Even with rough moments in 2012, Arenado remains a top prospect for the Rockies. Image: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

As much as anything else, this list raises interesting questions about how we assess young players and just how nebulous the “prospect” word is. Consider the fact that Dahl is ranked ahead of Arenado on this list. Does that mean Arenado is a less impressive prospect or that his ceiling isn’t as high because of one down season in the minor leagues? Isn’t Dahl’s higher ranking a reflection of how little we know about him as much as anything else? The more information we have, the more we have to pick apart, the more negative observations we make. To me, Arenado is still the prized prospect in the organization. I hope the blips from last season are just part of the process for him.

Does this mean Drew Pomeranz is no longer considered a prospect? We still don’t know that much about him. He may have just completed a full season with the Rockies, but that included multiple stints in the minor leagues and the 75 pitch limit experiment. Pomeranz had to take a step back to fix his delivery…something that happens to prospects. His innings will be monitored this season…like a prospect. This organization still does not know what they have in him or Tyler Chatwood or even Christian Friedrich. Their talent is still enough to get excited about, like the “prospects” that made the top 100 list. Or at least I think it should be.

It is nice to generate excitement about Dahl and Story. As I have said before, depth is depth, and the Rockies have a little bit of it with position players. But I am not discouraged by the lack of Rockies on the list because I believe there are still plenty of guys to get excited about. I believe that is true even if they are not considered “prospects” anymore as far as lists like these are concerned.

For anyone who was following prospect rankings and mock drafts leading up to the start of the draft on Monday, the selection of Dahl came at no surprise.  Baseball America’s last mock draft before the draft had Dahl being taken by the Mets with the No. 12 pick and also had Dahl ranked as the third best outfield prospect.

Dahl was part of Team USA’s Gold Medal-winning squad in the Pan American Games last summer, where he drove in 11 runs in 15 games. But where Dahl really began to make a name for himself was during the National Showcase in Fort Myers, Fla. Dahl hit .714 over five days of the USA Baseball Tournament of the Stars. Impressive right? What’s even more impressive, Dahl accomplished this while battling through the early stages of mononucleosis.

The scouting report on Dahl is promising. at 6-2, 190, Dahl has room to add more strength without getting to bulky. It does seem Dahl has good patience at the plate, where he tracks pitches very well and shows advanced pitch recognition. One of the things I like about Dahl is his speed. With the size of the outfield at Coors Field, a speedy outfielder who can cover a spacious field is always a plus in Colorado. Defense is a concern for Dahl, but at 18, he has the time to develop.

There is some concern that the Rockies passed up on California prep pitcher Lucas Gioloto. But as badly as the Rockies have missed on pitchers in the draft, maybe they are trying a different approach. Gioloto’s stock dropped because of an elbow injury, but the Washington Nationals, a team that’s bulding their franchise with great pitching, didn’t seemed concerned taking him at 16.