The Rockies have stockpiled a lot of pitching over the past few years, getting it every which way -- trades, drafts and Latin America -- and really focusing on what I think is the right kind of pitching for their home environment, which is guys who aren’t reliant on breaking stuff for success. They’ve still added some position-player depth, and as usual are looking for athletes in the draft and guys who might stay in the middle of the field, but since free-agent pitchers are never going to have Colorado as their first choice and the Rockies operate with a low payroll, building their own pitching staff from within is critical to their chances of contention.
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1. Brendan Rodgers, SS (Ranked No. 19)
2. Raimel Tapia, OF (Ranked No. 58)
3. Riley Pint, RHP (Ranked No. 83)
4. Jeff Hoffman, RHP (Ranked No. 96)
5. German Marquez, RHP (Just missed)
6. Kyle Freeland, LHP
7. Ryan Castellani, RHP
8. Tom Murphy, C
9. Dom Nunez, C
10. Ryan McMahon, 3B
Kyle Freeland bounced back from an injury-shortened 2015 to throw 162 innings last year across two levels, reaching Triple-A Albuquerque -- perhaps the best hitters’ park in the minors -- and pitching well there. His fastball has good life from the left side, so he gets ground balls, and he can miss bats with the slider. His changeup could use some work and from his arm slot it’s a little tough to turn it over.
Ryan Castellani has really filled out since high school and touched 97 mph last year, pitching well as a 20-year-old in High-A. He throws a power slider and changeup, neither plus yet, but is still projectable and barely scratching the surface of his physical potential.
Tom Murphy is a pull-power catcher with arm strength, and made some adjustments last year to better use the whole field, but glovework is his weak spot, as he receives balls too deep. Dom Nunez is a couple of years further away than Murphy, but he’s a better hitter and receiver, and not too shabby with the arm (43 percent caught stealing rate last year). He’s a left-handed-hitting catcher with some plate discipline, and that alone makes him a valuable asset, even if he never develops more than 40 power.
Ryan McMahon had a sideways year in Double-A, moving to first base, playing on a team that had no home games, and getting too pull-oriented at the plate. Repeating the level would probably be best for him, as he needs to get his swing more level and work on recognizing spin better.
Right-hander Peter Lambert (11) had a great year as a 19-year-old in hitter-friendly Asheville, with three pitches that could grade out as 55s, including real progress on the changeup last year. He’s still projectable and might end up with plus stuff across the board, which, coupled with his present feel for pitching, makes him incredibly interesting.
Second baseman Forrest Wall (12) was young for High-A at 20, but for a guy whose main tools are supposed to be his bat and his speed, he hasn’t hit exceptionally well the past two years. The offensive standard at second base is high enough that I’m concerned about whether he’ll hit enough to exceed it.
Antonio Senzatela (13) missed almost the whole year with shoulder soreness but didn’t require surgery; he’s a command right-hander with a big fastball and average off-speed stuff. Right-hander Robert Tyler (14), whom the Rockies took in the sandwich round, walked 16 guys in seven pro innings in August; he’s got a huge fastball and the University of Georgia really cleaned up his delivery, so I thought at worst he’d be a power reliever who’d sit upper 90s with his fastball, complemented by a hard breaking ball. We’ll see if he throws strikes this year.
Right-hander David Hill (15) had surgery to repair thoracic outlet syndrome at the end of June; he projected as a back-end starter out of the 2015 draft. Lefty Ben Bowden (16) could move very quickly as a full-time reliever, as the stuff is there now, but not the command just yet.
Right-hander Yency Almonte (17), picked up in a trade that sent Tommy Kahnle to the White Sox last offseason, will sit mid-90s with average-ish secondary stuff and threw a ton of strikes in High-A last year, but Double-A will be a better test of whether he can pitch with that arsenal as a starter. Fourth-rounder Colton Welker (18) had a huge pro debut at 18 in the advanced (but hitter-friendly) Pioneer League. He’s at third base now but his lower half may not work there and could push him to first.
Others of note: Shortstop Garrett Hampson is an above-average runner who can manipulate the bat and put the ball in play, but probably ends up at second base and needs to get stronger, especially in his hands. … Mike Nikorak made modest progress this past year after a disastrous pro debut; the Pennsylvania right-hander should go to Low-A this year at age 20 with keeping his delivery together his top priority … Tyler Nevin had one at-bat the entire year around two hamstring injuries, one of which he suffered running the bases after he doubled in that sole appearance … Right-hander Jesus Tinoco, my sleeper for the Rockies a year ago, fought his delivery all year and posted a 6.86 ERA across two levels of A-ball, becoming especially homer-prone as he couldn’t locate anything.
2017 impact: Marquez or Hoffman could win a rotation spot out of spring training. Tapia’s ready for outfield duty but is blocked at all three positions at the moment. Murphy looks set to at least share the catching job with Tony Wolters.
Sleeper: Lambert has that combination of feel, present stuff and projectability that could lead to a big jump this year. I just wish the Rockies’ high-A affiliate was anywhere but Lancaster, because it’s a pitcher’s nightmare of a park.
The fallen: McMahon took a bigger hit than anyone in the system -- although to be fair, the arrow pointed up on a lot of Rockies prospects in 2016 -- with the move to first base, where he’s going to have to mash, and with his new, pull-happy, uphill approach at the plate. He’s still very much a prospect, but there are obstacles before him he didn’t face this time last year.