Colorado Rockies: Top 10 Prospect Update

Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline released his midseason rankings of the top farm systems in Major League Baseball. Prior to the 2016 season, Callis had ranked the Colorado Rockies as the fourth-best farm system in the league. Now that the draft is long over rookies have signed, and the trade deadline has passed Callis now has Colorado as the 10th-best farm system in the bigs.

A stagnant deadline didn’t help the Colorado Rockies improve when other clubs like the Yankees topped off their farm system by trading every piece of value they had.

Despite the slip in ranking, Callis notes that Colorado’s “depth and balance rivals that of the systems at the top [of his rankings]”. Only three other teams have more prospects in the MLB Pipeline’s top 100 list. The slip can also be attested to the fact that Trevor Story and Jon Gray have surpassed their rookie limits in 2016 taking two of the Rockies best from the ranks.

Here at Rox Pile we wanted to provide the Rockies fanbase with an update on the great talent that is leading the Rockies farm system into a era where they are regarded as one of the best in baseball. Here is our analysis on the top-10 Rockies prospects and their 2016 season.

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10.  Forrest Wall (Second Baseman)

Drafted out of high school with the 35th-overall pick in the 2014 draft, Forrest Wall is currently playing high-A ball with the Modesto Nuts. At the tender age of 20-years-old, Wall is currently ranked as the seventh-best prospects at second base in all of baseball. Wall’s top end speed and hit tool are what will carry him through the farm system.

Currently, his power tool ranks as his least favorable tool, but scouts believe he can be a double-digit home run guy when he hits the majors. Defensively, Wall tore his labrum in 2011 and hasn’t shown that his arm will ever be 100 percent, but the Rockies are confident he can be serviceable at second with center field being a backup plan. In 97 games with Modesto this year, Wall hasn’t shown up at the plate despite having an advanced feel for hitting. Wall is hitting just .257 with a .320 OBP, and a .677 OPS. Wall has also stolen 16 bases and hit six home runs on the year.

The reports read that Wall’s plate discipline hasn’t developed much at the high-A level. The good news is that you can coach and teach discipline but you can’t teach talent, which Wall has plenty of. Expect Wall to repeat high-A ball in 2017 with a possible move to double-A late in the season if he can prove his plate discipline has improved.

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9.  Antonio Senzatela (Starting Pitcher)

Antonio Senzatela is an under-the-radar prospect who, despite having a minor league career ERA of 2.45, hasn’t received much hype. Senzatela is the first of three Latin-born prospects in the Rockies’ top-10 minor league player ranks. Senzatela earned a Spring Training invite in 2016 and performed better than expected. In 10 innings pitched, Antonio started to demand attention by posting a 1.80 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP.

So far in 2016, Senzatela has spent significant time on the disabled list but has been pitching masterfully in Double-A Hartford. In 34.2 innings, Senzatela has a 4-1 record with an impressive 1.82 ERA, .218 average against, 1.04 WHIP and 27 strike-outs.  Senzatela hasn’t pitched since June 15th when he pitched four scoreless innings against Reading. Currently, Senzatela is on the seven-day disabled list and it is unclear if Hartford is shutting him down for the year or if he will appear again this season, but an educated guess suggests Senzatela won’t appear again until Spring Training in 2017.

Using an above-average fastball and good command of the strike zone, Senzatela has found a lot of success in the minor leagues. Antonio uses a changeup as his secondary pitch, but has failed to develop much of a curveball and instead opting for a slider as his third offering. The Rockies acquired Senzatela when he signed as an international free agent in 2011 for $250,000.

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8.  Kyle Freeland (Starting Pitcher)

The fact that Kyle Freeland was born in Denver and graduated from Thomas Jefferson high just adds to the excitement around this polished southpaw starting pitcher. Colorado made Freeland the eighth-overall pick in the 2014 draft after Kyle ranked second in NCAA Divison I baseball with 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings. The 23-year-old Freeland has spent time between Double-A Hartford and Triple-A Albuquerque posting a 7-9 record with a 4.36 ERA accompanied with a 1.36 WHIP in 2016.

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In seven starts at Triple-A this season, Freeland has posted a 5.40 ERA in 41.2 innings. Far from spectacular, the youngster is still getting a feel for his stuff which features great command, a 92-96 MPH fastball, and a plus slider. Freeland will likely compete for a spot in next year’s rotation at Spring Training while making his MLB debut at some point in 2017. Freeland makes his next start on Tuesday night against Las Vegas.

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7.  German Marquez

Venezuelan German Marquez came to Colorado as a part of the Corey Dickerson/Jake McGee deal this past offseason. At age 21, Marquez is the second youngest pitcher in Double-A that is also an ERA qualifier. In 21 games started, Marquez has tossed a workload of 135.2 innings while posting a gaudy 2.85 ERA with 126 strikeouts and only 33 walks.

Marquez was just recently promoted to Triple-A Albuquerque where he has yet to make a start. Marquez could very easily be making his Major League debut at just age 22. With good control, Marquez features a plus fastball that is in the range of 93-96 MPH, and as hit as high as 98 MPH. Right now German’s curveball is average but developing and his changeup is lagging behind but can be effective to keep hitters off-balance.

With German it is more of a command issue. You should now be asking yourself “But, wait didn’t you just say he has good control?” And, yes, yes I did. Control is about throwing strikes, whereas command is about hitting the catcher’s mitt exactly where the catcher sets up. Marquez can throw strikes no problem, but it’s hitting his spots that needs to improve, if he can do that, he could a middle of the rotation guy by mid-season 2017.

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6.  Ryan McMahon

A star baseball and football player in high school (same high school as Matt Leinhart), Ryan McMahon was selected in the second-round of the 2013 draft by Colorado. McMahon has produced at every level so far in his minor league career, thus earning him an assignment to Double-A Hartford to start 2016. Things haven’t gone as planned however, through 105 games McMahon is hitting just .245 with 10 home runs and 65 RBIs.

At just age 21, McMahon has plenty of time to figure things out but must cut down on his strike-outs (129 k’s in those 105 games). Defensively, McMahon has the arm for third base but has led the league in errors at the hot corner…..twice. The errors combined with the fact that Nolan Arenado is the Rockies franchise cornerstone means that McMahon will most likely be playing first base when he makes it to the majors, which could solve a revolving door of sorts for the Rockies if he can produce at the plate in the bigs.

Hartford has been playing McMahon at first sparingly to add that versatility piece to his resume. As of right now, McMahon’s power features as his greatest tool of getting through the farm system. But like it was stated above, McMahon needs to polish his approach a little at the plate. Right now, McMahon is ranked as MLB’s number five prospect at third base and projects to break the big leagues sometime in 2017.

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5.  Raimel Tapia

Raimel Tapia remains the Rockies’ best outfield prospect who has yet to log any big league innings (that phrase is key). The 22-year-old Tapia was promoted with teammate German Marquez to Triple-A recently and will be making his Albuquerque debut this week. Tapia is perhaps the most scrutinized prospect in the Rockies farm system.

Tapia features an unorthodox batting stance that covers almost the entire batters box and features a pronounced crouch when he has two strikes on him. A lot of scouts hate the stance and question that he’ll produce, but one fact remains. The dude rakes. In six seasons in the minors, Tapia has posted a .316 average and a very impressive OPS of .813. As for 2016, Tapia played 104 games at Double-A Hartford and posted a .323 average with only 49 strikeouts. Tapia has flashes of some decent power, but inconsistently.

Defensively, Tapia is speedy and has the arm to play any outfield spot, but Tapia’s route running is skeptical and will likely restrict him to a corner outfield spot in the majors. MLB Pipeline ranks Tapia as the  No. 84 prospect in all of baseball.

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4.  Riley Pint

Riley Pint was the fourth-overall pick of the draft just this past March. Armed with the best fastball in the 2016 draft class (and in the Rockies farm system for that matter), Pint has topped out at 102 MPH and is described as electric. Pint also features a plus-power curveball and has already developed a plus changeup despite hardly throwing one in high school.

Pint’s control is the biggest concern for the 18-year-old. As for most high school guys, Pint’s mechanics  are wonky as times and the arm slot changes from pitch-to-pitch. Despite the lack of polish, Pint has the highest ceiling out of the 2016 draft class. Since being drafted, Pint has made six starts at Grand Junction and is 0-4 with a 4.96 ERA. In 16.1 total innings, Pint has struck out 14 while walking six. Clearly, there is no cause for concern seeing he is likely just experiencing growing pains.

Pint projects to make the majors in 2019 if all goes to plan. MLB Pipeline ranks Pint as the  No.10 best right-handed pitching prospect.

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3.  Jeff Hoffman

As the prized catch of the Troy Tulowitzki trade, Hoffman has a lot of expectations to live up to. Armed with a mid-to-high 90s fastball, Hoffman also has one of the best curveballs in the minors. Back in 2014 Hoffman was being considered for the number one pick in the draft, but ultimately hurt his elbow and had to have Tommy John surgery which dropped him to be selected ninth overall.

In 2016 Hoffman has been knocking on the door of the big leagues all season long. As of recently however, the long season has appeared to take a toll on Hoffman as he has struggled lately with consistency and seen his ERA balloon to 4.20 when he was in the mid 3.00s most of the season. In 113.2 innings pitched, Hoffman has struck out 115 batters (should be higher with his stuff).

It appeared Hoffman would be called up shortly after the All-Star break, but due to his inconsistencies of late and the fact that the front office feels no need to rush, Hoffman will likely finish out his season in Albuquerque and compete for a rotation stop at Spring Training in 2017.

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1.  Brendan Rodgers

MLB Pipeline’s top prospect in the 2015 draft, the Rockies were lucky to get Brendan Rodgers with the third-overall pick. As a kid straight out of high school Rodgers has been solid during his short pro career although he is frequently competing against older guys. As a 19-year-old Rodgers is currently playing in Low-A Asheville where he has launched 14 home runs with a .277 average in 90 games. Scouts compare Rodgers offensive game to that of Tulowitzki.

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It is unclear if Rodgers will stay at shortstop or move over to second base at some point, but the bat will definitely play in the bigs. Rodgers best tool is his bat speed and easy stroke which generates a lot of power. At only 19, Rodgers doesn’t have much of a resume and projects to enter the big league picture at some point in 2018.