Rockies score plenty but pitching counts too

Jeremy Guthrie performance failure

The Rockies did alright for themselves on Wednesday, scoring 6 times off strong Pittsburgh starter James McDonald. That's a productive day at the office.

The problem was, you guessed it, defective pitching. 

Jeremy Guthrie looked bad, giving up 6 runs, 4 earned in just 2 2/3 innings. Matt Reynolds followed him and fared poorly too - 3 runs allowed in 1 2/3 frames.

Today, that meant game over.

Guthrie's trade value, already battered, slipped again

How bad has Guthrie's 2012 been? Only 5 of his 14 starts (36 percent) have been what could be called acceptable-to-quality.

Carlos Gonzalez and Dexter Fowler homered, Jordan Pacheco and Josh Rutledge had 2 hits apiece and newbie had 3 hits and drove in 2 runs.

So the Rockies easily had enough offense. General manager Dan O'Dowd can't enough quality pitching and get it soon enough. The Rockies need to have an elite-caliber player, pitcher or hitter, available in the first round of the 2013 draft, preferably pitcher.

Rockies' Prospects Spotlight

Kyle Parker (photo, Modesto Bee)

The hottest hitter in the system right now is high-A outfielder Kyle Parker (no. 1 pick, 2010), who rapped out 3 hits Wednesday and is now 20-for-35 (.571) over his last 9 games.

In his last 5 games, he's even better - 15-for-21, which is a .714 clip.

He's seeing the ball well and making outstanding contact. There isn't much power there (only 4 extra-base hits in last 9 games) but it looks like Parker is rounding into form after an early-season injury. 

Outfielder Corey Dickerson hit .338 at High-A Modesto over 60 games to start the season and has now built his average to .290 at Double-A Tulsa. That might seem modest, and it is, but Dickerson is making adjustments to Texas-League pitching lately. He's 11-for-27 (.407) in his last 7 games. Dickerson's power, over .600 his first two years in the minors, is down this season to the .500s but he does have 35 doubles, 6 triples and 14 homers. His strike-zone defense and average are up which indicates to me he is a smarter, better hitter, meaning he should regain power down the road. He may not be an elite prospect but I remain strong on his stock and profile him as a starter at the MLB level.

Kent Matthes having poor season but hitting now

Outfielder Kent Matthes was a star at High-A last season (.334 with 39 doubles and 23 homers) before getting hurt. At Double-A this season he's tried to come back from injury and excel and it's been an uphill climb. His average has been under .200 for most of the season and his prospect status is not what it once was but Matthes seems to be finding some answers lately, hitting .357 (10-for-28) in his last 8 games. He has 5 extra-base hits, all homers. On the season, Matthes is hitting .207 with 16 doubles and 14 homers. He has a long ways to go to rebound sufficiently but his latest work is encouraging. 

Triple-A pitcher Alex White had a forgettable night at work, giving up 6 runs in 6 innings. He has a 4.73 ERA in 9 starts and has but 4 acceptable-to-good efforts. A rough 2012 campaign. More was expected from him. White must find effectiveness in the next year or he will likely become a bullpen arm in an attempt to salvage his talent as an asset. Right now, he's too hittable (46 hits in 45 2/3 innings), he's walking too many (20) and showing few signs of quality MLB-starter potential.