Rockies' farm system has more to offer

For the ninth year in a row, the Rockies finished in either fourth or fifth place in the National League West (this year it was fifth), with yet another sub-.500 record at 76-86. However, fear not, for help is on the way. The future looks bright in Denver with a slew of top-notch prospects looking near ready to crack that big-league roster.

In fact, the Rockies' biggest dilemma may be finding room for all of them. Just two years after several top young hitters came up to fill the lineup known as GenR, there are more on the way.

Top prospects such as shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, the club's top pick in 2005, powerful first baseman Joe Koshansky and hard-throwing pitchers like Juan Morillo, Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales are just a few of the names who could dot the lineup in the near future. A little further away are exciting prospects such as multi-tooled outfielder Dexter Fowler and second baseman Eric Young Jr., the son of former Rockie "EY" Sr. "Little EY" led the Minors in steals with 87 this past season.

In terms of the farm teams' success, the Rockies' Double-A Tulsa Drillers and Class A Advanced Modesto Nuts both made it to the playoffs.

Five faves

At the start of the season, MLB.com identified five prospects to keep an eye on. Here's how they fared in 2006:

Ian Stewart, 3B
Stewart, the Rockies' first-round pick in 2003, has been plagued by minor nagging injuries for two seasons now. Playing just 120 games at Tulsa, he hit .268 with 10 homers and 71 RBIs but showed his line-drive power with 41 doubles and a .452 slugging percentage. There had been hope he'd make his Major League debut in 2006, but it looks like that will have to wait another year. Once he makes it to Coors he should be a productive hitter.
Video: Stewart on his Dad's impact on his hitting

Troy Tulowitzki, SS
The club's top draft pick in 2005 out of Long Beach State, Tulowitzki's pro debut was derailed by injuries which limited him to just 22 games at Modesto. This year, a sore knee hobbled him a bit and he appeared in 104 games at Tulsa, batting .291 with 13 home runs and 61 RBIs. He did make his Major League debut, batting .240 with six home runs and 28 RBIs in 25 games with the Rockies and is projected by many to be Colorado's starting shortstop in 2007.
Video: Tulo crushes his first homer in the bigs
Video: Tulo-Helton nab Renteria at first

2006 Organizational Record
LEVEL AAA AA A (Adv) A SS R	LEAGUE PCL TEX CAL SAL NWL PIO	TEAM Colorado Springs Tulsa Modesto Asheville Tri-City Casper TOTAL:	W 66 75 66 74 38 27 346	L 77 64 74 63 38 49 365	PCT .462 .540 .471 .540 .500 .355 .487

Juan Morillo, RHP
A true flamethrower who has been clocked close to 100, Morillo struck out 144 in 146 innings between two Class A stops in 2005 and followed that up this year with 132 strikeouts in 140 1/3 innings at Tulsa. He went 12-8 with a 4.62 ERA with the Drillers and finished the year with his first four big-league innings. Control is still an issue, as evidenced by his 80 walks, but he lowered his opposing average by 20 points from 2005 to .248.
Audio: Morrillo gets four K's in big-league debut

Corey Wimberly, 2B
The sixth-rounder from Alcorn State in 2005 had an outstanding first full pro season, hitting .325 with 50 steals at Modesto in just 87 games, posting a .404 on-base average. Despite missing time due to a hamstring injury, he still continued to make a terrific impression after winning the Pioneer League batting title in 2005. The switch-hitter skipped Class A Asheville without missing a beat.
Audio: Wimberly goes 3-for-5 for Modesto

Joe Koshansky, 1B
When the 2004 sixth-rounder from Virginia hit 36 homers last year in Asheville, there were questions about his power being "legit." Consider those questions answered. This year at Tulsa, he added 31 homers to go with 109 RBIs, both of which led the organization. He hit .284 with 28 doubles and a .526 slugging percentage but he did strike out 134 times, which sometimes comes with the territory for a power hitter. The Futures Game participant projects as the club's likely first baseman of the future when veteran Todd Helton is gone.
Audio: Koshansky at the Texas League All-Star Game
Audio: Koshansky's single wins it for Tulsa

Cinderella story

Dexter Fowler, OF
The Harvard University basketball recruit is a multi-tooled talent who is following up a strong first full season at Asheville with some extra time in the Hawaiia Winter League. Fowler, a switch-hitter, batted .296 with eight homers, 46 RBIs and 43 steals, third in the system.

Breakout year

Some players were pegged as breakout candidates before the season began. Did they live up to expectations?

Franklin Morales, LHP
Morales, who's just 20 years old, led the organization with 179 strikeouts in 154 innings at Modesto, posting a 3.68 ERA, good for seventh in the system. He limited California League batters to a .223 average with his mid-90s fastball and good offspeed stuff.
Audio: Modesto's Morales strikes out nine

2006 draft recap

1. Greg Reynolds, RHP
Colorado took the Stanford University product with the second overall pick. A 6-foot-7, 225-pounder with a workhorse build and great command, he was used sparingly as he came off more than 200 innings for the Cardinal this season. Reynolds went 2-1 with a 3.33 ERA in 11 starts for Modesto. He struck out 29 batters in 48 2/3 innings, walking just 14. He is back at Stanford to finish his degree in the offseason.
Audio: Reynolds whiffs six for Nuts

2. David Christensen OF
The Florida high schooler headed to short-season Casper where he hit .199 in 57 game with 11 doubles, five homers and 20 RBIs. He holds his school record for homers and led his team to the district championship as a senior. He turned down a scholarship to Miami to ink with the Rockies.
Audio: Christensen hits second double of game

3. Keith Weiser, LHP
Weiser came out of the "other" Miami, Miami (Ohio) University, with the third-round pick after earning All-MAC honors for the RedHawks. With short-season Tri-City, the southpaw was 1-2 with a 3.79 ERA and struck out 53 while walking just eight in 57 innings over 12 games.
Audio: Tri-City's Weiser strikes out nine

4. Craig Baker, RHP
Elbow woes have sidelined the Cal State Northridge product, who ranked third in the Big West in strikeouts this past season with 102 in as many innings. Baker, who has yet to make his pro debut because of the injury, went 6-9 with a 3.97 ERA for the team, limiting batters to a .266 average.

5. Helder Velazquez, SS
Drafted out of the newly established Puerto Rico Baseball Academy, Velazquez signed as a fifth-rounder and headed to Casper, where he hit .253 with two home runs, 18 RBIs and three steals in 39 games.
Audio: Velazquez doubles for Casper

2005 draft recap

1. Troy Tulowitzki, SS
The only thing that has slowed Tulowitzki has been a series of small but nagging injuries that limited his play over the past two pro seasons. Still, the Long Beach State product finished '06 playing shortstop for the Rockies and there is no reason to think that's not where he'll begin '07 as well. He is currently in the Arizona Fall League refining his game and getting more at-bats.

2. Chaz Roe, RHP
Roe, all 6-foot-5 of him, followed up a Pioneer League All-Star campaign by going 7-4 with a 4.06 ERA at Asheville, striking out 80 and walking 47 in 99 2/3 innings. He boasts a fastball in the low to mid 90s and a potentially devastating curveball.

3. Daniel Carte, OF
Carte hit .225 with six homers and 25 RBIs at Tri-City in his 2005 debut but raised those numbers in his first full season, hitting .258 with 14 home runs, 66 RBIs, 11 steals and 26 doubles at Asheville. He has a good arm and gap power.
Audio: Carte homers for Asheville