Rockies spects run of bad luck?

[redsrbetter]

I have a theory. Major League Baseball has ruled that all baseballs used at Coors Field will be thrown in an incubator to try and limit the trajectory of the ball and its ability to travel further than at any other ballpark. While this is a good idea, to compensate for the altitude that you only see in Colorado, does this play a factor in the Rockies prospects who play in Colorado Springs?

I would like to find a 2006 rookie and compare his Sky Sox stats to his Rockies stats. But I cannot figure out how to find Sky Sox stats for years dated before 2006. I would like to be able to find Brad Hawpe or Garret Atkins stats in Colorado Springs and compare them to their first full season for the Rockies. Anyone who could find this could be helpful.

The theory goes; as a minor league stud makes it to the Rockies AAA affiliate and plays baseball in Colorado, they are already a pretty good prospect. But they become greater as the balls fly further. They get used to this treatment and fall into a trap.

This kid hits a towering flyball on his perfect pitch with the best bat he has used all year and it clears the right field wall by 50 feet. Now, he is ready for the callup to the show.

Next night, in Denver the rookie steps up to the plate and sees the same pitch he saw the night before. He is using the same bat, and he crushes it! But to his amazement the ball barely reaches the warning track and becomes a routine flyball for the opposing rightfielder.

Now he is thinking that he should be circling the bases with a smile on his face. Yet he is walking back to the dugout in shock. Does he think, "now I see why these guys use steroids?" He knows that ball was hit equally as hard the night before. Yet it had two different endings.

Are the ballplayers in Colorado's AAA affiliate being let down by this MLB regulation? I would like to view your thoughts on this.

[HollywoodLeo]

Maybe the Sky Sox should be required to do the same thing.

[missionhockey21]

I would like to find a 2006 rookie and compare his Sky Sox stats to his Rockies stats. But I cannot figure out how to find Sky Sox stats for years dated before 2006. I would like to be able to find Brad Hawpe or Garret Atkins stats in Colorado Springs and compare them to their first full season for the Rockies. Anyone who could find this could be helpful.

Hawpe:

Year	Team	Lg	Age	Org.	Level	Pos	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	HBP	IBB	SH	SF	DP	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2004	Colo Spr	PCL	25	Col	AAA	of	92	345	62	111	19	1	31	86	3	2	36	91	1		3	3	10	.322	.384	.652	1.036
2005	Colo Spr	PCL	26	Col	AAA	of	7	28	7	13	3	0	3	11	0	0	6	7	0	0	0	0	2	.464	.559	.893	1.452

Atkins:

Year	Team	Lg	Age	Org.	Level	Pos	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	HBP	IBB	SH	SF	DP	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2003	Colo Spr	PCL	23	Col	AAA	3b	118	439	80	140	30	1	13	67	2	4	45	52	3	2	0	5	9	.319	.382	.481	.863
2004	Colo Spr	PCL	24	Col	AAA	3b	122	445	88	163	43	3	15	94	0	0	57	45	4	4	0	10	20	.366	.434	.578	1.012
2005	Colo Spr	PCL	25	Col	AAA	3b	5	21	4	7	1	0	1	3	0	0	2	4	0	0	0	0	0	.333	.391	.524	.915

I hope to have some comments later, but maybe this will help you out.

[redsrbetter]

Hey where did you get those stats? I checked everywhere and just have not benn able to come up with past stats for minor league players.

Anyhow, look at Brad Hawpe's HR total in 2004.

31 HRs in only 345 ABs. .652 SLG.

That is pretty stellar. Then he got promoted to the big leagues quickly in '05. Lets look at those numbers.

9 HRs in 305 ABs. .400 SLG

so in 40 less ABs, Brad Hawpe didn't even come close to his AAA numbers. Granted, MLB pitching is much better than minor league stuff. But, it is still a significant drop off.

Now you look at his next full season (2006) and you see that he has started to get used to the pitching a bit more and at the same time, may have learned to put a little more power into his stroke. We can also say that he has only improved slightly in the power department due to the near 200 more ABs. Here are the numbers.

22 HRs in 499 ABs. .515 SLG

This is purely a theory on power. But can we say that it is tougher to judge a player's stats out of Colorado Springs than it would be for a player out of another system? Are we getting the fair production portrait of a player who plays in a ballpark that does not compensate for altitude?

Also, is it unfair for this ballplayer to play in a park such as this?

[Molina00]

Check out www.thebaseballcube.com. It seems to have minor league stats and even some college stats.

There was another site I liked better that I used to use for minor league stats but I can't seem to find it anymore.

[love_that_reefer]

Hawpe, Atkins and Holliday have all gotten with experience and they were highly touted prospects in Colorado's system. Joe Koshansky will probably do the same thing when he comes up.