Asheville (Low A) | RoxHead.com

Story's about the Tourists:

6/10/10
With the additions of Chris Balcolm-Miller and Tyler Matzek and the improved Juan Gonzalez, the rotation has finally gotten better..

4/20/10
The starters are horrible.. No ranked pitchers started the season in the rotation and its showing as the whole group is struggling.

4/6/10
Roster is set.

1/17/10
2010 projected team is up.

This level is always the hardest to project because the team is seeded from two rookie league clubs and numerous left overs players from different spots in the farm system (some being injury rehabs while others are level repeaters). With that in mind, there could be a error rate as much as 50%, however, I'm not usually that wrong.

First round pick, Tyler Matzek, anchors a decent staff. The outfield also looks strong.

9/24/09
Right-hander Parker Frazier underwent Tommy John surgery Tuesday. The ligament transplant procedure on Frazier's right elbow was performed by Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala. insidetherockies.com

9/4/09
Tourists go from last place in the 1st half to 1st place in the 2nd half of 2009.

8/18/09
Parker Frazier, who has pitched extremely well recently for low Class A Asheville, pitched three innings Monday and then left after throwing his final pitch at 92 mph and experiencing soreness in his flexor tendon. insidetherockies.com

update: Low Class A Asheville pitching prospect Parker Frazier, who has a tear in the flexor tendon in his right elbow, is in Denver where he will be examined Thursday by Dr. Thomas Noonan, the Rockies medical director. insidetherockies.com

7/02/09
Single-A Asheville manager Joe Mikulik will be inducted into the South Atlantic League Hall of Fame.
Mikulik is the all-time winningest manager in Asheville history, having recently recorded his 700th win with the Tourists. The 2009 season marks his 10th consecutive season managing the Rockies Lo-A affiliate.

Mikulik has managed the SAL All-Star Game on four occasions (2000, 2002, 2007, 2008) and has been named the SAL Manager of the Year three times (2001, 2007, 2008). He began his coaching career as a player/coach at Double-A Canton-Akron in 1995. Before that, Mikulik enjoyed a playing career that spanned 12 seasons, primarily in the Houston Astros organization. Insidetherockies.com

6/07/09
When writing or talking about the minor leagues, one generally waves off the win/loss aspect of the season because the main objective of the farm is about on field development. Yes, wins are nice because you get into the playoffs which is very good experience, but if the team doesn't' make the post season, then it isn't fretted too much by the front office.

Losses are not worried about too much either... however, at some point, if the loss column begins to grow at a alarming rate, then some attention must be given because excess losing is never good to a young professional psychic.

And this is where we are with the Tourists. They are losing way too much. Losing at this pace can not be tolerated.

5/3/09
Asheville manager Joe Mikulik comments about catcher Jordan Pacheco:
"His offensive approach is really sound and he just stays pretty consistent. He stays within himself throughout his at-bats and he's working hard catching. … Offensively, he's got his own style and doesn't pull off the ball too much. He really uses the whole field, which is pretty good at this level." Citizen Times. com

4/25/09
Center fielder Delta Cleary and first baseman Kiel Roling are finally on the team after rehabbing injuries. Look for both of them to zoom up the rankings.

4/20/09
Assigned to Low-A: IF Erik Wetzel

4/17/09
Modesto infielder Matt Repec will be out two to three weeks after dislocating his left shoulder. Infielder Maikol Gonzalez was moved up from Asheville.

Center fielder Delta Cleary (hamstring), first baseman Kiel Roling (quadriceps) are expected to finish their rehabilitation in extended spring training and move up to low Class A Asheville within the week. Infielder Erik Wetzel (lower back) was scheduled to play today and Saturday and travel Sunday to join the Tourists. Inside the Rockies.com

4/16/09
Early standout:
Even though he is hitting a measly .238, catcher Jordan Pacheco already has 9 RBI. Now that's what I mean by making your hits count.

4/14/09
David Christensen continues to struggle as a pro. In 11 at bats this season he has 8 strikeouts and only 1 hit. He has yet to show any sign that he can hit with any kind of consistency since he was drafted in the second round of the 2006 draft.

4/12/09
Dan Houston is slated to make his first start of the season for Asheville. If he throws a perfect game, everyone in attendance will split a $1 million prize, part of the Tourists' Mega Money Monday promotion. Citizen-Times.com

4/3/09
Asheville announces their roster here.

The starting rotation includes lefthander Christian Friedrich and righthanders Robinson Fabian, Parker Frazier, Dan Houston and Ethan Hollingsworth.

4/1/09
Thanks goes out to reader Mike for pointing out that infielder, Zack Murry, has been released.

This was confirmed by both The Chanute Tribune and Baseball America.com.

1/18/09
The Asheville projection is up.

Figuring out the Asheville team is always hard because it draws from the two Rookie level clubs, plus holdovers from the previous year. Players who you may think should be here are instead held back in extended spring training in order to hone their skills with more intense instruction and basic drills. For instance, many think that super prospect, Delta Cleary, will certainly start in the Asheville outfield, but that would be wrong. They'll hold him in Tucson and blast him with baseball think for 3 months before sending him off to Tri-City.

The strangest deal may be the starting firstbaseman. Kiel Roling was drafted just last year as a catcher. We thought it was a bad pick because he is a horrible defensive catcher and would have been a better choice for a AL team. This deficiency, however, actually helped Roling's professional career because the coaching staff found themselves a hidden firstbaseman.

The starting rotation is iffy. I have no idea whether or not its going to look like the one above or not.

I don't think this years team will be nearly as good as last years. The 2008 Asheville playoff team had a lot of college players who were more advanced than this one, however, let's not worry too much as wins and losses come secondary to development at the low A level.

The only player I see who could be a mid season promotion candidate would be RF, Charlie Blackmon.

12/3/08
Team projections due the 2nd half of Jan.

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