Colorado Rockies Down On The Farm: Angelys Nina

Feb 26, 2014; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Colorado Rockies infielder A. Nina poses during photo day at Salt River Fields. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

The Colorado Rockies have an interesting infielder at AAA Albuquerque who will unfortunately be overlooked by current big leaguers and fast-moving prospects.

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Angelys Nina is a name a lot of Colorado Rockies fans have likely never heard before (unless you live in Albuquerque or pay really close attention to the minor leagues, like we do), but the second baseman’s game is one that you probably should at least acknowledge.

That is, if only because of the solid season he’s enjoying in Albuquerque while more or less being completely blocked from the big leagues by the combination of Major Leaguers (DJ LeMahieu, Daniel Descalso, Jose Reyes), minor league utility guys (Rafael Ynoa, and whatever the hell happened to Charlie Culberson), and prospects on the rise (Cristhian Adames, Trevor Story).

In spite of all that — and less and less playing time in AAA now that Story, Adames, and Ynoa have taken over the infield — Nina has hit and gotten on base for his role in the lineup, slashing .308/.346/.413 in 358 AAA at-bats this year.

Sure, he’s in Albuquerque, which is a hitter’s paradise, .280/.331/.422 in AA Tulsa in 2013 — a pitcher’s paradise — and is a career .286/.331/.396 minor leaguer with a .727 OPS in nine seasons in the Rockies’ organization. For a 5’11” second baseman, those numbers aren’t bad — oh, and he’s only struck out 415 times in 3,152 career plate appearances, to boot.

There’s one (major) problem with the 26-year-old, though: he will likely never get a shot in the big leagues with Colorado, and it’s all because of decent infield depth ahead of him on the roster.

Let’s assume the most roster shakeups we reasonably can: the Rockies move Reyes elsewhere this winter. That’d create a spot (or two) open for Story and Adames, and one or the other can function as a utility player while the other starts at shortstop. But that doesn’t create a roster spot for Nina, and he’ll likely be stuck back in AAA next season, or with another organization as a minor league free agent.

You may never see Angelys Nina in the big leagues — at least, with the Rockies — but the Dominican infielder has been remarkably consistent in the minor leagues, which is worth something, to someone, somewhere. If the Rockies did something crazy this winter, Nina would be well worth a shot as a utility infielder while Story and Adames figure out who’s who at shortstop and second base for the future.

And, if nothing else, Nina likely earned himself a September call-up, and has done enough in his career in the Rockies’ organization to make his big league debut in a couple of weeks, if only for that one month before falling victim to a deep roster of middle infielders again in 2016.

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