GJ Rox Class Of 2013
There were 38 players who suited up for the Grand Junction Rockies during the 2013 season. Of the 38, 17 of them are no longer in baseball. We take a look at who is still playing and where they are now.
Position Players
Jose Briceno was a member of the Class of 2012 as well as the Class of 2013. He was traded after the 2014 season with fellow catcher Chris O’Dowd to the Atlanta Braves for David Hale and Gus Schlosser. He spent the 2015 season with the High-A Carolina Mudcats but was on the move again the following off-season. The Braves traded Briceno and Andrelton Simmons to the Los Angeles Angeles in exchange for Erick Aybar, Chris Ellis, and Sean Newcomb. Briceno played in three levels of the Angels organization this past year reaching Triple-A, the Salt Lake City Bees.
Another fellow Class of 2012 member that came back the next season was Cesar Galvez. He played nine games for Hartford and three games for Albuquerque this year. As of November 7th, he was a free agent but the Rockies signed him to a minor league contract on December 15th.
Emerson Jimenez played eight games for the Dominican Summer League Rockies before he was assigned to Grand Junction during the 2013 season. For 2014 and half of 2015, he was with the Asheville Tourists. For the second half of 2015 and all of 2016, he was with the Modesto Nuts. While there this season, he had a .232 batting average with 21 RBIs and 28 stolen bases.
Wesley Jones spent 2013 and 2014 with the Grand Junction Rockies and was in Boise during 2015 and 2016. During the 2016 season, he posted a .302 batting average with 30 RBIs.
Terry McClure was with Grand Junction during both the 2013 and 2014 seasons. He has worked his way up the minor league ladder and spent 2016 with the Class-A Asheville Tourists with a .209 batting average including 28 RBIs and 16 stolen bases.
Ryan McMahon made his way all the way up to Hartford this season with a .242 batting average including 12 home runs and 75 RBIs. He played in the Arizona Fall League this off-season where he was named to the All-Star team and was also named the National League winner in the Fourth Annual Bowman Hitting Challege at Salt River Fields.
Dom Nunez spent two years with Grand Junction before making stops with Asheville in 2015 and Modesto in 2016. While with the Nuts, he was batting .241 with 10 homers and 51 RBIs.
Like we mentioned in our previous post, Zach Osborne was with the Yard Goats in 2016. He played in 64 games with a batting average of .238 with 14 RBIs. He didn’t see as much action due to some time on the disabled list.
Jordan Patterson worked his way through the system and made his major league debut this season with the Colorado Rockies. He spent most of 2016 with the Albuquerque Isotopes but made his big league debut on September 8th against the San Diego Padres. He played in ten games with the big league club going 8–18 with 2 RBIs and a .444 batting average.
Robbie Perkins played with Grand Junction in 2013 and since then has made it to Modesto where he hit .238 in just 15 games. He was put on the disabled list towards the end of the season.
Another Class of 2012 team member who spent a second season in Grand Junction is Correlle Prime. During the 2016 season, he played in 111 games as the Hartford Yard Goats first baseman, where he had a .235 batting average with 24 RBIs.
Raimel Tapia is another Class of 2013 player who saw big league time in 2016. He spent 2014 in Asheville and 2015 in Modesto. He quickly climbed the ladder this season splitting time with three clubs. Tapia started the season in Hartford where he played 104 games before getting promoted to Albuquerque. He was called up to the Colorado Rockies on September 2nd against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He played in 22 games with Colorado compiling a .263 batting average going 10–38 with three RBIs and three stolen bases.
Pitchers
Alex Balog was in Grand Junction in 2013 before moving up to Asheville in 2014 and Modesto in 2015. In 2016, he split time between Modesto and Hartford. While with the Yard Goats, he compiled a 5–2 record with a 4.77 ERA with 31 strikeouts.
Devin Burke has split the past three seasons going up and down the Rockies minor league ladder making appearances with at least two teams per season. In 2016, he started the season out with the Asheville Tourists making 17 appearances with a 4–6 record, 4.02 ERA, and 54 strikeouts. He was then promoted to the Hartford Yard Goats making five appearances with a 1–0 record, 3.52 ERA, and 11 strikeouts. Finally, he was called up to the Albuquerque Isotopes where he finished out the season making one appearance without getting a decision with a 0.00 ERA and two strikeouts.
Carlos Estevez started the 2013 season with Grand Junction but was promoted to the Tri-City Dust Devils to finish the season. He spent 2014 in Asheville before quickly working his way through the system in 2015 playing in two different levels of baseball as well as the Arizona Fall League. In 2016, he made five appearances with Albuquerque before he was promoted to the Colorado Rockies. Estevez made his major league debut on April 23rd against the Los Angeles Dodgers and made 63 appearances for the Rockies. He is currently listed on its 40-man roster.
Jon Gray made four appearances in Grand Junction before being promoted to Modesto in 2013. In 2014, he was with Tulsa and he spent the majority of 2015 with Albuquerque before getting his call to The Show. Gray made his major league debut with the Rockies on August 4, 2015 against the Seattle Mariners. Since then, he has become a major part of the Rockies’ rotation making 29 appearances in 2016 with a 10–10 record, a 4.61 ERA, one complete game, one shutout, and 185 strikeouts.
Zach Jemiola was in Grand Junction both in 2012 and 2013. He spent the 2016 season in Hartford where he made 27 appearances compiling a record of 8–10 with a 4.39 ERA. He pitched one shutout and struck out 92 on the season. He was added to the Colorado Rockies 40-man roster on November 18th.
Joel Payamps has switched organizations since his time in Grand Junction. He was with the Tri-City Dust Devils in 2014 pitching in seven games but was added to the 60-day disabled list soon after. Payamps was released by the Rockies in May 2015. He didn’t play during the 2015 season and was a free agent until the Arizona Diamondbacks signed him in November 2015. In 2016, he split time between their Class A club in Kane County and their High-A club in Visalia.
Helmis Rodriguez continues to work his way up through the Rockies’ minor league system. In 2016, he played for the Modesto Nuts making 30 appearances. He compiled a record of 5–9 with a 3.36 ERA while striking out 94 in 131.1 innings of work.
Peter Tago is another player who has switched organizations since the 2013 season. After spending the 2014 season in Modest, he was claimed off of waivers by the Chicago White Sox and was assigned to the Kannapolis Intimidators for the 2015 season. He worked his way up quickly playing in three levels of baseball that season. This past year, he played for the Double-A Birmingham Barons. In November 2016, Tago declared free agency and was signed by the Seattle Mariners nine days later. He is currently listed on the roster for the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers.
Billy Waltrip spent 2013 in Grand Junction before moving to Tri City in 2014. He was released by the Rockies in March 2015 and didn’t play that season. Waltrip spent 2016 splitting time between two independent league teams: the White Sands Pupfish and the Sioux Falls Canaries. While with Sioux Falls, he compiled a 3–1 record with a 3.69 ERA in 34 appearances with 51 strikeouts and three saves.
