Thanks for sticking with us through our first annual Prospect Week! The release of this top 10 stands as a climax; you can see (and listen via our pod) our analysis of the upper echelon of the farm system in preparation for tomorrow’s Spring Breakout game.
Honorable Mentions | 31 – 40 | 21 – 30 | 11 – 20
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The top 10 of this system hasn’t been this strong in several years with multiple potential All-Stars at the very top, with a handful of likely impact everyday players mixed in. It’s clearly a position-player heavy top group but the pitchers are present and seemingly underrated in national circles.
#10 – Gabriel Hughes
Already one of the more forgotten prospects in the system, Gabriel Hughes was the tenth overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, making him the most hyped pitcher in the system at that time. A 6-foot-4 20-year-old with a devastating fastball/slider combination was a perfect player to build a Coors Field rotation around.
In Hughes’s first full season of action, Hughes tossed just 66.2 innings before losing his season to Tommy John surgery. During that time, his numbers weren’t what everyone expected coming into his career, but he had some spells of dominance that provided the Rockies something to work with. Despite his ERA not looking so good, Hughes possessed a promising 28.3 K% in High-A and Double-A, with strikeouts serving as one of the best barometers when judging if a player can translate to the MLB level. Despite losing some prospect shine and being thrown into the shadow of Chase Dollander, Hughes still has one of the best arsenals in the system and the ceiling of a number 2 starter.
#9 – Sean Sullivan
An unexpected selection for the Rockies, Sullivan was not on second-round radars but in hindsight, it looks like a savvy pick. The southpaw Sullivan sits in the low-90s with his fastball but gets abnormally extended towards the plate with his long levers and releases from a low slot, causing the pitch to play up from a velocity and location perspective. The Wake Forest product also has a slider and changeup that he locates well.
At Wake Forest last year, Sullivan had a 2.45 ERA with 111 strikeouts over 69.2 innings while walking just 21. Clearly, he was a tough at bat and figures to only get better. The 6-foot-4 Sullivan has a lean frame now and should add some muscle and velocity in the pros. He decimated pro hitters in his short debut last summer, striking out 10 of the 13 batters he faced. Sullivan could fast track but likely starts in Spokane. There’s a likely floor of a prime Andrew Miller-type reliever and the ceiling of an efficient mid-rotation arm.
#8 – Drew Romo
For some reason, the prospect gleam has disappeared from Romo. The switch-hitting, glove savvy backstop was praised early for rounded tools and a high floor as a defense-first player. A slow start as a 21-year-old in Double-A dropped him in the eyes of many, though Romo’s year-end production was above the league average. We’re also now seeing in Spring Training that Romo will deliver mature plate appearances and has the ability to thrive behind the plate.
Romo could be a rare 5-tool catcher. He consistently snags a base here and there (6 in 95 games last year), profiles to push for 20 homers (13 last year), and runs a very high contact rate. Recently just 22, Romo won’t be rushed to the big leagues and could use the confidence boost that will come from hitting in Albuquerque to start the year. With a bleak catching history in the organization, Romo has the potential to be one of the best backstops to ever don a Rockies jersey early in his career.
#7 – Benny Montgomery
Drafted 8th overall in the 2021 MLB Draft out of a Pennsylvania high school, Benny Montgomery is a 6-foot-4 speedy outfielder who oozes big league potential. After dealing with a quad injury in 2022, Montgomery was able to play in 109 games in 2023 with High-A Fresno, where he slashed .251/.336.370, flashing a greatly improved plate approach. He added 10 homers and 51 RBI, to go alongside 18 stolen bases. In the 2023 Arizona Fall League, he performed strongly in 19 games, slashing .333/.436/.500.
The best part about Benny is that he is still just 21-years-old. He won’t turn 22 until September, and according to MLB.com, his “ETA” is 2025. The Rockies will be patient with this promising youngster, partly because the outfield position has several players fighting for playing time at the big league level already. The hope for Benny in 2024 is that he is able to cut down his 27% strikeout rate a bit, while adding more consistent barrel numbers. We are very optimistic about Benny’s future at BSB after he showed huge improvement in his selectivity this past season.
#6 – Sterlin Thompson
Sterlin Thompson, born in Longmont, Colorado, has above-average bat-to-ball skills that the Rockies loved when they selected him 31st overall (Compensation pick for Trevor Story signing with Boston). Thompson made quick work of Spokane in 2022, accumulating 263 plate appearances and racking up a .919 OPS while striking out only 16% of the time. He spent time with Hartford where he saw success, probably the most of the three “big promotions” (Fernandez & Beck). Sterlin was able to keep his K% fairly low at 22%, while walking 10% of the time. It’s not very often you see sustained success following a late-season promotion like that.
Thompson’s bat is elite, but he is still trying to establish a defensive identity though a versatile role like Ben Zobrist seems likely. He played 56 games at 3B in Spokane, with 0 at 2B. Then Thompson played only 3 games at 3B, 14 at 2B, and 9 out in left with Hartford. The Rockies need to find a place for him because his bat is major league-ready. He is a dark horse candidate to see Major league action in 2024.
#5 – Yanquiel Fernandez
A 6-foot-2 outfielder with enormous pop, Fernandez joined the Rockies during the 2019 international signing period. Fernandez spent 2023 with three different Rockies affiliates. He began the year with Single-A Fresno, where he only played 3 games before being called up to High-A Spokane. In 58 games with Spokane, Fernandez was dominant, totaling 17 homers and 64 RBI while slashing .319/.355/.605. Then, “Yanq” was promoted to Double-A Hartford for 56 games to finish the season, where he struggled to adjust.
His Double-A slash line of .206/.262/.362 showed weakness, but it isn’t discouraging per se. Fernandez, still just 21-years-old, was very young for the Double-A level. He will make adjustments and continue to improve as he learns the pitching patterns of higher level arms. Already on the 40-man, Fernandez is a stone’s throw from the big leagues if he can find some momentum but a 2025 debut appears more likely.
#4 – Jordan Beck
Without a doubt the most fun prospect in the organization is Jordan Beck. In college, he became one of the most hated players in the country because he hit bombs and let every team know about it. He’s one of the few players with an 80 competitiveness grade, as it seems like he was always the player who wanted to win the most. Beck has few holes in his game; he can field at all three outfield spots and run very well, but it is his hitting that will get him paid a big league salary. It seems at worst, Beck is an everyday outfielder who possesses plus power.
After frustrating most of the SEC, Beck was drafted by the Rockies 39th overall in the 2022 MLB Draft. In his first full season, he was sent to High-A Spokane where he had a .944 OPS, becoming one of the hottest prospects in all of baseball. That performance forced the organization’s hand and a call-up to Double-A Hartford was in order to round out the season. In Hartford, he played 50 games and had a .749 OPS, which is actually quite good for a prospect making that jump mid-season. Beck has the chance to deliver a much needed power bat back into the lineup and provide the Rockies with the swag and competitive aura that has been lacking.
#3 – Zac Veen
This time last year, we were all wondering at what point would Veen be in Colorado purple. He was coming off of a quality Arizona Fall League performance with a .889 OPS, more walks than strikeouts, and 16 SB. Veen started hot in Spring Training before struggling out the gate at Double-A Hartford. It took 46 games for Veen to call it a season. He had a reaggravated wrist injury–suffered some time in 2022–that affected his performance, ending his season in June. This was a sigh of relief for us, and many Rockies fans as it provided a concrete reason for Veen’s struggles.
Veen, drafted out of Spruce Creek HS in 2020 with the 9th overall selection, boasts an above average feel for hitting and plus raw power matched with the athletic ability to track down balls and cause chaos on the basepaths. His skillset gives the Rockies system a much-needed dose of explosiveness. With good health and a return to form, Veen could regain the momentum he once had as he quests for the big leagues.
#2 – Chase Dollander
The prize of last year’s draft, Dollander did not suit up for a pro debut but brings one of the higher ceilings the Rockies have ever had in the system on the pitching side. Dollander sits around 95 and routinely gears up to 97 with a lively fastball he locates well. Dollander backs it up with a potentially plus slider and a changeup and curveball that should be average or better offerings.
In 2022, Dollander had one of the best pitching seasons college baseball had seen in years (2.39 ERA, 108 Ks, 13 BB), but after making mechanical adjustments, the pristine command disappeared. The Rockies will look to return Dollander to form–something that should be somewhat easy, as we covered here–and develop a top of the rotation starter. Expect to see Dollander help form an exciting rotation in Spokane.
#1 – Adael Amador
Everyone knows Adael Amador. If you don’t know much about Amador already, you’ve gotta read our profile article about him to get in the loop. Signed out of the Dominican Republic for $1.5 million in 2019, Amador flashed bat to ball skills that made a 16-year-old look like an MLB veteran. Since debuting in pro-ball, Amador has proven he can be an excellently rounded player while providing defensive value on the middle-infield.
2022 was his first full season as a professional, and he was sent to Fresno to play the whole season with the Grizzlies. In that season, Amador was dominant, slashing .292/.415/.445, adding 87 walks and 15 home runs. Not only did he show off his on-base prowess, but he proved that he wasn’t a one-trick player and could become a power threat. That season officially took the top off his MLB prospect stock, and he began to rise up boards. Even notorious critic Keith Law ranked him as the 98th overall prospect in all of baseball, heading into the 2023 season.
Now that his foot was finally in the door, 2023 was the chance for Amador to rise up the farm and press the Rockies with tough decisions looking towards the future. That’s exactly what he did. During his time in High-A, Amador had a slash line of .302/.392/.514, which forced his call-up to Double-A. In Hartford, Amador came back down to earth and struggled to regain his form in a ten-game stretch following surgery to repair a broken hamate bone.
With Tovar being the future for this team at shortstop, Amador most likely will become a second baseman when he comes into the league, creating an interesting domino effect of questions going forward. Regardless, Amador’s future, like many in this system, is bright and the Rockies will have some good problems to solve going forward.
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