Tyler Paddor, Luke Wortman, Isaac Stevens, Louis Taggart, Aaron McBride | March 3, 2025
We’re in the thick of baseball with Spring Training well underway. A handful of prospects have already made their mark on big league camp so there is no better time for BSB to unveil our top 40 prospect list. Today we have honorable mentions on tap–headlined by the electric Jackson Cox.
The top 40 is set to kick off tomorrow, with daily releases until the Rockies Spring Breakout game (all prospect matchups in the middle of Spring Training) on March 16th. It’s over a week straight of prospect content releases so buckle up and enjoy!
The Honorable Mentions
Victor Juarez
Victor Jaurez dropped his ERA two whole points from 2023 to 2024. In his second season at High-A Spokane, Juarez racked up 113 strikeouts across 111 innings. While he doesn’t possess elite velocity or stuff, his command is exceptional—issuing just 34 walks, one of the best marks in the Northwest League.
Juarez doesn’t possess elite velocity on his fastball with it topping out at 93 mph, but he has an impressive secondary arsenal that compliments it well. He mixes a curveball, change up and slider with the fastball. His change up, which sits around 84 mph, has been his best pitch in his young baseball career. While 2024 was a setback, the 21-year-old right-hander out of Mexico continues to develop, this season is a crucial season if he wants a spot in the future Rockies rotation.
Along with a strong crop of starting pitching in the organization, we can expect Juarez to appear in a Yard Goat jersey in 2025. – Aaron McBride
Jake Madden
2024 was a step in the wrong direction for the electric Madden. After being acquired from the Angels in the summer of 2023 for CJ Cron and Randal Grichuk, Madden immediately possessed some of the best arm talent in the organization. Headlined by a mid-90s lively fastball and pair of promising secondaries, Madden has struggled to control his stuff in the Rockies organization, though a bullpen transition gives the projectable right-hander new life. Though Madden’s 43 strikeouts to 26 walks is a below average ratio, he still managed a respectable 3.71 ERA in 2024.
Look for Madden to move up to High-A Spokane as he enters a pivotal year in his career. – Tyler Paddor
Lebarron Johnson
Johnson was selected in the 5th round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of the University of Texas after a disappointing 5.60 ERA season. However, the 6-foot-5 righty is a prime candidate to boom in the Rockies organization given the quality of his downhill stuff. Johnson throws from a high arm slot which helps his fastball (93-96 mph) and slider (85-88 mph) get extremely steep in the zone, which helped Johnson produce a near 50% ground ball rate in 2024. The ticket to jumping up this list will be the development of Johnson’s changeup which can touch 90 mph with deception.
Johnson will likely start in Single-A Fresno’s rotation as potentially the #1 starter on the staff. – Tyler Paddor
For more on Johnson and the rest of the 2024 draft class, check out our class-wide breakdown.
Austin Emener
After a 5.40 ERA campaign at East Tennessee State, Emener was a 16th round selection in 2023. The Rockies clearly saw areas for improvement and Emener burst onto the prospect scene with a strong first pro season. The lefty tossed a 4.20 ERA with 67 strikeouts in 60 innings in an injury-shortened season. Emener sits 91-93 from the left side, and has a lot more projection in the tank. To back up his fastball, Emener mixes in a slow, loopy slider in the upper-70s and a power changeup, giving him three distinct speeds. If he can stay healthy, he will be a lot higher on this list next year.
Emener should start in Spokane’s rotation, though his eventual role may be the bullpen as he looks to continue climbing the organizational ladder. – Luke Wortman
Jackson Cox
Cox missed all of 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in the middle of the 2023 campaign. The 50th overall pick in 2022 is on the short list of high school pitchers selected by the Rockies all-time. His 3,000 RPM curveball is one of the “spinniest” in the organization and he matches that with a mid-90s fastball with movement. Before ending his 2023 season, Cox was racking up the strikeouts. In his second to last game before the elbow injury, Cox struck out 9 in 3 innings. The next outing, Cox went 4 innings, striking out 5. Cox had finally found a groove in the pros as a recent high school graduate before Tommy John interrupted his momentum.
The ceiling for the 2nd round pick is high. We expect the organization to ease him, and the rest of the TJ crew (Hughes and Vargas), back into action this season. Expect to see Jackson in High-A Spokane to start. – Aaron McBride
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