Pacheco bat will play and Rockies Prospects

Jordan Pacheco a strong bat for bench

Jordan Pacheco hit a two-run homer (#2 on the season) and Dexter Fowler doubled in a run to drive the Rockies to a win at home over Florida in the series finale. Colorado won despite starter Drew Pomeranz walking four and giving up a homer in but four innings of work.

Rockies' Notes

Pacheco is hitting .312 now and his bat looks like it will keep him in the majors. Without more power output though, he's a quality reserve bat, not a starter.

Fowler is hitting .302 on the season and has a career-high 12 homers and yet, he has a shockingly-low total of doubles - 14. How can one hit .302 as a starter and not have more extra-base hits? A season ago, he had 35 doubles.

Pomeranz returned to the majors in early July and has since made eight starts. His ERA over that span is 5.25. He has 30 strikeouts, 12 walks, and has given up five homers in 37 2/3 innings.

Josh Rutledge has hit very well (.331) as a rookie but made his ninth error in 31 games.

More Guthrie

Jeremy Guthrie rolling with Royals

Former Rockies' pitcher Jeremy Guthrie gave up two unearned runs over seven innings on Sunday, lowering his ERA as a Royal to 3.23 over six starts. Big advantage - Royals.

What's shocking is that no team in the playoff race realized Guthrie was not as bad a pitcher as he looked like for the Rockies and had only been run down with Colorado for part of one season. He was destined to bounce back and yet only Kansas City interested the Rockies enough to make a trade for a "cooked" or injured Jonathan Sanchez.

The Rockies sold low, yes, but somehow still lost the trade, even if Guthrie signs with another team other than Kansas City for 2013.

Rockies' Prospects Spotlight

Double-A third baseman Nolan Arenado singled and homered (#11). Arenado might only be hitting .275 on the season but in August he's been much better, clubbing at a .362 clip in 17 games.

Kyle Parker

High-A outfielder Kyle Parker homered (#20) again, his seventh round-tripper in his last seven games. Parker surprisingly only hits lefties at a .278 rate but against righthanders, he hits .320 and has 17 homers.

Parker's teammate, Christian Bergman, was awful, giving up 10 runs in 2 2/3 innings. His ERA over his last five starts, and that includes one stellar six-inning-no-run stint, is 9.59.

Shortstop Trevor Story cooled off a little for Low-A Asheville, collecting just one hit Sunday but it was his 38th double of the season. In the field, however, he made his 21st error.

Catcher Wilfredo Rodriguez, a 2012 draftee, and 18-year old Puerto Rican, bumped his average to an impressive .343 at rookie-level Grand Junction with the help of his play in August, where he has hit at a .422 clip. He has but two homers on the season but he's making plus-contact.

Eddie Butler

Eddie Butler keeps throwing well at Grand Junction. He threw six innings of one-run ball, striking out six, walking none. He lowered his ERA to 2.45 on the season and 2.05 in August. At home, he's a monster, with an ERA of 0.59 in six games and five starts.