Almonte has notched 36 strikeouts in 35.1 innings (seven starts) with an ERA of 1.78 for Double-A Hartford.
After pitching well at Rockies spring training, Almonte took his strong showings and transferred them to his Double-A starts. His ERA is down this year from the 3.00 it was at last season for Hartford, and he's holding batters to a .198 average. Almonte has shown that he'll be ready for Triple-A sometime soon, and his status on the 40-man roster makes him a candidate for the big-league roster sometime this year too.