Louis Taggart | @LTtalksfootball | July 3, 2023
We are at the halfway point of the season and the sample sizes are big enough to start drawing conclusions about the performance of prospects. MLB.com and Fangraphs both have released their mid-season prospect rankings for every team and here are some of the surprises.
Adael Amador
We have already sung Amador’s praises and fully understand why he made the leap to the team’s top prospect. He plays one of the hardest positions on the field and can do it all. This season he made the jump to High-A ball and with the Spokane Indians, he is putting together his best season to date. With an OPS above .900 and hitting nine home runs thus far, he has shown an increase in his power. His plate vision and contact are why I believe his floor is so high. He only struck out 10% of the time this season and add onto that a 12% walk rate, he is an OBP machine. He does all of this while being a switch hitter, which is a dying breed. On the base paths, he has 11 steals, which is perfect for his game.
Add onto this his fielding ability, he is a very safe prospect for the future of the Rockies middle infield. He is managing a hand injury that may require surgery, we will know more soon. If no surgery, we fully expect him to get a promotion to AA.
Zac Veen
Last season, he looked liked one of the best prospects in all of baseball and even showed off in the futures game. He ended last season in a bit of a slump in his short time in Double-A and that has seemed to have carry over into 2023. He only has a .612 OPS this season and has a horrid .209 batting average. Unfortunately, Veen will not be able to finish his season strong after a left wrist injury that needed surgery. The future is still bright, in fact, Veen posted a photo of him in the hospital after the surgery with the caption “unbreakable”.
Dyan Jorge
A name lot of Rockies fans don’t know but need to be made aware of. This season, Dyan Jorge has a ridiculous .407 average with a near 1.200 OPS. Sure, it’s been in the Rookie League, but that is a crazy showing of contact and power. This is a guy the Rockies waited two years to sign due to Covid-19. When they finally did sign him, they handed him a 2.4 million dollar bonus, one of the most the Rockies have given an international free agent. Fangraphs has him as the 75th-best prospect in all of baseball, while other outlets don’t even have him in the top 10 in the Rockies system.
Dyan Jorge is a long way away from the majors, but the Rockies put a lot of resources into him, and he has been nothing short of exceptional.
Dugan Darnell
Good pitching prospects are few and far between in the Rockies system, but one that has been under the radar is Dugan Darnell. The Family of the Pod has been the closer for Hartford and has yet to blow a save. Pair this with a career-low 1.67 ERA, you might just have a future bullpen piece. Relief prospects are tough to scout and predict the future. When Justin Lawrence was Darnell’s age, he pitched the same number of innings but had an ERA over eight in that span. Lawrence is now one of the Rockies’ best bullpen arms. I’m not saying Darnell is the same as Lawrence because it’s obvious they’re not, but it does show that he is on pace to make that jump.
Dugan Darnell has a high floor and should be on your radar for future years.
Yanquiel Fernandez
I couldn’t go long without talking about Yanquiel Fernandez and his uprising as a Rockies prospect. Before the season, we rated him the 15th-best prospect in the Rockies system. Now that number would be in the top five, if not the top three. Last season saw him play in Fresno for the whole season. Since then, he has been called up twice and is now in Double-A with the Yard Goats. The 20-year-old outfielder hit 17 home runs in High-A this season, displaying the power in his game. In his first five games for Hartford, he added two more homers and has looked like he did in single-A. If you ask big leaguers what the most difficult jump in the minor league is, they will say the jump up to Double-A. If Fernandez can keep up his numbers, he could be on the outfield grass at Coors in no time.
Jaden Hill
Last season, Jaden Hill posted an ERA of 3.06 in Rookie ball and A, the future looked bright. He is coming off Tommy John surgery and that has created a weird year with a lot of pitch counts. This season in High-A, he hasn’t been able to find his footing, having an ERA of 9.30 in 30 innings pitched. He’s striking out less batters, walking more batters, and giving up the long ball often. It must be said that the Rockies know how important Hill is and have taken numerous precautions.
This could just be growing pains for the youngster, but it is concerning, especially considering the little depth the Rockies farm system has with pitchers.
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