Colorado Rockies Winter League Report

Aug 20, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Colorado Rockies catcher Wilin Rosario (20) celebrates hitting a home run during the third inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Colorado Rockies had a fairly well known group of players who were active in the Caribbean and Australian Winter Leagues including several ML regulars.

Possibly the biggest prospect name to play in winter ball for the Colorado Rockies is Cristhian Adames, a Dominican-born, 22-year-old infielder who had a mediocre season in Double-A Tulsa. He has the distinction of playing in two different offseason leagues this winter with 16 games in the Arizona Fall League and another 14 in the Dominican Winter League. In the DR, he hit only .209/.343/.302 but took seven walks and struck out only six times to go with a double and a home run in 43 at bats.

22-year-old catcher Ryan Casteel went down to Australia to play for the Melbourne Aces where he’s hitting an outstanding .317/.390/.583 and leading the ABL in home runs with nine. Casteel is definitely starting to show some power, hitting .270/.352/.523 with 22 home runs in High-A Modesto in 2013.

Outfielder Tyler Massey, 24, joined Casteel down in Melbourne and isn’t quite doing as well with a .244/.289/.303 line with four doubles, one home runs and six stolen bases. Massey had a solid year in Modesto (.267/.332/.425) and will look to reproduce his success going forward.

Second baseman Angelys Nina went down his home in the Dominican Republic and had 100 at bats in the DR with a .230/.267/.270 line. This came after a very strong year for the 25 year old in Double-A Tulsa with a .280/.331/.422 line with 10 home runs and 19 stolen bases.

Jordan Pacheco, 27, also went down to the Dominican Republic after splitting 2013 between the Rockies and their Triple-A affiliate in Colorado Springs. Pacheco couldn’t follow up his strong 2012 and hit .239/.276/.312 in the majors. In the Dominican, he hit .274/.354/.370 in 20 games with four doubles and one home run.

Robbie Perkins, a 19-year-old catcher from Canberra is playing for his hometown team in the Australian Baseball League, hitting .214/.288/.304 with four doubles and two home runs in 112 at bats. 2013 was Perkins’s first season of North American professional baseball and he hit .162/.234/.265 in 128 plate appearances for Grand Junction, the Rockies’ Pioneer League affiliate.

Another big leaguer, Wilin Rosario, has been playing at home in the Dominican. He only hit .175/.218/.340 in 2013 at bats but hit three doubles and four home runs. Rosario hit .292/.315/.486 with 21 home runs for Colorado this past season.

Jackson Williams, newly signed as a minor league free agent, played 14 games in the Dominican this winter. The 27-year-old catcher hit. 200/.273/.250 following a .230/.289/.356 season for Triple-A Fresno in the Giants’ organization.

Infielder Joey Wong, 25, is having a good winter playing for Perth in Australia. He’s hitting .260/.356/.339 with four doubles and two home runs in 127 at bats. Wong played for Double-A Tulsa this season, hitting .240/.304/.330 in 318 plate appearances.

Rafael Ynoa, signed as a minor league free agent, had a good Dominican season. He hit .333/.382/.511 with nine doubles, two triples and four home run in 141 at bats. Ynoa, 26, played for Double-A Chattanooga in the L.A. Dodgers’ system in 2013 and hit .267/.338/.370.

Richard Castillo, 24, was pitching for Lara in the Venezuelan Winter League and got roughed up, giving up 15 runs in 14 1/3 innings on 26 hits but only three walks (and nine strikeouts). Castillo was signed in the offseason as a minor league free agent and pitched at the Double-A and Triple-A level for the St. Louis Cardinals’ organization, starting 26 games and having a 4.08 ERA, 53 walks and 87 strikeouts in 147 2/3 innings.

31-year-old righty Manny Corpas also got lit up in the Venezuelan Winter League, throwing 11 2/3 innings in relief and giving up 12 earned run (two unearned runs) on 15 hits and eight walks with seven strikeouts. Corpas pitched out of the bullpen for both Colorado and Colorado Springs with slightly better numbers in the majors.

Carlos Hernandez, an undersized, 26-year-old lefty who had been with Oakland up until this offseason, pitched 49 2/3 innings in the Venezuelan Winter League. He posted a 5.80 ERA with a 1.45 WHIP with 15 walks and 36 strikeouts for the Tigres de Aragua. He pitched for Double-A Midland and Triple-A Sacramento for the A’s and threw 152 innings with an excellent 2.66 ERA, 142 hits against, 41 walks and 106 strikeouts.

27-year-old reliever Chris Martin, who was traded to the Rockies along with Franklin Morales in exchange for Jonathan Herrera, threw eight innings in the Dominican without allowing an earned run (just one unearned run). He struck out eight without walking anyone and only allowed six hits, earning six saves for Leones del Escogido. Martin has been very strong in relief since signing with the Red Sox after being scouted in the independent American Association in 2010.

Franklin Morales, the lynchpin in that deal that brought Martin to Colorado, was pitching for Caracas Lions in the Venezuelan league and made three appearances (including two starts), throwing 15 innings and giving up five runs, 15 hits, three walks and 12 strikeouts. The 27-year-old left-handed reliever had some solid numbers in the majors and the minors for the Red Sox and three of their affiliates.

27-year-old Juan Nicasio, a full-time member of the Rockies’ starting staff, made an additional five starts for Aguilas Cibaenas in his native Dominican Republic. He posted a 2.96 ERA with a 1.07 WHIP, just seven walks and 19 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings. Despite a 5.14 ERA in 157 2/3 innings for the Rockies, Nicasio underperformed his DIPS by having a 4.25 FIP and 4.32 xFIP.