Colorado Rockies: Nolan Arenado’s lesser known family member

Nolan Arenado has cemented his name in Rockies history forever. With Nolan at the forefront of the family, we forget about his brother Jonah Arenado, who is also playing baseball in minors for the San Francisco Giants. However, today, I won’t be talking about Nolan’s brother, I’ll be talking about the cousin of the Arenado boys, Josh Fuentes.

Not many people know that Josh Fuentes is a related to the Arenado’s, though some now do know because of the annual wiffle ball tournament they host as he appears in them. Fuentes is, ironically, in the minor league system of the Colorado Rockies. As a result, he doesn’t get as much air time as Nolan. Another thing to add is that Josh Fuentes is pretty good.

Not all Rockies fans pay attention to the minors as much as we should, but with Fuentes, he has been a sight to see. Last season, he was with the Rockies’ Double-A affiliate, the Hartford Yard Goats. While there he was on quite a tear. He had 127 hits, 15 home runs, and 72 RBI. Along with that, he had a nice slashline of .307/.352/.517. That’s not a bad season at all.

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It was so good that he was even called up this season to the Colorado Rockies Triple-A team, the Albuquerque Isotopes. However, as of now, he’s struggling a little with only just two hits in 17 ABs. The minor league seasons do start later than the MLB so don’t write him off just yet.

It’s puzzling to not see him on the MLB pipeline for the Colorado Rockies. Here you have a solid first/third baseman that can put up some good numbers and has a lot of potential. Sadly he’s is slept on by the pipeline. In my opinion, he’s more than deserving to be in the top 30 prospects within the Colorado Rockies organization.

Now, I’m far from a scout but I’d say his ETA could be as early as next year, if he keeps developing like he did in 2017. I truly believe Josh Fuentes can help the Colorado Rockies out. Next season, we’ll most likely see top Rockies prospect Brendan Rodgers get called up to the main stage and all eyes will be on him.

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However, if Josh Fuentes is also called up, I’d keep an eye on him. A lot of eyes will be on Rodgers but Fuentes could make a big splash and have eyes on him as well. He may be in Nolan’s shadow as of now but I see Fuentes becoming an underestimated break out star. When that happens, he’ll no doubt be making a name for himself.