Colorado Rockies: How the 2016 Draftees Fared Last Season

Garrett Hampson – SS – Round 3 – Pick 81

The first position player to be drafted in 2016 is shortstop Garrett Hampson. By the time Hampson could be ready for the big leagues, Story will be up for a contract extension. He is a Long Beach State Dirtbag like Troy Tulowitzki. Hampson got off to a torrid start with the Bosie Hawks as he was leading the Northwest League in July with .400 batting average. He was part of the Northwest League All-Star team who won over the Pioneer League in August. But unlike Story and Tulowitzki, he isn’t a power hitter but more of a traditional top of the order shortstop. He admitted as much  after he hit two home runs at the end of the 2016 season. They were his only homers but he slashed .293/.398/.427 with 39 RBIs and 40 runs scored in 65 games. Hampson said he was looking forward to next season relishing at the opportunity to train with Story and Brendan Rodgers. With great teammates, Hampson has a great opportunity to extend the exceptional short stop talent in this organization. Even without a power bat.

Colton Welker – 3B – Round 4 – Pick 110 

Another rookie ball All-Star is third baseman Colton Welker. He made the second annual Pioneer Baseball League’s All-Star team with the Grand Junction Rockies. There were some concerns about Welker showing consistency at the plate after being drafted out of Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida. He did everything to buck those concerns batting .329/.266/.490 and maybe even better just committing just nine errors in 51 games. He started his pro career with an 11 game hitting streak. He was able to battle adversity seeing a funk towards the end of his season by coming out of it in a big way plating six runs and falling just a triple shy of the cycle in a game towards the end of the season against Billings. The left side of the field should be situated for a long time to come for the Colorado Rockies.

Brian Serven – C – Round 5 – Pick 140 

The first catcher drafted by the Rockies did not make much noise for the Grand Junction Rockies. That was the same with Will Haynie. Serven, out of Arizona State, is a smaller catcher than Haynie at 6’0”, 195 and projected well defensively with a .981 fielding percentage. The power and average were not there though going .203 with home run in 34 games in rookie ball. More games will service Serven in showing his worth for the Rockies if he is going to prove he is the Rockies best catcher in the 2016 class. With the precedent Tony Wolters and Tom Murph made moving up the ranks quickly, Serven will have a lot to prove in 2017.

Willie Abreu – OF – Round 6 – Pick 170

Willie Abreu, drafted in the sixth round out of the University of Miami, has been compared with another Miami star in Giancarlo Stanton by his former teammate Chantz Mack an outfielder in the Seattle Mariners organization. Purple Row contributor Bobby DeMuro wrote a great piece on the relationship between Mack and Abreu. Scouts projected immense raw power from Abreu but he would need a lot of development to consistently make contact. He was well on his way to showing that power hitting six bombs in 56 games with the Bosie Hawks. He had 50 hits to match. With development, Abreu could be a lot of fun to watch bop homers at 20^th and Blake. Even if he turns out to have half the talent of Stanton, Abreu will be a nice addition to the plethora of outfield talent in this organization.