Six Rockies in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects

Sep 2, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Jon Gray (55) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 2, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Jon Gray (55) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

MLB Pipeline has just released their preseason 2016 Top 100 prospects list and the Rockies had six players on that list. The six players listed were shortstop Brendan Rodgers (12), righty Jon Gray (33), outfielder David Dahl (46), third baseman Ryan McMahon (48), right-hander Jeff Hoffman (52) and second baseman Forrest Wall (90).

The biggest name missing from that list was outfield prospect Raimel Tapia. Tapia, who has hit at every level he’s been at, has always been a topic of discussion for scouts because of his unorthodox approach at the plate. Some don’t think it’s sustainable despite a lack of evidence to that point. His slash line of .305/.333/.467 in 2015 was up to par with his career numbers (.314/.363/.443), sacrificing some on-base percentage for power. Still, the 99th-ranked prospect in 2015 didn’t do anything to hurt his stock. Every draft more talent is infused into minor league systems and pushes out the “lower ranked” guys. Tapia is still getting better and he doesn’t need a ranking to prove that.

Tapia wasn’t the only Rockies prospect to fall out of the Top 100; Mike Nikorak was ranked as the 84th best prospect mid-season and is missing from the list.

It’s not really relevant or indicative of each guy’s improvement (or lack of) as a player, but every prospect besides McMahon  and Dahl dropped a bit in the rankings. McMahon went up from 50 to 48 while Dahl increased his ranking by a whopping one slot, going from 47 to 46; Wall dropped from 81 to 90; Hoffman dropped three spots from 49, Gray went from 28 to 33 and Rodgers went from 9 to 12.

Again, this minimal movement means NOTHING. It’s just for FUN.

The Rockies farm system is loaded with talent. Hell, the Rockies had a guy in the Top 10 for catcher, second base, third base, shortstop and right handed pitchers, with players just missing the cut in the outfield and in the lefty circuit. Despite the confusion surrounding the major league moves (and it’s really not that confusing), the Rockies farm system is as strong as it has ever been from top to bottom.

Next: Twitter Reacts to the Dickerson Trade

The Colorado Rockies have made their first subtraction from their outfield surplus, trading 26-year-old Corey Dickerson and minor league third baseman Kevin Padlo for closer Jake McGee and minor league pitcher German Marquez, with FOXSports’ Ken Rosenthal first on the news. Let’s take a lap around Rockies twitter and see the immediate reactions.