A Look At The Rockies 2014 Top 10 Prospects
By Andrew Dill
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Baseball America came out with the Rockies top 10 prospects on Tuesday. Here is an in-depth analysis of each player starting from the bottom to the top.
10: Raimel Tapia, Outfielder: Tapia was signed by Colorado Rockies as non-drafted free agent on November 29th, 2010. He spent his first two seasons in the Dominican Summer League, where he hit a combined .288, with 15 doubles, 4 triples, and 70 runs batted in. Last season with Colorado’s rookie affiliate Grand Junction Rockies, he hit .357 with 20 doubles, 6 triples, 7 home runs, and 47 runs batted in. He will turn 20-years-old next February and still has plenty of time to develop.
9: Trevor Story, Shortstop: Story was drafted in the first-round, 45th overall by the Colorado Rockies in the 2011 MLB June Amateur Draft. Before the 2013 season, Story was rated the 96th best prospect according to Baseball America. He would struggle last season at High-A Modesto however, hitting .233 with 116 hits in 497 at-bats. Defensively, he did alright but knows he can improve. In 531 chances at shortstop, he committed 23 errors supporting a .957% fielding percentage. At just 21-years of age, he like Tapia, has time to improve his overall game.
8: Ryan McMahon, Third Basemen. McMahon was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the second-round of the 2013 MLB June Amateur Draft. He spent his first season with Colorado’s rookie affiliate Grand Junction Rockies where he appeared in 59 games. He hit .321 with 18 doubles, 11 home runs, and 52 runs batted in. Defensively in 178 chances, committed 12 errors with a .933 fielding percentage. McMahon was drafted straight out of high school and is still very young, he will turn 19 in December.
7: Tom Murphy, Catcher: Murphy was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the third-round of the 2012 MLB June Amateur Draft. In his two seasons of minor league ball, Tom has been a consistent hitter to say the least. In 2012 with the Tri-City Dust Devils, Murphy hit .288 with 13 doubles, 6 home runs, and 38 runs batted in. In 2013 with the Asheville Tourists and Tulsa Drillers, he combined for a .289 average with 31 doubles, 22 home runs, and 83 runs batted in. Defensively he was solid, with only four errors in 558 chances.
6: David Dahl, Outfielder: Dahl was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the first-round, 10th overall in the 2012 MLB June Amateur Draft. He was rated the 53rd best prospect according to Baseball America. He tore up the rookie league for the Grand Junction Rockies in his first season. In 67 games played, Dahl hit .379 with 22 doubles, 10 triples, 9 home runs, and 57 runs batted in. He would be promoted to the Ashville Tourists where he only appeared in 10 games due to a hamstring injury. Dahl is only 19-years of age as he was drafted straight out of high-school.
5: Chad Bettis, Pitcher: Bettis was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the second-round of the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft out of Texas Tech University. Before the 2012 season, he was rated the 86th best prospect according to Baseball America. Bettis missed the entire 2012 season with a shoulder injury but bounced back with Tulsa the following season earning a promotion to the big club. In 16 games with the Colorado Rockies, Bettis went 1-3 with a 5.64 ERA, supporting a fastball in the mid-to-upper 90’s.
4: Kyle Parker, First Basemen: Parker was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the first-round, 26th overall in the 2010 MLB June Amateur Draft. He showed tremendous pop in his first two seasons with Asheville and Modesto, as he slugged out a combined 44 home runs. Last season with the Tulsa Drillers, Parker hit .288 with 23 doubles, 23 home runs, and 74 runs batted in. He will start the season at the Double-A affiliate Tulsa Drillers.
3: Rosell Herrera, Shortstop. Rosell was a big surprise in 2013, as he broke out with the Asheville Tourists, hitting .343/.419/.515 with 16 home runs, 21 stolen bases. During his previous three seasons combined, he slugged out only 11 home runs. The Colorado Rockies recently purchased the contract of Herrera from Class-A Asheville, making sure he wouldn’t be taken by another team in December’s Rule 5 Draft.
2: Eddie Butler, Pitcher: Butler was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the first-round, 46th overall in the 2012 MLB June Amateur Draft. In his first season with the rookie affiliate Grand Junction Rockies, he went 7-1 with a 2.13 ERA. Next season, he would be would three different teams, Asheville (Single-A), Modesto (High-A), and Tulsa (Double-A). He was brilliant for Tulsa in six-starts, as he went 1-0 with a 0.65 ERA, only allowing 13 hits in 27 2/3 innings pitched.
1: Jonathan Gray, Pitcher. Gray was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the first-round, 3rd overall in the 2013 MLB June Amateur Draft. Gray started four games for the rookie level Grand Junction Rockies but was quickly promoted to High-A affiliate Modesto Nuts. He would dominate the California League, going 4-0 with a 0.75 ERA. He struck out 36 batters in 24.0 innings pitched. He will start the season at the Double-A affiliate Tulsa Drillers.