Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Filling Gaps

Two top notch prospects got called up to the Major’s on Tuesday. Colorado recalled Ubaldo Jimenez from triple-A and Florida did the same with prospect Rick Vanden Hurk. Vanden Hurk will be pressed into starting duty for the Marlins tonight as the Marlins take on the St. Louis Cardinals, while Colorado has decided to bring up Jimenez for bullpen relief work.

Vanden Hurk was up earlier this season but struggled and got sent down with an 8.38 ERA to his name. He had some serious success in the minors and did well in the Future’s Game so the Marlins brought him up. With Josh Johnson on the disabled list there is a spot open for Vanden Hurk if he can lower his ERA some. If you can, check out Vanden Hurk tonight when he and the Marlins face St. Louis.

Jimenez, meanwhile, has not dominated triple-A like expected but he was still very highly regarded in the Rockies organization. He really struggled to start the season but has had much more success in recent outings. He had his Major League debut last fall for the Rockies and had moderate success. The Rockies bullpen has sustained some injuries lately, including closer, Brian Fuentes so instead of starting, which is where Rockies management would prefer Jimenez to be, his primary workload will stem from the bullpen for the time being and the foreseeable future.

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