Now over halfway to the end of our top 40, we’re dealing through most of the household names to Rockies fans who keep up with the prospect pipeline, even a little bit.
As we inch closer to the top 10, upside becomes a bigger focal point in ranking these next 10 players, with just one of them having spent significant time in Triple-A. These will be some of the more interesting players to keep up with this year as all of them have the upside to become real difference makers in the future and could leap up the prospect rankings.
Tomorrow we’ll crack into the top 10 and drop our podcast discussing those prospects. Stay tuned; we’re having a blast and hope the BSB faithful is, too!
#20 – Ryan Ritter
If you have followed Blake Street Banter for a while, you’ll know that Ryan Ritter is one of our favorite prospects. Ritter was drafted in the fourth round of the 2022 MLB draft out of Kentucky. In college, he was one of the best defenders, winning the 2022 college Gold Glove for shortstops. He is an elite defender at one of the most important defensive positions on the diamond; what’s not to love about that? As a hitter, Ritter showed potential with his raw power, but still had plenty of growing to do with his swing and approach if he wanted to reach that potential.
In his first full season, Ritter showed that his offense is only improving, hitting over 1.000 OPS in Fresno entitling him to the California League MVP award. He did all this while retaining his defensive ability. During the final stretch of the season, he was called up to Spokane for a month before ending the season with a short stint in Hartford. With Ritter entering his age 23 season, it will be interesting to see if he can continue to develop his offensive profile. Ritter will start in Double-A Hartford this season with his eyes set on Triple-A Albuquerque.
#19 – Jake Madden
Acquired as part of the deal that sent C.J. Cron and Randal Grichuk to the Angels, Madden checks a ton of boxes. The 6-foot-6, 185 pound right-hander has a ton of room to grow, a clean delivery, present mid-90s velocity, and two dangerous secondaries. He’s inconsistent locating his pitches but the upside is something to dream about.
After joining the Rockies organization, Madden pitched to a 7.80 ERA in 15 innings though three of his six starts were very successful and he got ballooned by a pair of rough outings. Finding consistency will be the biggest key going forward. If Madden can start putting things together, there is legitimate potential for Madden to be at the top of an MLB rotation. He’s likely to kick his 2024 season off in High-A Spokane.
#18 – Cole Carrigg
In a sport where uniqueness is so sought after, Carrigg is a true unicorn. He switch hits, he plays catcher, shortstop, and center-field, has a double-plus arm (70-grade), plus speed (60-grade), and good hands at the plate. Without casting a wide net across minor league baseball, I’d wager Carrigg is one of one.
The Rockies selected Carrigg with their Competitive Balance pick (65th overall) last year and he proceeded to post a 1.008 OPS with 5 home runs and 13 steals across 36 games between the Arizona Complex League and Single-A Fresno. For a high pick, early success is the expectation. but Carrigg has certainly raised his stock since being drafted. Likely to start in High-A, Carrigg could very easily get a call to Double-A this season with an early 2025 timeline MLB ETA a possibility. If the Rockies keep Carrigg developing at all three key defensive positions, he could be a hugely valuable utility option.
#17 – Warming Bernabel
Signed for 900k out of the Dominican Republic a little over five years ago, Warming Bernabel is still young and developing. Bernabel was praised for his elite bat to ball skills, and that has been on display during stints in his career. That being said, Bernabel has struggled to stay consistent throughout his Rockies career. In 2022, he had a .317 batting average paired with a .390 OBP, showing Rockies fans that he had legit talent but has been inconsistent since then. In 2023, Bernabel saw his K% go up and his BB% go down during his first season in Hartford. On the surface, this is worrying, but he’s still younger than most and has proven talent.
2024 will be a massive season for Bernabel, he could easily see himself in Denver at some point in the season, but he’s going to have to improve from last season like we know he can. Warming Bernabel is a perfect case where stats require some context as Bernabel deserves a bit more patience before we draw any big conclusions.
#16 – Jordy Vargas
Vargas has accumulated loads of hype since signing with the Rockies in 2021, appearing just outside Fangraphs’ top 100 in 2022 and 2023. To this point, Vargas has a 3.12 ERA across 150 pro innings with 179 strikeouts to 57 walks. Still listed at 153 pounds (he’s almost certainly a bit heavier now), Vargas has a ton of room to grow but the early success he has had is very encouraging.
Vargas is armed with mid-90s velocity already, usually sitting 92/93 and we should expect him to sit a couple ticks above that as he physically matures. The real selling point with the still 20 year old Vargas is his ability to spin and command a breaking ball; his slider has the potential to be a plus pitch. Last summer, Vargas underwent Tommy John and will miss most of, but likely all, of 2024. He’ll look to hit the ground running in 2025 in High-A as he pursues his mid-rotation potential.
#15 – Carson Palmquist
If you watched or read anything about the Rockies in the first week of Spring Training, you definitely read Carson Palmquist’s name. The Miami Hurricane product skipped Low-A Fresno completely and began his professional career in Spokane, ending the 2023 season in Hartford. The lanky left hander uses his side arm delivery to his advantage and racks up plenty of strikeouts. More than a third of his outs in Spokane came by strikeout at 36.7%, and he had similar success in his four starts in Hartford with his K% still at an elite 30%. In 2 of those four starts, he went 7 innings and struck out 17 total batters, walking just 2.
The 3rd round pick in 2022, boasts a low velocity fastball (low 90s), a sweeping slider (low 70s), and a changeup (low 80s) all coming from a funky lefty angle. Think shades of Kyle Freeland but with plenty of funk. It’s not just the unusual look and arsenal as Freeland. Palmquist has the same toughness and grit as Freeland every time he toes the rubber. Every part of Palmquist screams middle of the rotation arm.
#14 – Joe Rock
Would you believe me if I told you that a player’s strikeout and walk rates got better after he moved up to Double-A from High-A? Rock’s numbers speak for themselves.
Another big lefty making light work of the minors is everything fans, and Rockies brass, could hope for from the 2021 Competitive Balance Round B pick. Rock stands 6-foot-6 with an above average arsenal that includes a fastball with movement (mid-90s), an out pitch slider (mid-80s), and a changeup (mid-80s) with good movement that righties struggle with. Rock is a top-10, arguably top-5, rotation arm in the system that could see time in purple by the end of the year, but more likely in 2025.
#13 – Hunter Goodman
Your Mom’s Favorite Player is one of the few guys on this list that has Major League experience. That’s impressive enough, but the fact he did it in less than 2 full professional seasons is even cooler. Across all 5 minor league levels, Goodman is slugging .572 with 72 home runs, 70 doubles and 2 triples while learning two new positions–first base and outfield. The 4th round pick in 2021 hadn’t played first base on a regular basis since his time in high school, and even then it was sparse. The Rockies seem to like his bat and with the potential of Romo and Fulford in the catching fold, it was important to get Goodman experience at other positions. Bud Black still wants him to keep those skills tight, just in case he needs a late inning catching replacement.
Like most young hitters, it will be important for Hunter to work on his pitch selection at the big league level. Part of the big league adjustment is due to his big stride that takes up about 99.9% of the box, but it is something he is already aware of and began to work on in the middle of last season. The month of June saw Goodman’s OPS at .667 but right away in August he got it back up to above 1.100. Goodman will likely start in Albuquerque but should be in Colorado for plenty of the 2024 season.
#12 – Robert Calaz
Analysis of players from the Dominican Summer League is not an easy feat as video looks are difficult to come across and counting/rate stats have to be taken with a grain of salt. What we don’t need to be skeptical of are batted ball metrics. Courtesy of Baseball America, we know Calaz’s 90th percentile exit velocity was 107.2 mph (meaning his max exit velocity was likely around 110 mph). For a then 17-year-old, it can’t be stressed enough that this is exceptional.
Calaz showed the ability to hit Dominican Summer League pitching at a high level, suggesting he won’t have an issue getting on base around an average rate. He also flashed some speed and athleticism, almost exclusively playing center-field. As Calaz matures, there’s a chance for huge power production and having the rest of his tools in a good spot hints at tantalizing potential.
#11 – Dyan Jorge
After signing for $2.8 million in the 2022 international signing period, Jorge’s delayed beginning to his pro career met expectations. The shortstop ran a .495 OBP in the Arizona Complex League before getting a promotion to Single-A Fresno. Jorge was slowed there, recording just an 82 wRC+ (100 is average, 82 is 18% below average) in 215 PAs.
We were still able to conclude that Jorge will hit at a high level in the pros. The power is limited now but Jorge’s slim frame suggests he will add mass and impact the ball more. He’s gotten praise for his athleticism and defense at shortstop, giving him a stable floor should his bat not take necessary steps forward. However, Jorge’s bat-to-ball skills and advanced feel for the strike zone at his age suggests he could become one of the organization’s best prospects this year.
That wraps our first four installments of the BSB top 40. Tomorrow our top 10 will unveil to wrap the series up and lead us into Saturday’s Spring Breakout game. More on the Spring Training prospect game here.
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