Baseball America Releases Colorado Rockies Top 10 Prospects

Baseball America released their Top 10 Prospect list for the Colorado Rockies, and boy, is it exciting to see how close these guys are to making an impact in the big leagues.

I love prospects. I love the hype, the hope they bring, the youthful passion (usually) they bring to the game. They bring potential to the plate and, for teams like the Rockies, slivers of hope to their fan bases. We know from years of experience that free agents don’t come to Colorado; the Rockies have to develop from within to win, and with guys like these they can do just that.

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The Rockies farm system has stocked talent over the past few years and it is finally going to start paying off. 2016 is the year where top prospects like Trevor Story, Jeff Hoffman, Kyle Freeland, and maybe David Dahl will make their first appearances in a Rockies uniform. Expect Story to start the season with the big league squad, especially after the concerning events surrounding current shortstop Jose Reyes; a terrible situation, but it gives Story a chance to get some valuable time against major league pitching.

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Jon Gray is already considered a part of the Rockies starting rotation, but Hoffman and Freeland – both coming off injuries – are not far behind. Hoffman looked great in his seven starts and Freeland has dominated the Arizona Fall League after a rough start. Both guys are high potential starters – Hoffman has a higher ceiling and Freeland has a higher floor – and both are poised, pending 2016 performance, to repeat what Gray did this year; finish out the season in the Rockies’ rotation.

Rockies fans are labeling 2016 as a rebuilding year. ‘Prepare for 2017’ is the narrative that’s being tossed around. 2016 is the key development year for 2017, the first year of the Rockies contention window. Without tangible progress from these top 10 guys in 2016, it will just be the same old Rockies.

To read more about the Rockies farm system, Michael Lananna has answers to all your prospect questions here.

Next: Rockies Year in Review: Justin Miller

Check out our continuing 2015 Player Review series with the latest installment, right-hander Justin Miller.