Having cleared most of the recovery time for several pitchers on the mend with arm injuries, the Colorado Rockies can now look forward to the 2025 season and getting the things back moving in the right direction. The team will unquestionably hope names like Gabriel Hughes, Jackson Cox and Jordy Vargas can rebound in 2024 coming off elbow injuries.
But the Rockies system has had an upwards trajectory the last two seasons despite its poor luck in the health department. The team has a glut of immensely talented outfielders knocking on the door with several more prospects intriguing scouts on the periphery. Are the Rockies approaching a competitive window? You could make the case…
DEVELOPMENTS
As the 2023 college season approached, many felt Chase Dollander was the best pitching prospect college baseball had seen in a very, very long time. He had a fantastic year but was overshadowed a bit by the greatness that was Paul Skenes.
The Rockies lucked out landing him where they did. And now it’s paying dividends. Dollander was dominant in 2024. He’s once again touching 100 mph and living a few ticks below that launching from an outlier slot. And it’s a fastball that’s produced the results you’d expect from a pitch in that Stuff+ department. It’ll immediately slot in as one of the better fastballs in baseball from a starting pitcher when he debuts with the big league ball club in 2025. But this isn’t a one-trick pony, either.
Dollander has a tremendous cutter/slider combination that misses bats and produces weak contact. There’s also a changeup that’ll flash, but is more commonly barely average. Dollander punched 169 tickets last season in just 118 innings. He has a chance to be the Rockies ace be seasons end next year. It’s real deal stuff. From this chair, you could make a justified argument he’s the top pitching prospect in the sport.
Beyond Dollander, plenty of arms are intriguing to track for the Rockies in 2025. Lefty Carson Palmquist has been quiet and steady in his time with the organization and reached Triple-A last season. Armed with a crossbody delivery and a devastating changeup some nights, Palmquist struck out 144 batters last season across just 117.2 innings.
The control and command of the strike zone is more fringy and he’ll have nights that get away from him, but the stuff and unique look will play in some capacity in Coors next season.
Keep an eye on lefty Sean Sullivan next season too. The stuff isn’t as loud as Dollander or Palmquist, but the former Wake Forest ace punched 125 tickets over 115.1 innings last season and issued a remarkably stingy 15 free passes. He reached Double-A last year and could be on a fast-track to pitching in the big leagues next summer as well.
Couple these three arms with the recent debut of Jaden Hill and it’s within reason the Rockies have a rotation next summer that teams can fear a bit more than they’ve had to in recent years flying into Denver.
While most Rockies farmhand bats offered tepid results last year, outfielder Cole Carrigg exceeded expectations. The utility-extraordinaire posted a .283/.360/.491 slash through High-A last year and added 17 homers and 53 stolen bases to bolster the baseball card.
It’s possible the Rockies are aggressive with the former San Diego State standout and rush him up to Colorado to supplement Brenton Doyle in the outfield by August.
A bit further out, Rockies fans can be excited about what outfielder Robert Calaz may bring to the table down the road. The 2023 international signee punished minor league baseball with a .344/.446/.634 slash and hit twelve homers in his age-18 season.
He’ll be a Top 100 prospect for some, but he’s a very long ways away and does possess considerable swing-and-miss concerns.
Keep an eye on shortstop Ryan Ritter, too. He hit .270/.370/.403 last year at Double-A Hartford and played his exceptional brand of defense at the ‘6’ along the way. It’s possible he’s the full-time shortstop in Denver by the end of the year. Scouts have long waited for the bat to catch up to the glove and it seems that could be taking place.
QUESTIONS
Can 2020 first-round pick Zac Veen stay healthy? He pounded the baseball in his first pro season in Single-A Fresno, then again a year later in High-A, only slowing down when pushed to Double-A at age 20.
Then the injuries started to pile up. He played in just 46 games in 2023 with sub par results, and while he hit at Double-A Hartford 2024 (.268/.359/.457) it was for only 36 games. He played 65 games altogether last season, including 21 in Triple-A (.220/.281/.476).
Veen, added to the 40-man this month, is a plus baserunner, and an above-average glove with plenty of arm for the corners, but he has to stay on the field for development purposes.
Charlie Condon, the Rockies’ top pick in July’s Draft, didn’t hit much in his 25-game debut last summer, showing why some clubs had hit tool questions despite his humungous final season at Georgia. The swing and miss will be something to watch, as will his eventual defensive position.
He played some third base and left field for High-A Spokane.
For Colorado, finding pitching that works in their ballpark is key to their success, but athletetic players are also a necessary ingredient. Veen and Condon both fit that bill enough, as does Ritter, but keep an eye on Dyan Jorge, a surefire shortstop who finished his 2024 campaign in High-A.
Benny Momtgomery, the Rockies’ first-round pick in 2021, also has loud tools, including 70-grade speed and well above-average range in center. The 22-year-old missed nearly all of 2024 after injuring his shoulder in April diving for a ball. He had surgery in May.
He did return to the field healthy early in November in the Puerto Rican Winter League, a good sign he’ll start 2025 healthy.
| LEVEL | TEAM | W-L | TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | Albuquerque | 58-92 | Zac Veen, CF |
| AA | Hartford | 76-60 | Chase Dollander, RHP |
| A+ | Spokane | 79-51 | Cole Carrigg, UT |
| A | Fresno | 67-64 | Robert Calaz, OF |
| R | Rockies | 29-31 | Sandy Ozuna, RHP |
| DSL | Colorado | 28-27 | Ashly Andujar, SS |
| DSL | Rockies | 37-18 | Alessander De La Cruz, CF |
ADDITIONS & SUBTRACTIONS
After a few minor deals early in the year, including LHP PJ Poulin to the Detroit Tigers and the signing of LHP Fabian Nascimiento out of Venezuela (he’d later be released), the system-shuffling continued with the acquisition of catchers Andriel Lantigua and Jorge Mendez.
The club stayed busy over the summer, too.
Colorado acquired RHPs Yujanyer Herrera and Bradley Blalock from the Milwaukee Brewers for RHP Nick Mears, and RHP Luis Peralta from the Pittsburgh Pirates for LHP Jalen Beeks.
In the draft, the Rockies complemeted the Condon selection by taking RHP BRody Brecht in the Competitive Balance Round (38). Brecht’s fastball velocity and raw stuff suggest a potential frontline arm.
Texas OF Jared Thomas, the club’s second-round pick, is a good athlete with a chance to hit and play some center field. In Round 3 it was South Carolina catcher Cole Messina, whose nickname has to be ‘Funky’ or I quit forever.
GRADUATIONS
Jordan Beck, OF
Hunter Goodman, OF
Aaron Shunk, IF
Sean Bouchard, 1B
Anthony Molina, RHP
Tanner Gordon, RHP
Angel Chivilli, RHP
Blaclock, RHP
BIG-LEAGUE RADAR
Dollander, RHP
Veen, CF
Zach Agnos, RHP
Yanquiel Fernandez, OF
Ritter, SS
Sterlin Thompson, 1B/OF
Palmquist, LHP
Montgomery, CF
Warming Bernabel, 3B
Cade Denton, RHP
SCOUT SAYS
“The talent that’s been lost in this organization is second to none, and it’s really not about the Rockies. Baseball is different in Colorado, and the formula for consistent performance is an unsolved mystery. But there are some truly gifted players started to gather as a group, and we could see them turn a corner as a franchise if they’ve figured this out.”
