Under is an evaluation of the prospects within the farm system of the Colorado Rockies. Scouting reviews have been compiled with info supplied by trade sources in addition to my very own observations. That is the fifth yr we’re delineating between two anticipated aid roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see within the “place” column under: MIRP for multi-inning aid pitchers, and SIRP for single-inning aid pitchers. The ETAs listed typically correspond to the yr a participant needs to be added to the 40-man roster to keep away from being made eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Guide changes are made the place they appear applicable, however we use that as a rule of thumb.
A fast overview of what FV (Future Worth) means will be discovered right here. A a lot deeper overview will be discovered right here.
All the ranked prospects under additionally seem on The Board, a useful resource the location presents that includes sortable scouting info for each group. It has extra particulars (and up to date TrackMan information from varied sources) than this text and integrates each workforce’s record so readers can evaluate prospects throughout farm methods. It may be discovered right here.
Different Prospects of Word
Grouped by kind and listed so as of desire inside every class.
Spot Starters
Blake Adams, RHP
Victor Juarez, RHP
Alberto Pacheco, LHP
Adams, 24, is a strike-throwing starter with a vertical fastball/curveball combo. He reached Double-A in 2024 and walked simply 4.9% of his opponents in 127 innings. Juarez, 21, is an undersized Mexican pitchability righty who labored an environment friendly 111 innings at Excessive-A in 2024, largely because of a deep coffer of common secondary pitches. Pacheco, 22, is a Dominican left-handed model who labored 120.2 innings largely at Low-A.
Fringe Relievers
Jeff Criswell, RHP
McCade Brown, RHP
Jackson Cox, RHP
Brayan Castillo, RHP
Cade Denton, RHP
Criswell appeared to change his supply in 2024 and now has a decrease, three-quarters slot. It helped his fastball miss extra bats, however it additionally appeared to make it extra susceptible to massive harm. Brown is a 6-foot-6 dev venture who pitched simply 6.2 innings as an underclassman at Indiana and missed most of 2023 and 2024 recovering from TJ. When he returned late final season, his launch was inconsistent. He could possibly be a regular mid-90s/slider center reliever, however he wants to seek out a little bit extra velo and constant management. Cox, who signed for $1.85 million out of highschool in 2022, was one other of Colorado’s many TJ rehabbers in 2024. He has a fantastic curveball, however his below-average fastball velocity (he was 92-94 once more throughout instructs), motion, and susceptible aircraft aren’t a fantastic match with that curve. He’s pitched simply 31 affiliated innings and struggled with management throughout these. Castillo is a 24-year-old righty with a fantastic slider who has struggled to seek out any kind of mechanical consistency. Denton was a dominant low-slot reliever at Oral Roberts whose fastball misplaced two ticks and sat 92 in 2024. At 93-96 with uphill angle and tail, he seems like a nasty righty specialist; at 90-94, he seems like a fringe prospect.
Catching Depth
Cole Messina, C
Braxton Fulford, C
Ronaiker Palma, C
Messina received a shade over $1 million as Colorado’s third rounder in 2024. He has above-average energy, however I used to be bearish on his hit instrument and defensive match previous to the draft, and Messina didn’t do something in professional ball to dissuade me from that notion. Fulford is a below-average defensive backstop and speak to hitter with common energy. The 26-year-old may be a 3rd catcher. Palma is a wee 5-foot-9 catcher with an excellent fast launch and extremely constant accuracy. He’s hosed 43% of would-be basestealers as a professional, however he’s too small to make any form of offensive affect.
Funky Lefties
Mason Albright, LHP
Evan Justice, LHP
Evan Shawver, LHP
Carson Skipper, LHP
Albright was a 2021 Angels draft pick of highschool and was traded to Colorado in one of many 2023 Final Ohtani Gasp deadline offers, this one for Randal Grichuk. He’s pitched as a starter up via Double-A, however his stuff is extra akin to the T.J. McFarland kind of second lefty. Justice is a nasty low-slot lefty with 20 management. He walked greater than a batter per inning at Triple-A in 2024 however has a reasonably powerful tailing fastball/slider combo. Shawver is a little bit lefty with an uphill fastball that sits nearly 91. He’s had upper-level success, however he lacks overt massive league stuff. Skipper has a cartoonish over-the-top supply that permits his 88-mph fastball to sneak previous hitters at a shocking fee. The 2022 eleventh rounder was dominant as a reliever at Spokane in 2024.
Projection Bats
Eriel Dihigo, 3B
Aldalay Kolokie, OF
Wilder Dalis, SS
Cristian Arguelles, CF
Dyan Jorge, 2B
Dihigo is probably the most projectable Rockies DSL hitter from 2024 (non-Andujar version). The 18-year-old Cuban slashed .306/.413/.394 and has a ton of room on his body for power. Kolokie, now 20, had the very best spreadsheet efficiency amongst Rocks DSL batters by way of hard-hit fee and speak to, however he isn’t that toolsy. Dalis is a medium-framed 18-year-old Venezuelan infielder who had a great second yr within the DSL, the place he was among the many workforce’s leaders in hard-hit fee. Arguelles is a small heart fielder with bat-to-ball abilities. Jorge was a multi-million greenback signee out of Cuba with a lanky, prototypical construct and one of many weirder statistical profiles within the org. He makes numerous in-zone contact however nothing else; his swing isn’t actually purposeful and solely permits him to contact the ball in a slender window of the zone.
Missing Plate Self-discipline
Juan Guerrero, LF
Warming Bernabel, 3B
Guerrero is a thin 23-year-old Dominican outfielder with a .287/.343/.411 profession line via Double-A and a 7% profession stroll fee. He has an aesthetically pleasing reverse discipline method to contact and might transfer the barrel across the zone, however he lacks the pop of a left fielder and he’s apt to chase so much. The sweet-swinging Bernabel’s lack of plate self-discipline was uncovered as he climbed the minors. He was faraway from Colorado’s 40-man earlier than final season, then had a nasty yr at Hartford.
Older Sleepers
Aidan Longwell, 1B
Caleb Hobson, OF
Longwell was 2023 Day Three pick of Kent State who had a pleasant first full professional season at Fresno. He has deft palms and really feel for oppo contact, however his energy is a pair grades under what’s typical for a primary baseman. Hobson is a speedy $150,000 thirteenth rounder out of Tennessee-Martin who stole 46 bases and performed good outfield protection in 2024.
System Overview
This can be a proficient however imbalanced system, deep on affect pitchers, although a lot of them are possible relievers. Charlie Condon’s points in professional ball have been too extreme to disregard, which leaves Chase Dollander because the membership’s solely High 100 prospect. There are many good part-time gamers right here, however not the franchise-altering on a regular basis guys the Rockies have to tilt with their division foes. The Rockies are the Derek Watt of the NL West — each different org is both a monetary powerhouse, has demonstrated a eager means to choose and develop guys that may assist them compete, or each. That is arguably probably the most troublesome division basement to crawl out of, and the Rockies have been down there for some time.
To do it, they’re going to wish high-end expertise. The very early returns from Condon are unhealthy and counsel he ain’t that. Colorado’s subsequent chunk on the apple shall be this yr’s draft, through which the workforce picks fourth. I believe there’s a great likelihood Ethan Holliday shall be on the board after they choose, and the specter of his father Matt, who was an unbelievable hitter and Rockie, has added to hypothesis that Ethan could be an thrilling and nostalgic match, and supply the kind of ceiling the Rockies want. I’ve talked about this in chats and on podcasts, however I don’t suppose that’s true. Holliday is extra well-known than clearly nice, and he hasn’t hit sufficient towards his elite friends to benefit choosing on the high of a draft. It’s attainable there shall be 4 guys who’re collectively seen as franchise-altering gamers by the point the draft rolls round, however proper now that’s not the case, and the Rockies usually tend to wind up with a strong participant at 4 than a star.
The 2025 season shall be about handing reps to the gamers who want them to develop. Very like Oakland did with the likes of Lawrence Butler and Darell Hernaiz, the Rockies have time to let their dangerous younger gamers develop on the massive league stage. This paid dividends with Brenton Doyle in 2024 and may gain advantage any of the 2025 ETA prospects above, in addition to Jordan Beck (I’m a skeptic) and Hunter Goodman (I’m an fanatic), who aren’t rookies anymore. A feisty younger bullpen is a good way to sneak up on individuals as a result of it will possibly assist a workforce overperform in one-run video games, and the Rockies actually have a kind of cooking within the higher reaches of their system. Realistically, although, they’re going to be a distant fourth or fifth within the NL West once more, and commerce the likes of Germán Márquez (if he can present he’s wholesome — he’s in his contract yr) and different veterans who possible received’t be round for the subsequent good Colorado squad.
