Editor’s note: The statistics in this story are current as of Sunday, June 30.
The Colorado Rockies and the Albuquerque Isotopes have not found much success halfway through both of their respective seasons so far.
The Rockies are last in the National League and second-to-last in the entire MLB. The Isotopes finished at the bottom of the barrel in the first half of the Pacific Coast League season, going 26-49.
The Rockies
Though the Rockies are in last place in their division, the team has seen some bright spots on an individual level.
Third baseman Ryan McMahon has been a solid contributor to the Rockies as he leads the team in home runs and RBI’s with 14 and 42, respectively. He’s in 30th place for home runs among MLB players.
Catcher Elias Díaz and center fielder Brenton Doyle are also contributing. Díaz leads the team in batting percentage, with a percentage of .310 in 55 games. Doyle leads the team in stolen bases with 19.
Pitching for the Rockies has been up and down. Cal Quantrill is one of the Rockies’ starting pitchers and has a record of 6-6. He has pitched 95.1 innings so far in 17 starts with an ERA of 3.78.
Another solid pitcher for the Rockies is relief pitcherJalen Beeks. He has a team-leading six saves with 38.2 innings played, as of June 30.
As a team, the Rockies have the worst ERA in the MLB at 5.65.
Despite key contributors, the Rockies sit at a 27-55 record and are around the middle of the road in hitting stats. They have 79 home runs, tying for 21st among MLB teams; 331 RBI’s, ranking 17th among MLB teams; and a batting average of .243, ranking 15th among MLB teams.
The Isotopes
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Affiliate teams tend to reflect their major league counterpart — in the case of the Isotopes, this holds true. The Isotopes have not had it easy so far either, finishing last in the PCL in the first half of the season.
Center fielder Sam Hilliard has been doing his part: he leads the team with 14 home runs. He is tied for seventh place in home runs in the PCL.
Shortstop Julio Carreras has been a solid contributor as well. Carreras has the most stolen bases on the team with 20.
The Isotopes’ best starting pitcher is Karl Kauffmann, who has pitched 76 innings. Kauffman has an ERA of 7.34 and has earned 47 strikeouts, but has a record of 4-6 when pitching.
In the same case as the Rockies, the Isotopes find themselves with a record of rough pitching and good hitting. The Isotopes have earned 108 home runs, ranking in eighth; 444 RBI’s, ranking in sixth; and a batting average of .277, ranking in second at this point in the season. On the bright side, the Isotopes went 3-3 to start the second half of the season.
It hasn’t been the best year for either of these teams so far, but the Isotopes get a fresh start for the second half. All fans can do is endure the rest of the season and hope for the best.
Rodney Prunty is a freelance sports reporter at the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on twitter @Rprunty05
