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.