Colorado Rockies: Ranking the 40-Man Roster: 37-40

Number 40

Rayan Gonzalez: Relief Pitcher Points: 231 Highest Rank: 36 Lowest: 40

Gonzalez is a 26 year-old from Puerto Rico who was drafted in the 21^st round in the 2012 draft by the Rockies. He was added to the 40-man roster last fall.

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In 2016, Rayan made the jump to double A and spent the entire season with the Hartford Yard Goats, facing competition about the same age. He appeared in 46 games and pitched 52 innings for the Yard Goats. His ERA of 3.12 was a huge improvement from 2015 where he posted an ERA over 6 with the Class A Modesto Nuts. This came largely from an improved ability to keep runners off base improving both in hits allowed and walks. Still, his career ERA over five seasons in the minors is 4.02 and he struggles a bit with control still, walking more than four an inning last season. His ability to get strikeouts declined against the higher caliber batters in the Eastern League. His K/9 dropped below 10 for the first time in his career, moving from 10.1 to 8.5.

Gonzalez will likely see some time in Albuquerque this year, especially if he is able to regain his ability to miss bats while maintaining the progress he made in 2016. However, with the number of options ahead of him for the Rockies bullpen, it seems unlikely he will see any time at the major league level barring a multitude of injuries.

Number 39

Zach Jemiola: Starting Pitcher Points: 227 Highest Rank: 37 Lowest: 39

Jemiola was also a player drafted in 2012, but he was taken in the 9^th round from Great Oak High School in California. He is only 22 and spent the whole year in the Hartford starting rotation after being aggressively promoted through single A in 2015 starting 10 games for Asheville and 14 for the Modesto Nuts.

He pitched well enough to stick in the Yard Goats rotation in 2016 but was not outstanding. He threw 162 innings over 27 starts with an ERA of 4.39. His relative struggles were in part because he lacked a true out pitch, which kept his K/9 fairly low at 5.1, the lowest value in his minor league career. However, his control was fairly good, walking only two batters per nine innings.

The other good news with Jemiola is he was pitching against players on average 2.5 years older than him. I think he will start the year in Hartford again and it will be an important year for his progression. He has shown flashes of dominance, such as a seven-inning, two-hit gem for the Goats in August. He needs to build on outings like that.

Jemiola like Rayan Gonzalez is likely on the 40-man roster as an option for a worst case injury scenario at the major league level. There is too much high quality depth for the Rockies at starting pitcher (weird to say) for Jemiola to factor in unless he is dominates at the start of the year. I think he has one of the highest ceilings of the players being ranked in the bottom five, so his 2017 season is one to watch.

Number 38

Shane Carle: Starting Pitcher Points: 225 Highest Rank: 34 Lowest: 40

Carle was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2014 for Rob Scahill, one of the first deals Jeff Bridich made as general manager. At that time, Carle was in high A for the Pittsburgh organization but started his time with the Rockies in New Britain in the 2015 season. The 25-year-old is a former 10^th-round draft pick out of Long Beach State in the 2013 draft.

He spent the whole 2016 season with the Albuquerque Isotopes with modest success. He gave up quite a few runs in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League with an ERA of 5.42 over 19 starts. The biggest problem for Carle was a lot of baserunners, as he owned a WHIP of 1.608 and almost 12 hits per 9 innings. One positive for Carle has been his ground ball versus fly ball out ratio, which was 1.21 in 2016 but was even better in the past.

After braving the hitter friendly environment in Albuquerque, Carle is likely ready as option for the Rockies if they need a spot start because of injury or a double header. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him start a game or two but I don’t see him factoring into the Rockies rotation plans in 2016 or beyond.

Number 37

Pat Valaika: Shortstop/IF Points: 218 Highest Rank: 31 Lowest: 40

Valaika was the Rockies’ 9^th-round pick in 2013 out of UCLA. The 24-year-old has travelled through the minors quickly, starting 2016 in Hartford before a mid-season promotion to the Isotopes and a call to the show once rosters expanded in September. Combined results from the three levels in 2016 had Valaika slashing .257/.297/.425 over 589 plate appearances.

He only appeared in 13 games for the Rockies, most of which were pinch-hitting appearances. Over a ridiculously small sample size of 19 at-bats, Valaika hit .263 while striking out eight times. Among his five hits were a home run and a double, so his initial time in the big leagues wasn’t a total disaster.

Primarily a shortstop, Valaika has shown the ability to play all infield positions in the minor leagues except first base, increasing his value. His offensive ceiling is relatively limited with a career average of .261 and a slugging percentage of .414 in his minor league career.

I thought prior to the Alexi Amarista signing that Valaika would have a good shot in a spring training battle with Cristhian Adames to win the utility infielder spot on the roster. With double the competition, I would be surprised if Valaika broke out of spring training with the Rockies and is more likely to start the year with the Isotopes. I think, as the year wears on, he could see some time in the majors, especially if Adames loses his roster spot in spring training.

I don’t see Valaika factoring in as a starter in any scenario but could be a quality utility infielder if called upon. I expect him to get around 100 at bats in the majors this year with modest success.

Next: 5 Bold Predictions for Colorado's Spring Training

Our next installment will include players 36-31. Be sure to comment on if you agree with the rankings so far!