Tourist, and ex-Clemson football and baseball star Kyle Parker. Parker was in camp as a non-roster invitee. He batted .182 with three homeruns and 12 runs batted in 64 major league games between 2014 and '15. He spent 2011 with the Asheville Tourists and batted .285 with 21 homeruns and 95 RBI's. He batted .290 with 91 homeruns in 563 minor league games. He was never able to translate his minor league success to the major leagues. He is only 26 years old and I hope another major league team picks him up.

The Story of Rockies Camp

Ex-Asheville Tourist Trevor Story will open the season as the Colorado Rockies starting shortstop on April 2nd. He was informed by Manager Walt Weiss this week that he won the job. He won the job in camp on the strength of his batting .354 and he is tied for the team lead in home runs with six and second in runs batted in with 13. He also displayed a solid glove and made several highlight reel plays.

Another former Tourist Cristhian Adames' chances of making the opening day roster were increased this week when utility man Rafael Ynoa was sent to minor league camp in spite of the fact that Ynoa batted .357. Adames ability to play multiple positions will be a factor in the decision. Veteran shortstop Daniel Descalso has been injured for the majority of camp giving Adames more of an opportunity to display his game.

Incumbent shortstop Jose Reyes' legal troubles appeared to come to an end just in time for the beginning of the regular season as the domestic abuse case against him was dropped. Reyes is still under suspension by Major League Baseball until they decide whether his case warrants a suspension or not. Once Major League Baseball renders a decision, Reyes will spend some time in extended spring training and go on a rehab assignment in the minors before he is brought up to the Rockies.

And The Starting Shortstop Is....

Ex-Asheville Tourist Trevor Story has impressed in the Colorado Rockies camp with his bat- .333 batting average and he leads the team with four homeruns and is tied for the lead with 11 RBI's- but he has also impressed with his glove. He made a play the other day against the Seattle Mariners where he dove for a groundball in the hole and threw the runner out at first. The play made the rounds on the internet.

Cristhian Adames has also impressed with his ability to play multiple positions and he has also had a decent camp with his bat- .263 with two homeruns and six RBI's- and has made a strong argument to at least make the opening day roster.

The Position Players

Out of all of the position players that the Colorado Rockies brought to camp, ex-Asheville Tourists outfielder Raimel Tapia and shortstop Trevor Story have had the best training camps. Tapia has batted .385 with three RBI's thus far in camp. The highest level he has played at is high Class A at Modesto last season where he batted .305 with 12 homeruns and 71 RBI's. He was not expected to break camp with the Rockies but he has made a good impression with his play.

Story has the opportunity to break camp as the Rockies starting shortstop due to the legal issues surrounding Jose Reyes and he has had an impressive camp. Story is batting .321 and leads the Rockies with four homeruns and ten RBI's and has impressed with his glove as well. Story came into camp as the #11 ranked Rockies prospect according to mlbpipeline.com.

Two players who have not had good camps are catcher Tom Murphy and third baseman Ryan McMahon. Murphy was fighting for the back up job to Nick Hundley but none of the potential candidates- Dustin Garneau, Ryan Casteel, or Murphy- have really hit in camp. Murphy only has two hits for a .095 average but both of his hits were homeruns. Ryan McMahon has gone hitless in 12 at bats with six strikeouts.

The Farm System

MLBPipeline.com ranked the Colorado Rockies farm system as the #4 minor league system in baseball. The majority of the Rockies top prospects come through Asheville and play for the Tourists at some point and time. Several prospects in camp with the Rockies now have a chance to make the opening day roster. I have detailed several of those prospects in this blog and will continue to follow them throughout camp. Spring training is a month long process and there is a lot of weeding out to do between the contenders and the pretenders.

A Story To Tell

Shortstop and former Asheville Tourist and number one draft pick Trevor Story got his chance at shortstop in the Colorado Rockies second spring training game and he responded at the plate with a three run homer. Story has the most power of any of the candidates at shortstop, including Jose Reyes. Outfielder David Dahl also got into the action and he banged out two hits and drove in a run. Christhian Adames got in some playing time at second base and he had a hit and also scored a run. Eddie Butler was the only pitcher of note as he pitched two innings and gave up two runs.

Opportunities

Spring training got cranked up with the first game against the Arizona Diamondbacks and several ex-Tourists are getting the early opportunity to state their case for making the opening day roster. Ramiel Tapia, who played at high A Modesto last season, had the best performance of the ex-Tourists getting two hits and scoring a run. Will Swanner got some time in at first base and also banged out a hit.

Former Tourist hurler Tyler Matzek had a rough first outing as he faced five Diamondbacks hitters and didn't retire any of them. He gave up three hits and walked two before he was lifted. Tyler Anderson fared a little better as he went two innings and gave up four hits and three runs. He struck out three. Matt Carasiti pitched one inning gave up a hit and struck out one and Carlos Estevez struck out the side in his one inning pitched.

A Good Start

A couple of ex-Asheville Tourists got off to a good start in the Colorado Rockies first intrasquad scrimmage of the spring. Catcher Tom Murphy, battling for the backup catching job behind Nick Hundley, deposited a German Marquez pitch over the right field fence and shortstop Trevor Story had an RBI double and single and made a stellar defensive play up the middle. Story is battling for the shortstop job until starter Jose Reyes legal issues are resolved. New York Yankees reliever Aroldis Chapman was recently suspended for 30 days for an incident involving domestic violence.

Former Tourists Scheduled To Pitch

Two former Asheville Tourists, Antonio Senzatela and Carlos Estevez, are acheduled to pitch in the Colorado Rockies intrasquad scrimmage on March 1. Antonio Senzatela spent 2014 with the Asheville Tourists going 15-2 with a 3.12 ERA in 26 starts. Senzatela is the Rockies #13 ranked prospect according to MLB.com. Relief pitcher Carlos Estevez also spent 2014 with the Tourists appearing in 33 games, going 1-3 with a 4.72 ERA.

Two left handed starting pitchers and candidates for the Rockies starting rotation, Tyler Matzek and Tyler Anderson, are scheduled to appear in the Rockies Cactus League Opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Matzek pitched for the Tourists in 2010 and 2011 going 10-5 in 30 starts over the two seasons. He has started 24 games for the Rockies over the past two seasons with an 8-12 record and a 4.06 ERA. Anderson pitched for the Tourists in 2012 and had a 12-3 record with a 2.47 ERA in 20 stars. He missed all of 2015 due to an elbow injury.

Battle Of The Shortstops

Due to Jose Reyes suspension by Major League Baseball because of legal issues, the Colorado Rockies have an unexpected battle shaping up to be the starting shortstop. There are four players vying for the position and the two with the most major league experience, Daniel Descalso and Rafael Ynoa, filled utility man roles for Colorado last season. Descalso got into 101 games but only got 185 at bats and he hit .205 with five homeruns and 22 RBI's. Ynoa got into 72 games but only had 127 at bats and batted .260 with zero homeruns and nine RBI's.

Two former Asheville Tourists shortstops will get a long look in spring training as well, Cristhian Adames and Trevor Story. Adames spent 2011 with the Asheville Tourists where he batted .273 with eight homeruns and 44 RBI's. He has made it into a few games with the Rockies over the past two seasons. In 2014 he appeared in seven games and had one hit in 15 at bats. In 2015, he got into 26 games and batted .245 with zero homeruns with three RBI's.

Trevor Story may get the longest look because the Rockies have been grooming him for a major league position since they drafted him in the first round out of a Texas high school in 2011. He has an advantage over the rest of the competition because he can hit for power. He was the Asheville Tourists starting shortstop in 2012 and he hit .277 with 18 homeruns and 63 RBI's. Story split 2015 between AA New Britain and AAA Albuquerque where he batted around .280 and hit 20 homerun's with 80 RBI's between the two stops. This is Story's sixth season in the Rockies organization and he has climbed steadily through the ranks. The Rockies like versatility in their players so Story has also gotten starts at third base and second base in the minors. Story is also more of a stolen base threat than the other three candidates as he stole 22 bases and was only caught three times in the minors last season.

The Colorado Rockies brass has made it clear that whoever is most likely to help the team in Reyes absence will win the role and major league service time has nothing to do with the decision. If Story wins the job in spring training, he can join another Asheville Tourist alumnus, third baseman Nolan Arenado, in holding down the left side of the infield for the Rockies.

Catcher Town

The Colorado Rockies have nine catchers in camp this spring and five of those have spent time behind the plate for the Asheville Tourists. Dustin Garneau (2011), Ryan Casteel and Will Swanner (2012), Tom Murphy (2013), and Dom Nunez (2015), are all alumni of the Asheville Tourists. Casteel, Swanner, and Nunez are all non-roster invitees and are in camp just to get some extra work in.

Barring injury, Nick Hundley will be the Rockies starting catcher going in to the 2016 season. The job to be his backup is wide open. Both Garneau and Murphy got looks at the end of last season. Garneau only batted .157 in 70 at bats before getting injured and Murphy batted .257 with three homeruns and nine RBI's in 35 at bats in a late September call up. Murphy has hit with power at all of his stops in the minors and I look for Murphy to have a strong spring for the Rockies and to take control of the backup catching job.

The Youth Movement

The Colorado Rockies invited 24 players to spring training as non-roster invitees. Teams usually invited a good mix of veterans and young players to spring training. The veteran players are trying to latch on with big league clubs and the clubs are looking for someone that may be able to help them out at some time during the season and for organizational depth. The teams also want to take a look at some young players, most not ready for the majors yet, and give them extra time in a big league camp to work with the coaches and major league players.

The Colorado Rockies decided to go with a youth movement with their non-roster invitees as 21 of the 24 players are players from within their own system. One of those players is catcher Dom Nunez, who spent last season as the catcher for the Asheville Tourists. Nunez was drafted as a middle infielder and that was what he played his first two seasons at Grand Junction playing. The decision was made to convert him to catcher and he played 99 games at catcher for the Tourists. He showed a good bat batting over .280 with 13 homeruns and 53 RBI's. Nunez does not have the prototypical size for a catcher weighing in at only 175 pounds but his ability to play multiple positions will help him out in the Rockies organization.

Back For More

The Asheville Tourists announced that their management team will remain the same for the 2016 season. Returning are Manager Warren Schaefer, Hitting Coach Mike Devereaux, Pitching Coach Mark Brewer, and Development Supervisor Marv Foley. The Tourists had an overall record of 72-67 and earned a playoff berth facing Savannah in the first round and before losing to the Hickory Crawdads for the South Atlantic League championship.

Continuity is very important in the lower levels of minor league baseball where the game of professional baseball is really taught. The basic fundamentals of baseball should already be instilled but learning how to be a professional baseball player begins at these levels.