The Colorado Rockies announce some 40-man roster moves

Monday night is the deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft in a few weeks. To protect prospects from that, they must be on the 40-man roster so the Colorado Rockies announced a few roster moves in preparation for the deadline Monday afternoon.

The Colorado Rockies that they added four prospects to their 40-man roster on Monday afternoon. They included right-handed pitchers Josh Lawrence and Ryan Castellani, infielder Josh Fuentes, and outfielder Sam Hilliard.

Lawrence was one of a handful of Rockies that represented them in the Arizona Fall League and, as we discussed this morning, MLB.com regarded him as one of the top 10 breakout prospects in the AFL as he showcased his 100 MPH fastball and plus slider frequently.

He did walk more than 5 batters per nine innings in the AFL, though, so his control is something that needs development. He spent the entirety of the 2018 season in Advanced-A Lancaster. MLB.com ranks him as the Rockies #16 prospect.

Castellani also represented the Rockies in the AFL this year but the right-handed starter struggled in his 7 starts as his ERA was north of five. He, like Lawrence and many young pitchers, also struggled with his control as he averaged 4.8 walks per nine innings.

He spent the entire 2018 campaign in Double-A Hartford and he had an ERA of 5.49 in 26 starts. He also walked 4.7 per nine innings. MLB.com has him ranked as the Rockies #10 prospect.

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Fuentes, who is the cousin of Nolan Arenado, won the Pacific Coast League’s MVP award this past season so, of the four additions, he is the least surprising to see added. In 135 games in Triple-A Albuquerque this past season, he had 180 hits, 39 doubles, 12 triples, 14 home runs, 95 RBI, and a .327/.354/.517 slash line.

He was also in the AFL and he continued his success there as he had 3 home runs and 10 RBI with a .301/.356/.482 slash in 21 games.

Hilliard, like the other 3 40-man additions, also played in the AFL and in 16 games, he hit .328/.389/.516 with 2 home runs and 14 RBI. He spent the entirety of the regular season in Hartford, where he hit .262/.327/.389 with 9 home runs and 40 RBI in 121 games. He is ranked as the Rockies #9 prospect by MLB.com.

Adding those 4 players would have put the Rockies 40-man roster at 41. So, as a result, the Rockies also announced that they designated first baseman/outfielder Jordan Patterson for assignment.

Patterson was called up for one game in 2018 but never saw any playing time at the big league level since 2016. He has played very well in Triple-A Albuquerque in both 2017 and 2018 as he hit 26 homers in each season, with 92 RBI and 76 RBI in ’17 and ’18. In 2017, he hit .283/.348/.539 and in 2018, he hit .271/.367/.525.

Those are pretty good numbers but, obviously, it wasn’t good enough for the Rockies higher brass to give Patterson an opportunity at the major league level. MLB.com had him ranked as the Rockies #16 prospect.