The 2024 minor league baseball season is finally over for the Colorado Rockies and their farm system partners. As the Triple-A playoffs begin and the Double-A playoffs progress, the Rockies organization is relaxing and preparing for what comes next. They will soon send six players to the Arizona Fall League to play for the Salt River Rafters while the rest of their prospects and farm workers move away for the winter. Some will return to the Arizona Complex, some will play in warmer climates during the winter and some will return to their families until the game draws them back again in the spring. This is your final weekly Pebble report for 2024.

Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes (1-5, 58-92 overall). Season completed.

The Albuquerque Isotopes came dangerously close to being defeated by the playoff-bound Reno Aces (Arizona Diamondbacks) for the first time in 2024. They lost five straight games before picking up an extra-innings win in the series and season finale. To say that Isotopes’ season was tough would be a massive understatement. The ‘Topes finished with their worst record in their franchise’s more than 20-year history, losing a total of 92 games. Luckily for fans, a wave of new talent is heading to Albuquerque in 2025.

Kauffing Up Runs: Former Rockies top draft pick Karl Kauffmann had a season he would probably like to forget. Kauffann statistically had one of the worst seasons in baseball this year with the highest home run rate. lowest strikeout rate and highest ERA, FIP, xFIP and opponent batting average. Kauffmann was placed on the developmental list after his final start of the season against the Aces, in which he gave up five earned runs on four walks and eight hits, including two home runs.

Is There A Vac Zeen For Zac Veen’s Injuries?: Outfielder Zac Veen (No. 4 PuRP) ended his season with his third appearance on the injured list in 2024, this time with a hamstring injury. Veen has struggled badly with injuries since the second half of the 2022 season. Veen seemed to find his rhythm with the Isotopes, but went 0-3 in his only game against the Aces before being shut out.

Treat yourself to a pint for a successful season: Isotope Pitcher of the Year Riley Pint had a tough night in his first game against Reno of the series, giving up four runs (three earned) on three hits and two walks. However, he bounced back beautifully in the Isotopes’ season finale on Sunday by beating the team in dominant fashion. Riley Pint is now the first pitcher in Isotopes history to go at least 30 innings without giving up a single home run, a wild feat given the hitter-friendly nature of the Pacific Coast League.

Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats (0-2, 76-60 overall). Season completed.

Although the end result was not what any of the Hartford Yard Goats had hoped for, the season was a resounding success. The Rockies’ Double-A affiliate made the playoffs for the first time as Yard Goats, appearing in the Eastern League Divisional Series against a strong Somerset Patriots (New York Yankees) team. Unfortunately, the Yard Goats failed to close out their season in both games. Both games were extremely close and while hearts were broken, the Yard Goats have a lot to be proud of.

Chasing victory: Despite clearly under pressure and making more starts and innings than he ever had in his adult life, Chase Dollander (No. 1 PuRP) put it all on the line to start the Eastern League Divisional Series against the Patriots. He wasn’t at his best, walking four batters and giving up a home run. However, in five innings of work, he gave up just one earned run and struck out four batters. Dollander did his part to give the Yard Goats a chance to win.

Agnos tries to escape the torment: The Yard Goats’ standout reliever Zach Agnos was key in keeping the Goats in contention in the second game of the series. Agnos worked 2 ¹⁄₃ There were scoreless and hitless innings toward the end of the game with the game tied 3-3. He struck out three batters and walked one to keep the game tied and take the Yard Goats into extra innings, in which they ultimately fell.

I’m trying to keep the Amador open: It was a season full of ups and downs for young midfielder Adael Amador (No. 3 PuRP), but he stepped up in the crucial moments of the Eastern League Divisional Series. Amador was undoubtedly the Yard Goat’s most important offensive player in the series, going 5-for-8 with two RsBI. Amador hit a 4-5 home run in the series finale, making him the only member of the Yard Goats franchise to record multiple hits in the game.

Find out what’s next here!

With MiLB season officially over, the Pebble Report will transition to a monthly format starting in October. We will resume weekly Pebble reports at some point during Spring Training. There will be plenty of minor league and prospect content until then! The monthly Pebble reports will be a complete summary of our mid-season PuRPs ranked players. Before we get started towards the end of October, I’m going to ask you – the readers – to rate some players not in the top 30 – or not at all – as honorable mentions.

Additionally, there will be weekly Arizona Fall League reports starting Tuesday, October 15th, following the conclusion of the Fall League’s first full week. These shorter check-ins with Rockies Fall League representatives will occur weekly through Tuesday, November 19th, following the conclusion of the Fall League.

Thank you for sticking with the Pebble Report during a year of transition as we worked to find our footing!

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