Colorado Rockies Prospect Discussion

by John Sickels on Dec 11, 2025 8:00 AM EST

I'm now working on the Oakland Athletics prospects for the book.

The next team is the Colorado Rockies. Use this thread to discuss Rockies prospects. This is a team with lots of young talent at the major league level, and a farm system that is still reasonably prospect-rich. Who do you like?

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Some lesser names..

besides the obvious big names like Fowler some other guys such as C Wilin Rosario, CF Delta Cleary and P Connor Graham are guys that could really take off in 2009. I think Cleary may become that next 5 tool guy that people fall in love with

by NYSOX on Dec 11, 2025 9:01 AM EST reply reply 0 recs

cleary

i watched cleary play juco ball in louisianna and i am not that optimistic:

he has terrible plate discipline and the “hit” tool isn’t there. he passes the eye test with flying colors, and is a hell of an athlete, but he will struggle big time in full season ball.

if everything clicks then he is a stud. he could possibly be the best athlete in the game (not an overestimation, he was DI recruit in basketball and football), but my guess is he becomes the next Reggie Abercrombie, if even that

by ScottAZ on Dec 11, 2025 1:11 PM EST up reply reply 0 recs

Random Rockies

Shane Lindsay: He reappeared on the radar as he was finally healthy, showed some success in A+ by continuing to K over 10/9. He’s always had pretty nasty stuff, but his control has been lacking, and he’s kind of a gimp.

Brian Rike: Big disappointment. The kid’s got a nice swing and made a nice debut in A- last year. Started off strong but then cratered. I think he could bounce back, but expectations have probably got to be lowered.

Sam Deduno: Anyone know what is up with this guy? Good stuff, didn’t pitch at all this year.

Michael Mitchell: Big speed, but also showcased some secondary skills. Strikes out a lot.

Will Harris: I like this kid a lot. All around good year, good k/9, good GB rate, all around good year in the Cal League no less.

by aCone419 on Dec 11, 2025 10:51 AM EST reply reply 0 recs

Mitchell's one heck of a player.

I don’t think I’d put him in a top 20 list for all the typical reasons (age, no plus tools outside the speed, smallish body) but he’s the type of guy that it wouldn’t be any surprise at all if he defied everything and carved out a decent MLB niche for himself as a role player. He reminds me a bit of Clint Barmes in that respect. He plays all out, all the time, and just typically shows better in person than he will on the stat sheet. I don’t suspect he’ll get a lot of love here.

Deduno spent the season recovering from shoulder surgery. The Rockies were obviously pleased enough with his recovery to feel a need to protect him on the 40 man roster and when you consider that they didn’t protect Lindsay in a similar situation last year, it says a lot. He could be a real sleeper prospect that I am half expecting to rise quickly through the Rockies list this season.

I wouldn’t call Lindsay a gimp, especially not to his face (sorry, couldn’t help it, his broken hand this season was the result of a bar fight) but he could be one of those guys that just seems to have bad luck with injuries throughout his career. He needs maturity, but word is that he’s getting it.

by Rox Girl on Dec 11, 2025 4:16 PM EST up reply reply 0 recs

Instructs Observations

Rosario has great raw power, Friedrich looks sharp, Chacin not so much

by matt0177 on Dec 11, 2025 11:28 AM EST reply reply 0 recs

Franklin Morales

Is there still hope?

by The Colonel on Dec 11, 2025 1:34 PM EST reply reply 0 recs

Yes

He’s only 22. And his problems were ostensibly mechanical, not injury-related.

by aCone419 on Dec 11, 2025 2:03 PM EST up reply reply 0 recs

Chacin

I’m interested in what kind of grade he gets, but I’d lean towards giving him a B+. Probably 2nd in the organization behind Fowler, a borderline A- type prospect.

Chacin seems relatively controversial.

He doesn’t walk many, gets a good amount of strikeouts, and induces a boatload of grounders. Reached High-A as a 20 year old (and did quite well there) and excelled in a hitter-friendly place like Asheville.

But you have a guy like Law degraded Chacin by labeling him a “command guy” and added that he “doesn’t have huge stuff, great changeup, definitely has to prove it at AA - command guys can make A-ball hitters look foolish pretty easily. I do like him, but his A-ball stats probably give a misleading picture.”

Goldstein over at BP seemed to be more optimistic. In his recent Rockies top 11 list, he said Chacin could be a 2/3 type starter.

Here is an excellent article on Chacin from July… lots of good scouting info

by rdf8585 on Dec 11, 2025 3:30 PM EST reply reply 0 recs

Chacin article

The last link doesn’t work (forgot to copy the “l” in html at the end) but here it is:

http://blogs.rockymountainnews.com/rockies_farm_report/archives/2008/07/chacin_the_machine.html

by rdf8585 on Dec 11, 2025 3:33 PM EST up reply reply 0 recs

Hack writer. I wouldn't trust her.

by Rox Girl on Dec 11, 2025 4:17 PM EST up reply reply 0 recs

A couple that get overlooked too often:

Scott Robinson - he’s another athlete who has great range for center and a plus arm, his .269/.339/.408 line was actually pretty solid for a 19 year old at Tri-City, which typically plays tougher on immature hitters.

Parker Frazier - Also 19 at Tri-City, the Rockies preach pitching to contact for their pitchers, so K/9 rates will tend low to start with and his 57% GB rate was one of the best in the system and he’s seeming like a solid bottom of the rotation candidate down the road.

by Rox Girl on Dec 11, 2025 4:04 PM EST reply reply 0 recs

Frazier looked solid in both the instructs games I saw him pitch

Good kid, good composer off the field as well.

by matt0177 on Dec 11, 2025 8:17 PM EST up reply reply 0 recs

Chris Nelson

Any thoughts?

Will he bounce back from the injury and hit like he’s capable, or is he one of those guys who’s a good prospect until he hits AA?

Also, what’s his position, since he’s blocked by Tulo. Does he stick at short for now, or is he a 2B/OF?

by Domino427 on Dec 11, 2025 5:24 PM EST reply reply 0 recs

2B/OF

He has the physical tools to stay at short but his progressive defensively has been far slower than it should have been for a player who is so talented.

It wouldn’t surprise me if he was a bit like BJ Upton - they move him somewhere that he doesn’t have to think so much and he can just play and all of a sudden he uses all of his athleticism to be a good defender.

by MADness on Dec 11, 2025 5:54 PM EST up reply reply 0 recs

Greg Reynolds

Still hope? Rushed? Any insight?

by The Colonel on Dec 12, 2025 2:03 AM EST reply reply 0 recs

Reynolds

There is always hope, but was there ever anything there to begin with? Certainly not the kind of stuff you’d like to see from the number 2 overall pick in the draft. The remarkable thing about that choice was the Rockies admission during a press conference that Reynolds projected to be no better than a #3 or #4 starter. That made some eyes roll, for sure… “Ahem, excuse me, Mr. O’Dowd… was there any thought in taking Evan Longoria?”

If Greg busts out, and he is well on his way, then the 2006 Rockies draft takes a big hit. The number 2 pick that year was David Christensen, who is basically another bust already. However, they did nab a solid catching prospect, Micheal McKenry, in the 7th, followed by RHS Brandon Hynick, who should be in the Colorado Springs rotation next season and who looks like 200 inning workhorse in the making.

There are some other players in the 2006 draft that still hold promise but it is just a killer for a franchise like the Rockies when you mess up high picks like that. Especially following the 2005 draft when basically the only player worth a darn is Tulowitzki… most of the rest of the picks look very weak.

by roxhead on Dec 12, 2025 5:01 PM EST up reply reply 0 recs

Some names to consider (outisde of the usual°°)

Mike McKenry - C - solid D although old but one of the few Cs in the system with upside

Darin Holcomb - 3B - great 1st 2 seasons has some pop (career .498 SLG)

Wilin Rosario - C - great upside but raw looked great in Casper but still far away

P wise - some names with potential - Connor Graham/Shane Lindsay/Pedro Strop

by frenchredsox on Dec 13, 2025 5:56 AM EST reply reply 0 recs

McKenry and Rosario are both among the system's top 10 prospects

at this point, so they aren’t exactly under the radar anymore. Holcomb’s a tough case to crack, and a disappointing end to his season at Asheville followed by a prolonging of that slump in the HWB has me a little down on him right now.

Strop’s not even in the system anymore (Rangers, as if they need more arms) Graham’s also top 10 in the system, and Lindsay’s probably in the 11-15 range.

TJ and other surgeries make it very tricky to place Rockies prospects in a list right now. Lindsay’s bounced back from his, Deduno’s going to be back in 2009 as well, Hector Gomez and Casey Weathers are also top prospects that underwent the knife in 2008. It’s not going to be easy to balance placing their upside with the risk that they don’t return to being the same prospects they were before.

My top 20 would probably look something like this right now:

1. Fowler
2. Chacin
3. Friedrich
4. Gomez
5. Rosario
6. Weathers
7. McKenry
8. Graham
9. Nelson (I know, I’m a sucker for having him this high)
10. Blackmon
11. EY2
12. Lindsay
13. Reynolds
14. Weatherford
15. Deduno
16. Roe
17. Frazier
18. Robinson
19. Holcomb
20. Mayora