Minor League Notebook

By John Manuel
April 2, 2004

The Rockies are keenly aware of their challenge. Developing pitching for an organization that plays its big league games at Coors Field has proven a daunting task, and the track record of the organization over its first 11 seasons doesn't inspire confidence.

No Rockies starting pitcher has been able to string together consecutive strong seasons in Coors, and the ballpark has humbled all comers, from Darryl Kile and Mike Hampton to Aaron Cook and Jason Jennings, the 2002 National League rookie of the year.

The most effective pitchers the Rockies have produced on their own are Jennings and Shawn Chacon, who moves into the closer role this season. Taiwanese righty Chin-Hui Tsao--the best arm the organization has developed yet--reached Colorado last season. Rocky Mountain News (and BA columnist) Tracy Ringolsby reports today that the club has decided to send Tsao to Triple-A Colorado Springs to start the 2004 season, as Denny Stark will start the year as Colorado's fifth starter.

Tsao skipped over Triple-A last year, getting promoted to Colorado after going 11-4, 2.46 in the Double-A Texas League. Now he'll report to Colorado Springs, joining a rotation that should also include Cook, righthander Jason Young and lefthander Corey Vance.

Each of those pitchers has had a shot at the big leagues, though, and Tsao looks like the best bet to make an impact. He's the leading edge of what the suddenly small-market Rockies hope is a wave of pitching prospects.

The wave has several different kinds of pitchers. Lefthander Jeff Francis, the team's first-round pick in 2002, relies on command of his fastball and finished 2003 strong, going 10-1, 1.06 in his last 13 starts. He's been solid this spring and should start the year in Double-A Tulsa.

Lefthander Zach Parker may have a higher ceiling than Francis, but needs to stay healthy enough to show it. He missed the second half of the 2003 season with bone spurs in his elbow, but he's healthy this spring and throwing well in spring training. Like Francis, Parker is a fastball-changeup southpaw who needs to develop either his curveball or slider into an average pitch. He'll most likely join Francis on the Tulsa roster.

"We'd just like to see him healthy," farm director Bill Geivett said. "He ran into some problems with his mechanics where he wasn't finishing off his delivery. Some of that is a strength thing, a conditioning thing. For a young pitcher, though, what's so encouraging with Zach is how he commands the fastball."

While Parker and Francis have average velocity, Dominican righthander Ubaldo Jimenez brings heat, registering in the 96-97 range with his four-seam fastball and in the low-90s with his two-seam sinker. Having just turned 20, Jimenez is ticketed for Class A Visalia after a solid spring.

"He's certainly got a live power arm," Geivett said. "What I'm excited about is how he has an advanced feel for the curveball at an early age. You don't see too many 20 year olds from anywhere who have that kind of feel for that pitch. He's a guy who just needs experience."

The Rockies hope that as young pitchers like Jimenez, Francis and Parker gain more experience, the organization will be able to experience what it's like to have a homegrown rotation.

SPRING CHICKENS

• One of the most impressive minor leaguers in Rockies camp this spring has been outfielder Joe Gaetti, a 12th-round pick out of North Carolina State. Gaetti had several injuries last season that interrupted his college season and then cut short his debut at short-season Tri-City after 116 at-bats. "He's showing power to all fields, and he's really been swinging the bat well this spring," Geivett said of the son of Gary Gaetti, who hit .276-4-9 last season. "He plays all-out every day and has had a really good spring." Geivett said Gaetti probably will start the season at Class A Asheville, though he could join the Tourists' 2003 star, Jeff Salazar, at Visalia.

• Cubs farm director Oneri Fleita confirmed that two of the organization's most prized young arms will begin the season on the disabled list. Righty Jae-Kuk Ryu and lefthander Justin Jones (the Cubs' No. 2 prospect) likely will miss most of April with what Fleita termed elbow soreness. "It's not that they came in out of shape," Fleita said, "but they both have run into some setbacks. They're going to be a little sidetracked. Our trainers want us to be conservative with them."

• The 2003 draft featured two college closers in the Reds' Ryan Wagner and the Expos' Chad Cordero who reached the big leagues last year. Giants righthander David Aardsma, also a first-rounder, sometimes gets left out of the discussion, but he's not far from reaching San Francisco either. The hard-throwing righty was expected to start his first full season at Double-A Norwich, but had allowed just two earned runs while striking out five in 7 1/3 innings in big league camp.

• BA correspondent Bill Shaikin reports the Angels are breaking up their double-play duo of the last two seasons, with Alberto Callaspo being promoted to Double-A Arkansas and moving from second base to shortstop. The move and promotion separate him from running mate Erick Aybar, who will play short at Class A Rancho Cucamonga. Callaspo's move to short also has moved Tommy Murphy to center field and Brian Specht to second base.

• Prior to the 2000 season, outfielder Abraham Nunez ranked 30th on Baseball America's Top 100 prospects. The previous offseason, the Diamondbacks and Marlins had wrangled over his inclusion as the player to be named in the Matt Mantei deal that also brought Brad Penny to Florida. Nunez has gotten older--caught up in age-gate, he's 27, three years older than was through back in 2000. He's also finally started to get better. After seeming to stall in Triple-A the last two seasons, Nunez had hit eight home runs this spring, right on time considering that he's out of options. He seems likely to break camp as a reserve outfielder in Florida.

• The Tigers made the Cody Ross for Steve Colyer deal for a simple reason today--they want to avoid a repeat of 2003 in Detroit. "We like Ross," said Steve Boros, a special assistant to GM Dave Dombrowski, "but we need to win some in Detroit, and to do that, we needed another lefthander in the bullpen." The Tigers sent down Eric Eckenstahler from big league camp and intend to keep lefties such as Rob Henkel, Will Ledezma and Nate Robertson in starting roles. Robertson threw well enough in a big league game Thursday that he may have won the fifth-starter's job in Detroit, while Henkel and Ledezma will join righties Kenny Baugh, who has touched 91 mph with his fastball this spring, and Preston Larrison in the Double-A Erie rotation. Righthander Kyle Sleeth, the organization's first-round pick in 2003, will join them later in the year after starting in the warm weather at Class A Lakeland.