This week injuries collide with call-ups creating a heavy load of paperwork for the Rockies front office. Here is the breakdown of the Rockies Roster.
Rockies Roster Table of Contents
Injury Updates
Last week saw the highly anticipated rehab assignments of Kris Bryant and Nolan Jones. This week decisions were made plus more injury news
Kris Bryant: Healthy
After over a month on the 10-day IL, Kris Bryant looks to have recovered from the low back strain that saw him go on the IL April 17th. He will slot into an everyday role with the Rockies and hopes to turn his season around. The corresponding Rockies move is to send Sean Bouchard back down to make room for Bryant.
Nolan Jones: Setback, but returning soon
Much like Kris Bryant, Nolan Jones saw his season halted due to a lower back strain. His injury was nearly two weeks after Kris Bryant’s, so a longer recovery wouldn’t be the most surprising thing ever.
Zac Veen: Lower back tightness
What a weird week for Veen. He misses some games due to a flu bug and then in his first at-bat back he gets ejected. The best hitter in the Eastern League cant catch a break. Now his back is bothering him, thus landing him on the 7-day injured list. Nothing has been said about the severity of the injury yet, but all signs point to this being a precautionary move to help ensure the long-term health of Veen.
Prospect Movement
Cade Denton: ACL to Single-A
Cade Denton is another pitcher in line that will solidify the Rockies’ bullpen in the future. The 2023 Stopper of the Year award winner, an award given to the best college relief pitcher, Denton is one of the most talented pitchers in the system. Denton went in the sixth round in the 2023 MLB Draft, a relatively high draft slot for a reliever only prospect. Before this promotion, Denton spent time in the ACL getting ready for the call-up.
Cade Denton has one of the best sinker/slider combinations in all of baseball and has the experience of being a bullpen guy. He will join the likes of Welinton Herrera, Brady Hill, Bryson Hammer and Jake Madden in an already stacked Fresno Grizzlies arm barn.
Jake Snider: Single-A to High-A
Jake Snider gets the call-up, and it’s one that has been a long time coming. Being 26 years old, he was already old for Single-A and his performance showed that. This season, he has lowered is K% by 6% and is working walks at nearly double the rate he was last season. This is a massive hole to fill in Fresno, he led the Grizzlies in nearly everything (AVG, SLG, OBP, OPS, BB, H, 2B, BB and SB).
The mentioned promotion helps out the struggling Spokane lineup. Snider should help the Indians get on base and work professional at-bats. The future outlook for Snider is tough, he will need to be fast-tracked through the system rapidly to see any form of big-league playing time.
Collin Baumgartner: Single-A to Double-A
This call-up was the shocker. Collin Baumgartner has been lights out in the Fresno bullpen, striking out 30 batters in 19 innings of work. He’s not only getting guys to miss, but he’s also getting outs, only allowing three runs all season. The shock is the massive jump up to Hartford, which is one of the toughest in all of baseball.
Baumgartner sits in the low-mid 90s on his fastball and pairs it with a slider and a change-up. This lack of velocity makes it super tough to gauge how he will perform against a higher tier of competition.
The Hartford Yard Goats play eight games this week, meaning they needed an extra arm to make it through the tough week. For Baumgartner, this means he’s going to get a chance to show the Rockies organization what he looks like in the Eastern League.
Braiden Ward: High-A to Double-A
With Zac Veen being out with lower back stiffness, there needed to be a move to fill his role, and this was the most fun option.
Braiden Ward is lightning in a bottle. He has one of the best speed tools this system has ever seen and uses it to terrorize catchers. Ward’s 18 stolen bases leads the Spokane team and is one of the highest marks in all of MiLB. He isn’t just a one trick player because he shows the ability to get on base. The dude can flat out hit. He was the guy who jumpstarted this offense on most occasions and leads all the batting statistics. He will be missed in Spokane, but it will be fun watching him go against Eastern League pitching.
Trevor Boone: High-A to Triple A
Last season ended with Boone being in Triple-A, so this move isn’t that surprising. What is surprising is the lack of production Spokane received from Boone in his short stint there this season. In 16 games, his slash line is .196/.281/.373, which is underwhelming for his standards. The front office still has confidence in him to make a difference, hence why they made this move.
Rehab Assignments
Ryan Rolison: Rehab stint in ACL
A first round pick in 2016, Rolison has talent, but has never been able to put it all together. The thing keeping him away from the game most is his shoulder injuries, including one he suffered last summer and is looking to be recovered from. Hopefully, the extended injury time helps him keep health in his shoulder for the long term.
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