Grand Junction Rockies

The Grand Junction Rockies are a Minor League Baseball team in the Pioneer League based in Grand Junction, Colorado, United States, where they play at Suplizio Field. They are the Rookie affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The Grand Junction Rockies mascot is Corky Coyote.

Grand Junction Rockies
Founded in 1978
Grand Junction, Colorado
Team logo
Minor league affiliations
ClassRookie (1978–1985, 1987–present)
LeaguePioneer League (1978–1985, 1987–present)
DivisionSouth Division
Major league affiliations
TeamColorado Rockies (2001–present)
Previous teams
Minor league titles
League titles (1)1981
Division titles (4)
  • 1981
  • 1988
  • 1989
  • 2018
Team data
NicknameGrand Junction Rockies (2012–present)
Previous names
  • Casper Ghosts (2008–2011)
  • Casper Rockies (2001–2007)
  • Butte Copper Kings (1978–1985, 1987–2000)
BallparkSuplizio Field (2012–present)
Previous parks
ManagerJake Opitz
PresidentMick Ritter

Franchise history

The Butte Copper Kings, named for the once-powerful owners of the copper mines of Butte, Montana, began play in the Pioneer League in 1978 as a co-op team with players from the Philadelphia Phillies, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers organizations as well as a few free agents.[1]

Beginning in 1987, the franchise had been operated by Silverbow Baseball. It was sold in 1996 to the Goldklang Group in a move necessary to stem conflict-of-interest issues when Silverbow head Jim McCurdy had taken the position of President of the Pioneer League in 1994.[2] Silverbow had attempted to sell the franchise in 1994 to investors from California, but the deal fell through when it was determined that Silverbow owned a lesser percentage of the franchise than it had purported to own.[3]

Following the 2000 season, the team relocated to Casper, Wyoming as the Casper Rockies (and was renamed the Ghosts before the 2008 season[4]) and affiliated with Colorado.[5]

On January 13, 2011, Casper Professional Baseball Club, LLC announced the sale of the team to Monfort Investment Group, a group headed by Colorado Rockies General Partners. [6]

October 17, 2011, Grand Junction city officials unanimously approved a lease agreement to the team, making Suplizio Field home to the newly renamed Grand Junction Rockies.[7]

Roster
Grand Junction Rockies roster
Players Coaches/Other

Pitchers

  • 32 Anderson Amarista
  • 37 Trysten Barlow
  • 30 Anderson Bido
  • 16 Blair Calvo
  • -- Eris Flipo
  •  8 Noah Gotsis
  • 40 Zach Guth
  • 21 Cayden Hatcher
  •  9 Alex Haynes
  • 19 Eric Hepple
  • 33 Gavin Hollowell
  • 28 Jared Horn
  • 43 Keegan James
  • 23 Boby Johnson
  • 34 Mitchell Kilkenny
  • 35 Jacob Kostyshock
  • 39 Juan Mejia
  • 25 Ever Moya
  • 45 Helcris Olivarez
  • 18 Anderson Pilar
  • 17 Andrew Quezada
  • 24 Mike Ruff

Catchers

  • 13 Jacob Barnwell
  • 47 Ronaiker Palma

Infielders

  • 22 Reese Berberet
  •  2 Julio Carreras
  • 14 Eddy Diaz
  • 36 Christian Koss
  •  3 Cristopher Navarro
  •  7 Bladimir Restituyo
  • 22 Owen Taylor
  • 31 Ezequiel Tovar

Outfielders

  •  6 Walking Cabrera
  • 29 Brenton Doyle
  •  1 Todd Isaacs
  •  4 Shael Mendoza
  • 12 Yolki Pena
  • 44 Colin Simpson
  •  5 Jack Yalowitz

Manager

  •  3 Jake Opitz

Coaches

  • -- Trevor Burmeister (hitting)
  • -- Helmis Rodriguez (pitching)


7-day injured list
* On Colorado Rockies 40-man roster
# Rehab assignment
∞ Reserve list
‡ Restricted list
§ Suspended list
† Temporary inactive list
Roster updated February 16, 2020
 Transactions
→ More rosters: MiLB • Pioneer League
 → Colorado Rockies minor league players

Notable players

Butte Copper Kings,[8] Casper Rockies and Casper Ghosts[9] players who have made appearances on Major League teams:

References
  1. "Pioneer Adds Butte". The Sporting News. February 25, 1978. p. 63.
  2. "Copper Kings Have New Owners, Affiliation". bozemandailychronicle.com. Bozeman Daily Chronicle. June 18, 1996. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
  3. "Jury Rules in Favor of Former Cooper Kings Team Owner". bozemandailychronicle.com. Bozeman Daily Chronicle. October 12, 1996. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  4. "Casper Ghosts Launch Glow-in-the-Dark Identity". ghostsbaseball.com. Casper Ghosts. October 31, 2007. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
  5. "Affiliations: Pioneer League". The Official Site of the Pioneer League. Pioneer Baseball League. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
  6. "Monfort Investment Group Purchases Casper Ghosts". Official Site of the Casper Ghosts. Casper Ghosts. January 13, 2011. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
  7. "Grand Junction officials OK Casper Ghosts' move to Colorado". trib.com. Casper Star Tribune. October 17, 2011.
  8. "Butte Alumni". thebaseballcube.com. The Baseball Cube. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
  9. "Casper Alumni". thebaseballcube.com. The Baseball Cube. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
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