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.