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.

More from Rox Pile

• A Colorado Rockies Thanksgiving
• Colorado Rockies: What if Todd Helton had played football instead?
• Colorado Rockies: Charlie Blackmon out for the season
• Colorado Rockies: Injuries shift look of roster ahead of Dodgers series
• Colorado Rockies: Has Sean Bouchard earned a second look in 2023?

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.