Colorado Rockies 2018 minor league awards
Colorado Rockies Minor League Pitcher of the Year: Rico Garcia
Level(s): high-A Lancaster, AA Hartford
Stats: 13-9, 27 G, 26 GS, 167 IP, 2.96 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 42/162 BB/K
Rico Garcia was drafted by the Colorado Rockies out of Hawaii Pacific University in the 30th round in 2016. After moving well in 2017, he opened in high-A in 2018, finishing with 11 AA starts.
Garcia was able to keep the ball in the zone while also picking up plenty of strikeouts and using weak contact to his advantage. His big thing to worry on is the 20 home runs allowed, but he did allow 12 of those in the hitter-friendly Cal League.
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Runners-up
Garcia may have had the top stat line, but the guy who is the top prospect in the Colorado Rockies farm system on the pitching side is Peter Lambert, who was drafted out of high school in the 2nd round in 2015 and found himself all the way up to AAA in 2018 for 11 starts. Combined on the season, he posted a 3.28 ERA over 148 innings, also posting a 1.21 WHIP and 27/106 BB/K.
The Colorado Rockies drafted Garrett Schilling in the 18th round in 2017, and after struggling some in the Northwest League, Schilling had a solid season with low-A Asheville in 2018. He tossed 144 1/3 innings, posting a 3.87 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, and 45/135 BB/K ratio.
Big 6’6″ righty Heath Holder was drafted in 2016 in the 25th round out of the University of Georgia. He’s moved up quickly through the system, working as a multi-inning reliever. In 2018, he posted a 9-2 record over 46 games, tossing 85 2/3 innings, with a 3.57 ERA, but also with a 1.09 WHIP and a 30/117 BB/K ratio.
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The Colorado Rockies made the postseason and won the Wild Card game in their 2018 season. They’re hoping their minor league system can produce the fill-ins needed to get back to the postseason in 2019.