Colorado Rockies Add Five Pitchers To Their 40-Man Roster

On Friday morning, the Colorado Rockies added some young arms to their 40-man roster.

The Rockies selected the contracts of right-handed pitchers Yency Almonte, Shane Carle, Rayan Gonzalez and Zach Jemiola, as well as left-handed pitcher Sam Moll, adding them to the club’s 40-man roster. With the additions, the Rockies currently have 39 players on the 40-man roster.

The 22-year-old Almonte was acquired by the Rockies via trade from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for right-handed pitcher Tommy Kahnle on November 24, 2015. In his first season with the Rockies in 2016, he made 27 starts between High-A Modesto and Double-A Hartford, finishing with a 3.58 ERA, 55 walks and 156 strikeouts. He set career highs in starts, innings pitched and strikeouts and was named a California League Post-Season All-Star after finishing third in the league in ERA and tied for second in strikeouts. At the Double-A level, he went 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA (30.0 IP, 10 ER) in five starts.

Carle, 25, was acquired by the Rockies via trade from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for right-handed pitcher Rob Scahill on November 11, 2014. He spent the entire 2016 season with Triple-A Albuquerque, where he went 5-8 with a 5.42 ERA in 27 appearances, including 19 starts. He was 4-8 with a 5.70 ERA, 130 hits, 28 walks and 70 strikeouts in 19 starts, plus 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA, 17 hits, four walks and 18 strikeouts in eight relief appearances. Carle attended his first Major League Spring Training as a non-roster invitee in 2016, where he went 0-1 with a 7.94 ERA, four walks and four strikeouts in three appearances, including one start.

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The 26-year-old Gonzalez was selected by the Rockies in the 21^st round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of Bethune-Cookman University. In 2016, he went 2-2 with a 3.12 ERA, 23 walks and 49 strikeouts in 46 relief appearances with Double-A Hartford. He was selected as a Rising Star in the Arizona Fall League after posting a 2.21 ERA in 11 relief appearances for the Salt River Rafters.

Jemiola, 22, was drafted by the Rockies in the ninth round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft. He made 27 starts for Double-A Hartford in 2016, going 8-10 with a 4.39 ERA, 186 hits, 46 walks and 92 strikeouts. His 162 innings pitched were second in the Eastern League. He recorded a career-high two complete games, including one complete-game shutout. Jemiola set career-highs in wins (11), ERA (3.71) and strikeouts (121) in 2015.

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The 24-year-old Moll was selected by the Rockies in the third round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Memphis. In 2016, he went 3-5 with a 4.74 ERA (49.1 IP, 26) across 44 appearances with Short-Season Grand Junction (two rehab appearances) and Triple-A Albuquerque (42 appearances). The Lakeland, Tenn., native was ranked as Colorado’s 22^nd-best prospect after the 2015 season and attended his first Major League Spring Training as a non-roster invitee in 2016 where he went 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA, two walks and three strikeouts in five relief appearances.