The 2024 Preseason Top 30 lists are built around the idea of certainty and future Role. Similar to industry projection systems such as Future Value (FV), Overall Future Potential (OFP), and Grade, Role is a way to describe to what degree a player will add value to his organization at peak.
Our scale is a bit more conservative than other grading systems. We take into account recent seasonal performance, proximity to impact, metric/data analysis, and industry conversations to build a case for the most likely outcome for any given player.
It is important to note these Role labels are fluid and can change as a player moves up the developmental ladder. It is not uncommon for a player to change his role projection over even one month. Players jump from a Role 35 to a Role 40 quite quickly.
Things like mechanical adjustments and physical maturation can alter a player’s projection seemingly overnight. Players change. Keep that in mind.
Below is our Role chart used to place future projection on players.
| ROLE | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| 20 | No organizational value. Non-prospect. |
| 30 | Organizational value, filler. Likely peaks at Triple-A or below. |
| 35 | Potential up-and-down, Quad-A prospect. Has some tools. Development necessary to secure prolonged MLB role. |
| 40 | Back-up at MLB level. No. 5 starter on non-competitive team. Depth. |
| 45 | Potential starter on contender. Bench player for championship-level team. |
| 50 | Starter on a championship-level team. Lacks star ceiling. Steady. Potential No. 4 starting pitcher. |
| 55 | Potential all-star. Some impact. Above average big-league regular. Mid-rotation starter on a contender. |
| 60 | All-star level player. Impact. Middle-of-the-order bat. No. 2 starter on good team. |
| 70 | Perennial all-star. Will contend for seasonal awards. Potential MVP/Cy Young upside. No. 1 starting pitcher. Ace. |
| 80 | Hall of Fame upside. Generational. MVP/Cy Young Favorite some years. Organizational pillar who can carry an entire franchise at times. |
You will not find players with a sub-50 Role on our Top 100 Prospect List. You are also unlikely to find any sub-35 Role players on a Top 30 board. Generally, organizations will have at least 30 players with big-league projection.
All rankings and roles by Joe Doyle
Player notes by Jason A. Churchill
The Rockies have had no luck with injuries and hitter development the past several years, but the cupboard isn’t bare nor without upside and proximity.
Depth, however, is a problem, and there is limited pitching.
| RANK | PLAYER | POS | ROLE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adael Amador | SS | 60 |
| 2 | Chase Dollander | RHP | 55 |
| 3 | Yanquiel Fernandez | OF | 55 |
| 4 | Jordan Beck | OF | 50 |
| 5 | Sterlin Thompson | OF | 50 |
| 6 | Zac Veen | OF | 50 |
| 7 | Drew Romo | C | 45 |
| 8 | Cole Carrigg | C | 45 |
| 9 | Jordy Vargas | RHP | 45 |
| 10 | Dyan Jorge | SS | 45 |
Adael Amador can handle shortstop (and might be plus at second), makes a ton of contact, and has a great feel for the zone as well as the fat part of his bat.
He may scrape average power from an efficiency standpoint and likely starts 2024 in Double-A in his age-21 season.
Chase Dollander entered last spring among the favorites to go No. 1 overall, hitting the upper 90s with his fastball and flashing a plus slider. His breaking ball went backward and he ended up sliding down the board to Colorado.
His changeup developed some before the draft and he’s always thrown strikes, so he now looks like a No. 3 starter with a chance to be an ace if he can rediscover his 70-grade slider.
Yanquiel Fernandez is an aggressive bat with 60 power and enough arm to stick in right field. The strikeouts piled up on him in Double-A as he was chasing at an alarming rate, but he gets the barrel to a wide zone well and can hit the ball hard the other way.
Drew Romo had a strong 2023 at the plate, posting a .253/.313/.440 slash in 91 games in Double-A, earning a cup of coffee in the PCL at the end of the season.
He’s just 22 and there are some signs he can switch hit, though he’s been more consistent and powerful as a left-handed batter. He profiles well behind the dish and should be Colorado’s starting catcher by 2025.
| RANK | PLAYER | POS | ROLE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Robert Calaz | OF | 45 |
| 12 | Gabriel Hughes | RHP | 45 |
| 13 | Benny Montgomery | OF | 45 |
| 14 | Carson Palmquist | LHP | 40 |
| 15 | Hunter Goodman | 1B | 40 |
| 16 | Jackson Cox | RHP | 40 |
| 17 | Sean Sullivan | LHP | 40 |
| 18 | Ryan Ritter | SS | 40 |
| 19 | Ashly Andujar | SS | 35 |
| 20 | Sean Bouchard | OF | 35 |
| 21 | Michael Prosecky | LHP | 35 |
| 22 | Jake Madden | RHP | 35 |
| 23 | Derek Bernard | SS | 35 |
| 24 | Warming Bernabel | 3B | 35 |
| 25 | Cade Denton | RHP | 35 |
| 26 | Mason Albright | LHP | 35 |
| 27 | Victor Juarez | RHP | 35 |
| 28 | Jaden Hill | RHP | 35 |
| 29 | Juan Guerrero | OF | 35 |
| 30 | Jeff Criswell | RHP | 35 |
Gabriel Hughes sits in the mid-90s with favorable shape and his slier is firm with short break. If his changeup ends up average or better, there’s a great chance he stays in the rotation, even with 45 control.
But the fastball-slider combo also profiles well in a high-leverage spot, offering some floor to a down-system arm.
Carson Palmquist uses a low release to help his stuff play up, giving his low-90s fastball mid-rotation value and setting up two big-league secondaries.
Ryan Ritter is a big-league shortstop with above-average speed underway and a chance at average power, but the hit tool has a ways to go, suggesting a utility role is his most likely future.
Jaden Hill was a potential first-round pick before requiring surgery to repair a torn UCL and missing most of his final season at LSU.
It’s still a potential plus fastball with a plus changeup — maybe better — and a chance at two useful breaking balls. The key will be strikes. Can he throw enough to profile as a mid-rotation arm or will he need to head to the pen to bring the Rockies value?
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