The Rockies have designated 27-year old righty swinging infielder Ryan Rohlinger for assignment. Rohlinger played in 61 games in AAA-ball for the Rockies this year and he was 61 for 211 (.289 avg, .849 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 4 homers and 30 RBIs. He has played in 94 games overall in AAA-ball this year for the Giants & Rockies and he was 82 for 332 (.247 avg, .767 OPS) with 63 runs scored, 9 homers, 46 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. This is no loss for the Rockies.

22-year old lefty starting pitcher Drew Pomeranz will miss the rest of the year due to an emergency appendectomy. He was the key player the Rockies got in return for Ubaldo Jimenez. Pomeranz started 1 game in AA-ball for the Rockies this year and he was the winning pitcher as he worked the first 7 innings allowing only 2 hits, walking no one, whiffing 4 batters and giving up no runs. Pomeranz has pitched in 19 games (all starts) in A+AA-ball this year and he was 4-3 with a 1.84 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. He only gave up 68 hits while whiffing 116 batters in his first 98 innings of his minor league career. The Rockies will take it slowly with Pomeranz because his future is very bright.

UPDATE: (9/6/2011) - The Rockies have called up Drew Pomeranz as he recovered quickly from his surgery.

34-year old righty swinging 2B Mark Ellis has played well since coming to the Rockies from the A’s in a deal. Ellis has played in 36 games for the Rockies so far this year and he is 37 for 135 (.274 avg, .722 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 3 homers, 13 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He has now played in 98 games overall this year for the Rockies & A’s and he is 84 for 352 (.239 avg, .612 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 4 homers, 29 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. The Rockies hope to bring Ellis back over the winter as he will become a free agent after the World Series.

24-year old righty swinging outfielder Kent Matthes wasn’t one of the top prospects of the Rockies coming into this season. But, he’s starting to change that this year. Matthes has played in 93 games in A-ball so far this year and he is 124 for 371 (.334 avg, 1.020 OPS) with 70 runs scored, 23 homers, 95 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. He has now played in 177 games in his first three years in the minors and he is 208 for 691 (.301 avg, .900 OPS) with 118 runs scored, 29 homers, 141 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. If Matthes keeps hitting like he is right now, the Rockies might put him on the fast track to the majors.

23-year old lefty swinging Tim Wheeler came into this season as the Rockies’ #21 prospect according to Baseball America, but he has to be moving up for next year’s rankings. Wheeler has played in 81 games in AA-ball so far this year and he is 103 for 326 (.316 avg, .988 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 20 homers, 63 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Wheeler has now played in 278 games in his first three years in the minors and he is 300 for 1,119 (.271 avg, .800 OPS) with 199 runs scored, 37 homers, 161 RBIs and 46 stolen bases. Wheeler has to be catching the eyes of the Rockies’ brass as they likely have smiles on their faces.