2020 Prospect Depth Chart: Colorado Rockies

This is a weird system, and not just because it's filled with extreme hitter-friendly venues that skew numbers every step of the way (keep that in mind when reading numbers pretty much anywhere other than for AA Hartford). The Rockies are really deep in the infield, with guys like Brendan Rodgers, Colton Welker, Ryan Vilade, Michael Toglia, Aaron Schunk, and plenty more all looking like they could have impact potential at the major league level. That makes the Nolan Arenado trade rumors a bit easier to stomach, but either way, the Rockies have been and will have to continue to be with the positions they deploy these kids at. Elsewhere around the system, there isn't a lot of depth, though I see outfielder and 2019 draftee Brenton Doyle as a sleeper to keep an eye on. On the mound, I'm not even sure where to begin. Ryan Rolison is just about the only safe bet as a starting pitcher, as many former top pitching prospects have seen their command completely fall apart, most notable former first rounders Mike Nikorak and Riley Pint as well as guys like Robert Tyler and Justin Lawrence. That said, with a couple of successes like Ben Bowden and potentially Jacob Wallace, as well as all these failed starters converting to relievers, their does look to be a lot of bullpen help on the way. So that's good.

Affiliates: AAA Albuquerque Isotopes, AA Hartford Yard Goats, High A Lancaster JetHawks, Class A Asheville Tourists, short season Boise Hawks, rookie level Grand Junction Rockies, complex level DSL Rockies

Catcher
- Willie MacIver (2020 Age: 23): Some systems are blessed with catching depth, while some, like the Rockies system, are a little lighter. That's good news for Willie MacIver, who was able to stand out with a decent pro debut in 2019. Drafted in the ninth round out of Washington in 2018, he slashed .252/.319/.421 with 13 home runs, 12 stolen bases, and a 105/34 strikeout to walk ratio over 117 games at Class A Asheville in 2019. He played a lot of corner infield at Washington, but the Rockies have stuck him behind the plate and he should stick back there with a strong arm and improving actions. He'll have to stick back there because he's an average hitter overall, and his Class A numbers were a bit inflated by a hitter-friendly home park (.315/.388/.540 at home, .189/.248/.302 on the road). Overall, he has a chance to work his way up as a potential back-up catcher, and his best path to that will be refining his glove a bit more.
- Keep an eye on: Jose Cordova, Robert Mendoza

Corner Infield
- Colton Welker (2020 Age: 22): Welker was the Rockies' fourth round pick out of Stoneman Douglas High School in South Florida in 2016, and he's hit everywhere he's been on his way up through the Rockies' minor league rungs. In 2019, he slashed .252/.313/.408 with ten home runs and a 68/32 strikeout to walk ratio over 98 games at AA Hartford, actually dropping his strikeout rate in the upper minors. He's a very good all-around hitter with some power and great feel for the barrel, and the reduction in his strikeout rate is a good sign. I don't see him as a true power hitter, but with the thin air in Colorado, he could hit 20 home runs per season with solid on-base percentages. He's a very good defender at third base, but the Rockies already have some guy named Nolan Arenado there, so his future position might be first base, where his bat should profile anyways.
- Tyler Nevin (2020 Age: 22-23): Nevin, a competitive balance pick out of a San Diego-area high school in 2015 and the son of former big leaguer Phil Nevin, has had an interesting run. After missing all but one game in 2016 with hamstring problems, he hit well in hitter-friendly environments in A ball over the next two years. In 2019, he slashed .251/.345/.399 with 13 home runs and a 90/65 strikeout to walk ratio over 130 games at AA Hartford, solid numbers for his first time in a neutral park setting. He's a big guy at 6'4" and controls the strike zone well, but the Rockies would probably like to see him get to his power just a little bit more if he wants to break into the starting lineup in 2020 or 2021. It's not that he struggles to get to it, he just has a bit of a line drive-oriented swing that's more conducive to extra base hits than to home runs, even in the hitter-friendly environments he played in up until 2019. Because he's such a competent hitter, adding a bit of loft should be able to help him tap that power and get up over 20 home runs a year, especially in the thin air at Coors, and he began to do that just a bit in 2019 at AA. He's competent enough at third base, but that's a crowded situation even beyond Nolan Arenado, so first base is more likely if he can hit his way past Colton Welker, Ryan McMahon, and Roberto Ramos.
- Ryan Vilade (2020 Age: 21): The last time the Rockies drafted the son of an Oklahoma State baseball coach, it went pretty well and Matt Holliday remains one of the better players in the team's history. Vilade will hope to follow in his footsteps after a second round selection out of Holliday's alma mater, Stillwater High School in 2017. In 2019, Vilade's bat came alive in the extreme hitter-friendly context of High A Lancaster, where he slashed .303/.367/.466 with 12 home runs, 24 stolen bases, and a 95/56 strikeout to walk ratio in 128 games. He's started to grow into his power in his 6'2" frame, showing innate feel for both the barrel and the strike zone as well as good base stealing acumen. As a strong defender that profiles well at third base, he actually has a pretty similar overall profile to Colton Welker, just one year younger and one level behind. Between Arenado, Welker, and Vilade, the Rockies have a glut of third basemen, so Vilade may have to learn to play some second base or somehow stretch it at shortstop if he wants to keep moving up. I like him and he's supposedly a hard worker, but we'll have to see how he handles AA Hartford in 2019, which will be his first non-hitter-friendly assignment.
- Michael Toglia (2020 Age: 21): I thought this may have been just a bit of a reach at the 23rd overall pick in 2019, but the Rockies and the thin air at Coors Field are as good a fit as any for Toglia and I don't blame Colorado for jumping on his tremendous raw power at that pick. After wrapping up his season with UCLA, he slashed .248/.369/.483 with nine home runs and a 45/28 strikeout to walk ratio over 41 games at short season Boise, about expected given his skill set. He's a 6'5" switch hitter with, as I mentioned before, tremendous raw power, and his patient approach helps him get to it against advanced pitching. There are some questions about his hit tool, and he did struggle a bit in the elite Cape Cod League as an amateur, but he's also young for a college junior and won't turn 22 until August, giving him that much extra development time. If all goes right, he could hit 30+ home runs annually for the Rockies; he just carries a little bit more bust risk than the typical collegiate first round bat.
- Aaron Schunk (2020 Age: 22-23): Here's another third baseman to throw into the mix. Schunk was drafted in the second round out of Georgia in 2019, then slashed .306/.370/.503 with six home runs and a 25/14 strikeout to walk ratio over 46 games at short season Boise in his pro debut. He's hit over power at this point, with great feel for the barrel that enables him to avoid strikeouts extremely well, but also an aggressive approach that limits his walks. There is some power in his 6'2" frame and he began to tap it in his junior season in Athens, and I think he could end up a very productive hitter if he can continue to do so in pro ball. Aside from AA Hartford, all of the Rockies' affiliates are very conducive to home runs, which is fitting for a team that plays at Coors Field, so his power will have every chance to play up. He's also a very strong defender at third base, perhaps the best in the system, so he might only have to hit for a little bit of power so long as the hit tool plays up. The one slight down side to Schunk's profile is his age, as he'll turn 23 in July and will probably want to move more quickly. How the Rockies are going to sort out this third base situation, I'm not sure, but it's a good problem to have.
- Grant Lavigne (2020 Age: 20): Lavigne has only played 185 minor league games so far, but it's been a bit of a roller coaster for him already. The top high school prospect to come out of New Hampshire in a long time, Lavigne opened a lot of eyes with a strong senior season at Bedford High School, earning a bit of a surprising competitive balance selection in the 2018 draft. He then proceeded to light the world on fire by slashing .350/.477/.519 with more walks (45) than strikeouts (40) in rookie ball, an even more surprising development considering he was supposed to be very raw after facing mediocre competition in the Manchester area. 2019 was again surprising, this time in the opposite direction, as he slashed .236/.347/.327 with seven home runs and a 129/68 strikeout to walk ratio over 126 games at Class A Asheville, a hitter-friendly venue. So where do we stand now? Lavigne is a big guy at 6'4", and he has a ton of power in his left handed bat that will play well at Coors. He's also a patient hitter that is more than willing to take a walk and boost his on-base percentage, though that passive approach may have been part of what bit him this year. Lavigne will have to learn to confidently attack his pitch to get to his power, and if he can figure it out, he could hit a lot of home runs in that thin air. He'll have to hit, because he's limited to first base defensively and will be battling Michael Toglia on his way up the ladder.
- Keep an eye on: Josh Fuentes, Roberto Ramos, Brian Mundell, Julio Carreras

Middle Infield
- Brendan Rodgers (2020 Age: 23-24): Rodgers has been the Rockies' top prospect for quite a few years now, and it's hard to believe he'll still play most of the 2020 season at 23 years old. The third overall pick out of an Orlando-area high school in 2015, Rodgers has come along methodically, his numbers usually skewed by the Rockies' bevy of hitter-friendly affiliates. We thought we'd finally see what he could do at the big league level in 2019, but a shoulder injury ended his season in July. Before the injury, he slashed .350/.413/.622 with nine home runs and a 27/14 strikeout to walk ratio over 37 games at AAA Albuquerque, as well as .224/.272/.250 with a 27/4 strikeout to walk ratio over 25 games at the major league level. There's no question about his talent, as he clearly possesses above average power with a knack for finding the barrel and getting to that power regularly, which helps him project for high on-base percentages. It's been tough for him to stay on the field consistently though, and he looked overmatched in his first taste of the major leagues back in May and June. To be honest, it's hard to say whether Rodgers will right the ship and become a Troy Tulowitzki-esque star, or if he'll end up more of a fringe-starter like Ryan McMahon. He's always had a better hit tool than McMahon, and if he can just stay healthy, I think he eventually does figure it out and end up as the long term second baseman in Colorado with 20-25 Coors-aided home runs annually and high on-base percentages.
- Alan Trejo (2020 Age: 23-24): The Rockies love to deploy their infield prospects all over the diamond, but as the one true shortstop prospect in the system, Alan Trejo can stand out a bit better than he might in other systems. In 2019, he slashed .243/.290/.391 with 15 home runs and a 105/25 strikeout to walk ratio over 125 games at AA Hartford, which is likely an improvement over the .278/.329/.425 line he put up at the hitters' paradise of High A Lancaster last year. The former 16th round pick out of San Diego State in 2017 has grown into some power, which he now gets to enough to pair nicely with his above average defense at shortstop. He likely won't ever be a regular starter, especially with Trevor Story entrenched at his position, but he's the best defender out of the Rockies' slew of infield prospects and that gives him a leg up.
- Terrin Vavra (2020 Age: 22-23): Vavra was a very advanced player coming out of the University of Minnesota, but the Rockies surprised me a bit by having him spend his entire first full season at Class A Asheville after drafting him in the third round in 2018. At Asheville, he slashed .318/.409/.489 with ten home runs, 18 stolen bases, and an even 62/62 strikeout to walk ratio over 102 games, though I would have really liked to have seen how he would have handled a promotion up to High A. The lefty has a quick swing and great feel for both the barrel and the strike zone, which enabled him to blast 32 doubles in addition to his ten home runs in his hitter-friendly confines, though the home road splits were a little bit frightening: 400/.484/.640 at home vs .224/.320/.316 on the road. My guess is his power doesn't play up and he ends up more as a 5-10 home run guy, but his ability to make hard contact and control the zone should help him be at least a solid utility infielder if not a potential starting second baseman down the road.
- Eddy Diaz (2020 Age: 20): Diaz stole 84 bases with an on-base percentage over .400 over two years in the Dominican Summer League, then was tested with a stateside assignment in 2019. The teenager held up well, slashing .331/.366/.440 with 20 stolen bases and a 33/8 strikeout to walk ratio over 39 games at rookie level Grand Junction, and he may get tested again with a full season deployment at 20 years old in 2020. Diaz' power is entirely to the gaps for now, as he's yet to hit a home run in 126 professional games, but he puts the bat on the ball extremely easily and uses his exceptional speed to wreak havoc on the basis, now with 104 stolen bases in those 126 games. After posting an 86% stolen base success rate in the DSL, he dropped a bit to 69% in the Pioneer League, so one key going forward will be learning how to best deploy his speed against better and better catchers. The Rockies will also hope that he can grow into some moderate power, which could really make him an all-around threat. For now, he projects as a speedy utility-infielder who is capable if not eye popping at shortstop.
- Keep an eye on: Bret Boswell, Kyle Datres, Christian Koss, Bladimir Restituyo, Adael Amador

Outfield
- Sam Hilliard (2020 Age: 26): Hilliard has moved slowly since he was drafted in the 15th round out of Wichita State in 2015, but he's hit everywhere he's gone and he finally cracked the majors in 2019. Starting at AAA Albuquerque, which is even more hitter-friendly than Coors, he slashed .262/.335/.558 with 35 home runs, 22 stolen bases, and a 164/54 strikeout to walk ratio over 126 games, then hit .273/.356/.649 with seven home runs and a 23/9 strikeout to walk ratio over 27 major league games. Colorado has been a blessing for him, as he doesn't have as much power as the typical 6'5" slugger but he has just enough to play up in the thin air, likely giving him more of a Coors advantage than most other hitters. He does have some strikeout concerns, which will make 2020 a very illuminating season as major league pitchers begin to find the holes in his swing. Unlike most outfielders his size, he runs very well, which has enabled him to steal more than 20 bases in four consecutive minor league seasons and which also enables him to play above average defense in center field. Given the Rockies don't have a clear option in center field, he only has to hit his way past Raimel Tapia and Yonathan Daza if he wants to start there. His bat should still profile in right.
- Yonathan Daza (2020 Age: 26): Daza is one of the best defensive outfielders in the minors, let alone in this system, so he really only has to hit a little bit in order to be relevant. In 2019, he slashed .364/.404/.548 with eleven home runs, 12 stolen bases, and a 52/25 strikeout to walk ratio over 89 games at AAA Albuquerque, as well as .206/.257/.237 with a 21/7 strikeout to walk ratio in 44 major league games. The explosive line in AAA this year was more of a mirage than anything else given both Albuquerque's home park and the juiced balls, but he's had a history of making consistent contact everywhere he's gone and his speed should help him get to some nice gap power, especially with the big outfield at Coors Field. He likely won't ever hit enough to start regularly, but he's an excellent option as a fourth outfielder who can help lock down those spacious gaps on the defensive side late in games as well as swing the bat a little bit.
- Jimmy Herron (2020 Age: 23-24): Herron was the Cubs' third round pick out of Duke in 2018, but after he slashed just .220/.320/.336 with four home runs, 19 stolen bases, and a 66/44 strikeout to walk ratio over 92 games at High A Myrtle Beach in 2019, they shipped him to the Rockies for cash. His bat caught fire in the hitters' heaven of High A Lancaster, where he slashed .338/.403/.544 with four home runs, a pair of stolen bases, and a 13/6 strikeout to walk ratio over 18 games to close out the season. None of Herron's tools stand out, but he's a very competent all-around player who provides value in a multitude of ways. He's got some moderate power that could play up to double digit home run totals at Coors Field, and his strong plate discipline enables him to get on base regularly and avoid strikeouts. He also has speed that helps him on the base paths and in center field, and overall it adds up to a nice fourth/fifth outfielder profile, though I think the total package is just a bit light if he wants to start regularly.
- Brenton Doyle (2020 Age: 21-22): Doyle went in the fourth round out of DII Shepherd University in West Virginia in 2019, then put on a show in his pro debut by slashing .383/.477/.611 with eight home runs, 17 stolen bases, and a 47/31 strikeout to walk ratio over 51 games at rookie level Grand Junction. To me, this immediately shoots his stock up, as he demolished DII pitching to the tune of a .392/.502/.758 slash line in 2019 but was completely unproven against advanced pitching. While the Pioneer League isn't the stiffest competition either, it's a big step up from where he was before that and the numbers were almost as remarkable. Doyle brings a lot of power in his 6'3" frame, but he's far from just a slugger. His strong plate discipline helped him make the transition from DII to the pros without a hitch, and it should continue to help him as he works his way up through the minors. He's an asset defensively as well, with above average speed and arm strength, and he could be the best outfield prospect in the system a year from now. He's still fairly unproven but keep an eye on him, this is my favorite sleeper in the system.
- Keep an eye on: Vince Fernandez, Matt Hearn, Niko Decolati, Daniel Montano

Starting Pitching
- Ryan Rolison (2020 Age: 22-23): There is no question who the top pitching prospect in this system is. Rolison was selected towards the end of the first round in 2018 out of Ole Miss, then dominated the rookie level Pioneer League in his debut. The Rockies started him out at Class A Asheville in 2019, but after he posted a 0.61 ERA, a 0.68 WHIP, and a 14/2 strikeout to walk ratio over 14.2 innings, he earned a quick bump to High A Lancaster within three weeks. Context considered, he pitched pretty well there, posting a 4.87 ERA, a 1.44 WHIP, and a 118/38 strikeout to walk ratio over 116.1 innings in one of the toughest places to pitch in professional baseball. He sits in the low 90's with his fastball, but his bread and butter is his big downer curveball, one with plus movement that he can command extremely well. He also adds a slider and a changeup, and his overall command is good enough to make everything play up despite a lack of radar-popping velocity. The key to the 6'2" lefty's success going forward will be keeping the ball on the ground, as the thin air in both AAA Albuquerque and at Coors Field will do him no favors. Rolison has a pretty clear mid-rotation projection with #2 starter upside.
- Ryan Feltner (2020 Age: 23): Feltner finds himself in a similar situation to where Will Gaddis and Lucas Gilbreath were last year, riding a day two draft selection to an up and down first full season in the Class A Asheville rotation. Both Gaddis and Gilbreath struggled a bit at High A Lancaster this year and saw their stock dinged a bit, so we'll see how Feltner fares in his shot next year. The Rockies' fourth round pick out of Ohio State in 2018, he posted a 5.07 ERA, a 1.54 WHIP, and a 116/46 strikeout to walk ratio over 119 innings for Asheville, a hitter-friendly context which also wasn't the most aggressive assignment for a collegiate starter. He sits in the mid 90's with his fastball, which was enough to overpower Class A hitters on its own at times, while the rest of his game is still coming along. His breaking ball is somewhat inconsistent and he gets good drop on his changeup, but the command is inconsistent enough that it doesn't quite help his stuff play up. He's the kind of guy that could take a big step forward at any moment, but for now, he has #4/#5 starter projection with a good chance he ends up in the bullpen.
- Karl Kauffman (2020 Age: 22): The Rockies drafted Kauffman in the second competitive balance round in 2019, but a long postseason run for Michigan that culminated in a College World Series Championship loss to Vanderbilt meant that Kauffman didn't pitch professionally afterwards. However, he did pitch well during the postseason run, elevating his stock enough post-draft for the Rockies to continue to feel very good about their selection. Kauffman sits in the low 90's with his fastball, but it gets enough run and sink on it that it's tough to square up and it makes his other pitches play up. He adds a decent slider and a pretty good changeup, and he commands everything well enough for it to play up. He has some reliever risk but there's a good foundation to build on, and the movement he gets on his fastball should help him keep the ball on the ground as he works through the most hitter-friendly system in the game on his way to the most hitter-friendly major league ballpark.
- Will Ethridge (2020 Age: 22): Ethridge, the Rockies' fifth round pick out of Ole Miss in 2019, is a pretty ordinary pitching prospect whose feel for the game stands out above his pure stuff. He sits in the low 90's with his fastball and adds a decent slider and changeup, both of which have their moments, and his command is decent if unspectacular. He did make a strong impression in his pro debut, posting a 3.82 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP, and a 21/6 strikeout to walk ratio over 30.2 innings at short season Boise, and he has a track record of success in the SEC. He's a big guy at 6'5" and he knows how to pitch, so the Rockies will hope for some small steps forward in the areas of stuff or command in order for him to fulfill his ceiling as a #4 or #5 starter.
- Helcris Olivarez (2020 Age: 19-20): The youngest notable pitcher in this system, Olivarez posted a 0.64 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP, and a 21/7 strikeout to walk ratio over 14 innings in the Dominican Summer League in 2019 before finally earning a promotion to rookie level Grand Junction. He held his own in the thin air, posting a 4.82 ERA, a 1.52 WHIP, and a 61/24 strikeout to walk ratio over 46.2 innings, giving the Rockies hope they may have found a future big league starter. He's athletic and is already sitting in the low to mid 90's with his fastball as a teenager, though the rest of his game needs work. He adds a curve and a changeup that both need more consistency, and like most kids his age, his command comes and goes. That said, it's fairly advanced for a teenager, and his loose, athletic delivery gives the Rockies some hope he can stick as a starter unlike so many of their recent top pitching prospects.
- Jared Horn (2020 Age: 21-22): Horn was a potential first round pick coming out of high school in Napa, California, but he instead opted to attend Cal. It was there that he had to pitch under the toughest of circumstances, because in the fall of his sophomore year, a drunk driver crashed into the car he was driving and killed all four of his passengers: his father, brother, uncle, and cousin. After an understandably rough sophomore season and an appendectomy to being his junior year, he went on a remarkable run that led to a seventh round selection in the 2019 draft. He held his own in his pro debut this year, posting a 3.80 ERA, a 1.42 WHIP, and a 33/11 strikeout to walk ratio over 45 innings at rookie level Grand Junction. Horn sits in the low 90's with his fastball and adds a full arsenal with a curve, slider, and changeup, and he has made progress with his command of all four pitches. He does throw with some effort and the stuff might be a hair light if he wants to start, but he's trending in the right direction and since he doesn't turn 22 until July, he's young for a college draftee. I do think his most likely destination is the bullpen, but if there's anybody worth rooting for, it's Horn.
- Keep an eye on: Ryan Castellani, Ty Culbreth, Lucas Gilbreath, Colten Schmidt, Mitchell Kilkenny

Relief Pitching
- Ben Bowden (2020 Age: 25): Bowden, a second round pick out of Vanderbilt in 2016, has made easy work of the gauntlet of hitter-friendly venues in the Rockies system. In 2019, he completely shut down the Eastern League with a 1.05 ERA, a 0.58 WHIP, and a 42/7 strikeout to walk ratio over 25.2 innings at AA Hartford, then earned a promotion to AAA Albuquerque where he had a 5.88 ERA, a 1.77 WHIP, and a 37/17 strikeout to walk ratio over 26 innings at one of the toughest places to pitch in minor league baseball. He sits in the mid 90's with his fastball and gets lots of swings and misses on his changeup, which has great movement down in the zone. His slider is improving but isn't quite a put-away pitch at this point, while his command is decent but not great. He'll be walking a fine line as a fly ball pitcher at Coors Field, but he's also a bat-missing lefty that isn't afraid to go right after hitters. It's hard to project him as a closer at Coors, but we'll see how he fares there in 2020.
- Tommy Doyle (2020 Age: 23-24): Doyle, the Rockies' competitive balance pick in 2017 out of UVA, has moved slower than most college relievers, but he has also handled each hitter-friendly level very well. In 2019, he posted a 3.25 ERA, a 1.03 WHIP, and a 48/13 strikeout to walk ratio over 36 innings at High A Lancaster, doing so with a mid 90's fastball and a power slider that both miss bats. He's also shown solid command, and while I don't think he's necessarily a future closer, he has a pretty high floor and is a fairly safe bet to land somewhere in the Colorado bullpen.
- Robert Tyler (2020 Age: 24-25): After missing the entire 2017 season with shoulder problems, Tyler took a nice step forward in 2018 before falling apart again in 2019, when he had an 8.16 ERA, a 1.95 WHIP, and a 36/20 strikeout to walk ratio over 28.2 innings at High A Lancaster. I wanted to leave him off this list entirely, but he did save himself with two things; one, he has been adept at getting ground balls and strikeouts, which is a big positive in this system, and two, he closed out 2019 by allowing just one run on four hits and two walks while striking out nine batters in his final six appearances, spanning 6.1 innings. That's way too tiny of a sample to say he officially figured it out, but when you throw upper 90's fastballs and add one of the best changeups in the system, you'll take any glimmer of hope you can get. If he can figure out a way to maintain reasonably mediocre command, then Tyler could be a valuable reliever down the line.
- Jacob Wallace (2020 Age: 21-22): Wallace served as UConn's closer in 2019 and was absolutely dominant, especially late in the season, and that earned him a third round selection in the draft. He was strong in his pro debut as well, posting a 1.29 ERA, a 0.86 WHIP, and a 29/9 strikeout to walk ratio over 21 innings at short season Boise, which could help him move quickly through a system that usually brings pitchers along slowly. He's got a mid to upper 90's fastball and an inconsistent slider that flashes plus, and unlike many of the other power arms in this system, he can command everything decently well. The key for Wallace going forward will be refining that slider into a true plus pitch, which he should be able to do considering he's young for a college draftee and won't turn 22 until August, and he could end up a set-up man or even a closer in Colorado.
- Riley Pint (2020 Age: 22): The Rockies took big armed high school pitchers in back to back first rounds in 2015 and 2016, but unfortunately, Mike Nikorak and Riley Pint are a combined 4-24 with a 6.10 ERA and a 203/206 strikeout to walk ratio over just 224.1 innings so far in pro ball. While Nikorak, the 27th overall pick in 2015, is basically just roster filler at best at this point, Pint, the fourth overall pick in 2016, does still have some hope. In 2019, he transitioned to the bullpen and posted an 8.66 ERA, a 2.43 WHIP, and a 23/31 strikeout to walk ratio over 17.2 innings at Class A Asheville – that's ugly. But you can't argue with the stuff, as he easily sits in the upper 90's with his fastball and adds a deep assortment of secondary pitches, any of which can get generate big swings and misses when they're going right. Unfortunately, to this point, he has not even remotely figured out how to get his stuff over the plate, let alone command it where he wants it. Hopefully, a full season in the bullpen in 2020 will get him back on track, and he'll still be just 22 for the entire season. Like Tyler, if he doesn't figure it out this year, though, I have a hard time projecting him to ever reach the majors.
- Keep an eye on: Reid Humphreys, Justin Lawrence, Jacob Kostyshock, Gavin Hollowell, Jordan Spicer

2019 Draft Review: Colorado Rockies

First five rounds: Michael Toglia (1-23), Aaron Schunk (2-62), Karl Kauffmann (CBB-77), Jacob Wallace (3-100), Brenton Doyle (4-129), Will Etheridge (5-159)
Also notable: Jared Horn (7-219), Isaac Collins (9-279), Fineas Del-Bonta Smith (22-669), Hayden Dunhurst (37-1119)

The Rockies went exclusively to the college side in this draft, selecting college players with their first thirty picks before taking nine high schoolers with their final ten picks. How much first rounder Michael Toglia signs for will change everything, but for now, they're sitting a combined $102,700 below slot and may go after some of those high schoolers with over slot bonuses. Back at the early part of the draft, the Rockies grabbed two big bats in Toglia and Aaron Schunk before pivoting to pitching, selecting arms with six of their next seven picks. As an exclusively collegiate draft class, at least for the first 29 rounds plus a competitive balance pick, this draft prioritizes quick-to-the-majors talent over risky upside plays, and aside from Toglia and fourth rounder Brenton Doyle, their early picks actually prioritize safety and speed of development even when compared to other college players. That means that aside from Toglia and perhaps Schunk, there likely won't be much true-impact talent here, but the group as a whole should move quickly and we could start to see names from this draft class make the majors as soon as 2020 and 2021.

1-23: 1B Michael Toglia (UCLA, my rank: 54)
If it were any other team picking Toglia at #23, I wouldn't be a huge fan, but he'll fit really well in the thin air in Colorado. Toglia had a huge sophomore season at UCLA (11 HR, .336/.449/.588), then after starting slowly as a junior, heated up as the season went on and finished with 17 home runs, a .314/.392/.624 line, and a 65/30 strikeout to walk ratio over 63 games. He has a ton of raw pop from both sides of the plate, using his 6'5" frame and simple swing to muscle balls out of the park. However, he does have swing and miss questions, as his 65 strikeouts actually led his team and added up to a 23.4% rate, up from 21.2% as a sophomore. He also holds a .224/.313/.412 slash line with 13 home runs and a 77/29 strikeout to walk ratio (22.6% K-rate) over 71 Cape Cod League games between two seasons, showing some power but not much else there. Back on the bright side, Toglia is very young for a college junior and won't turn 21 until August, and when you combine that with the fact that switch hitters sometimes take a bit longer to develop, all the questions about his hit tool don't look quite as bad. In Toglia, the Rockies are getting a power hitter who will hit some moonshots in Coors Field, with strikeout concerns as well as the pressure that being a first baseman puts on his bat weighing down his profile a bit until and if he can prove himself. With Coors helping his numbers, he could hit 30+ home runs annually at his ceiling with middling on-base percentages. The Tacoma, Washington-area native has not signed yet, but slot value is $2.93 million and it likely won't cost more than that for him to put pen to paper.

2-62: 3B Aaron Schunk (Georgia, my rank: 80)
Schunk, like Toglia, had a bit of a late-season surge that really bumped up his stock. By ranking him 80th, I had him significantly higher than MLB Pipeline (#92) and Baseball America (#117), and I honestly like this pick at #62. Schunk was known as a contact hitter for much of his career, especially after slashing .299/.340/.411 as a sophomore at Georgia and starting his junior season with more of a bump in on-base percentage than power, but that changed recently. With the Bulldogs' season complete, Schunk finished with 15 home runs, a .339/.373/.604 slash line, and a 29/14 strikeout to walk ratio over 57 games, and that's a profile that can play up, too. The Atlanta native always had whip in his swing but added loft this year, and with his strikeout rate only going up from 10.5% to 11.5%, the new approach to hitting shouldn't slow his hit tool down at all in pro ball. He makes extremely easy contact from the right side, but that does impact his walk rate, as he walked in just 5.5% of his plate appearances this year and his on-base percentage will be very dependent on his batting average. Defensively, he's a good-fielding third baseman with a strong arm that also helped him post a 2.49 ERA as Georgia's closer this year, so he will be an easy net-positive there as well. Aside from the walk rate, the only real knock on Schunk's game is his age, as he's a full year older than Toglia and will turn 22 in July. He signed right at slot value for $1.1 million and is 1-8 with a pair of strikeouts in his first two games for Boise in the short-season Northwest League.

CBB-77: RHP Karl Kauffmann (Michigan, my rank: 118)
Karl Kauffmann is your generic second-tier big conference starter, as he has had plenty of success at Michigan with average stuff. This year, he has a 2.66 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP, and a 104/30 strikeout to walk ratio over 121.2 innings through his first College World Series start, recently holding a very good UCLA lineup that included two Day One picks (and two potential future Day One picks) to two runs on six baserunners over 8.1 innings in super regionals. The 6'2" Detroit-area native throws a low 90's fastball that's tough to square up due to its run and sink, adding a pretty good slider and changeup that will, in their current state, most likely keep hitters honest more than they'll miss bats. He has a smooth delivery that doesn't include much effort and he seems to swing his stride leg out before he releases the ball, which I just find interesting. I'm not sure if the Rockies could get a little more velocity out of him if they tinkered with that, but they're probably better off leaving it as is. Slot value is $805,600, and I doubt it will take more than that to sign him.

3-100: RHP Jacob Wallace (Connecticut, my rank: 106)
Wallace was exceptional as UConn's closer this year, posting a 0.73 ERA, a 0.81 WHIP, and a 56/10 strikeout to walk ratio over 37 innings and punctuating the season by striking out twelve of the last fifteen batters he faced over five perfect innings in two NCAA regional appearances against a good Oklahoma State offense. He also starred in the Cape Cod League, striking out 25 and walking just five over 13.2 shutout innings against that elite competition. The Northern Massachusetts native sits in the mid to upper 90's with his fastball and adds a slider that is a true swing and miss pitch at its best, though it can soften up at times. His command isn't pinpoint but it's good enough, and he has closer upside if he can get more consistent with that slider. Like Toglia, he doesn't turn 21 until August, making him young for a college junior and giving him a little extra time to refine his game. He signed at slot for $581,600.

4-129: OF Brenton Doyle (Shepherd, unranked)
The Rockies went off the beaten path a little bit by taking Doyle out of Shepherd University, a Division II school in Shepherdstown, West Virginia near Martinsburg. Because of that, he's a bit hard to get a read on, but it's hard to argue with a .392/.502/.758 slash line and far more walks (42) than strikeouts (22). He's a big guy at 6'3" and shows plus raw power, and the Rockies are hoping that his low strikeout rate at Shepherd (9.5%) helps ease the transition from DII to pro ball, where he could hopefully use his strength to get to his power consistently. He's also faster than your typical physical power hitter and has a strong arm, giving him the potential to impact the game in every facet. It's risky given that he's not proven against good pitching, but he has high upside for a college hitter in this range. The Warrenton, Virginia native signed for $500,000, which was $61,300 above slot.

5-159: RHP Will Ethridge (Mississippi, unranked)
After taking Ryan Rolison in the first round last year, the Rockies went back to Ole Miss to grab his former rotation mate, Will Ethridge. While he's not as flashy and lacks the upside of Rolison, Ethridge has been a steady hand in the Rebels rotation this year, posting a 3.39 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP, and a 73/24 strikeout to walk ratio over 93 innings. The Atlanta native is a big guy at 6'5" and 240 pounds, and with solid command of three pitches, he has the chance to be a #4 or #5 starter. However, with those three pitches being a low 90's fastball, a decent slider that can get loopy at times, and a changeup that gets swings and misses at times, so the current package won't be quite enough to get him to the majors, and certainly not enough to succeed at Coors. However, he's just a little bit of positive trend away from being that back-end starter, so the Rockies will take those chances and hope for the best. Slot value is $327,200.

7-219: RHP Jared Horn (California, unranked)
Usually one guy in every write up has had a "wild ride," but perhaps nobody I've written about has had to go through what Jared Horn has gone through. A top prospect out of high school in Napa, California who ranked 32nd on my 2016 draft list, Horn instead opted to attend the University of California, making him the second highest ranked player to get to campus after #27 Drew Mendoza. He had an up and down freshman season, but during the fall of his freshman year, a drunk driver crashed into the car he was driving, killing his father, uncle, brother, and cousin and leaving him as the only survivor (you can read more here). While dealing with the very toughest of circumstances, Horn struggled through his sophomore season with a 6.15 ERA. After an appendectomy forced him out of the first month of his junior season this year, he had almost completely fallen off of draft radars. However, when he returned in March, he looked like the guy he was in high school; he posted a 2.06 ERA, a 1.03 WHIP, and a 62/21 strikeout to walk ratio over 74.1 innings, including a string of four straight 8+ inning starts against Washington State, Arizona, UCLA, and Oregon. He's 6'4" and throws a low 90's fastball with some run as well as a big breaking curveball, a decent slider, and an emerging changeup. His command improved from mediocre in 2017-2018 to solid average in 2019, though he does throw with some effort. Overall, Horn will need to sharpen his secondary stuff a little bit and prove that he can handle a pro workload, but he has more upside than Ethridge and could be a #3 or #4 starter if he continues on this trajectory. He signed for $198,500, right at slot, and doesn't turn 21 until July, making him young for his class.

9-279: 2B Isaac Collins (Creighton, unranked)
The Rockies went for a utility man in the ninth round, taking Isaac Collins out of Creighton. The Minneapolis-area native had a good junior season, slashing .293/.366/.479 with six home runs and a 42/27 strikeout to walk ratio, also adding 13 stolen bases in 54 games. He also slashed .308/.381/.367 over 38 games on the Cape, showing that his bat does have some impact. Collins has a quick, uppercut swing that reminds me a little bit of a left handed Dustin Pedroia, and as a 5'9" second baseman, the comparison makes sense. None of his tools are as loud as Pedroia's and he won't be nearly the same caliber player, but Collins could carve out a role as a speedy utility infielder with the ability to handle the bat, especially in Coors Field. He signed for $150,500, right at slot, and is slashing .235/.222/.294 with a 5/0 strikeout to walk ratio across his first four games with Schunk at Boise.

22-669: RHP Fineas Del Bonta-Smith (San Jose State, unranked)
I know nothing about Fineas Del Bonta-Smith other than he had a 4.85 ERA, a 1.48 WHIP, and a 31/11 strikeout to walk ratio over 29.2 innings at San Jose State this year and that he's from Soquel, California, but man, what a name.

37-1119: C Hayden Dunhurst (Pearl River HS [MS], my rank: 110)
As a potential third round pick based on talent alone, Dunhurst probably won't sign here, and he'll instead wind up at Ole Miss and replace Cooper Johnson, who himself was a highly rated draft prospect as a high schooler, behind the plate in Oxford. Dunhurst is a stocky, strong, 5'11" catcher from Southern Mississippi near the Louisiana line who hits for plenty of power, but he's raw around most of his game. Despite a strong arm, he's not nearly the defender that Johnson is, but he's trending in the right direction and should be able to stick behind the plate. At the plate, he has the aforementioned power, but he hasn't proven that he can get to it consistently and we'll have to watch how he fares against tough SEC pitching. He has upside, but like most high school catchers, he has plenty of risk too.