Colorado Rockies: After Rodgers’ debut, who will make their MLB debut next?

Friday night, the Colorado Rockies’ top-prospect, Brendan Rodgers, made his much anticipated MLB debut by getting the start at second base and going 0-for-4 at the plate with an RBI fielder’s choice in his first at-bat.

Now that Rodgers is finally here, the question turns to who will be the next prospect to make his first appearance in a Colorado Rockies uniform.  Here is a list of the candidates currently playing in Triple-A Albuquerque that could see the next promotion. This excludes anyone who has played a game in the MLB (i.e. Josh Fuentes, Yonathan Daza, Jairo Diaz, Sam Howard).

Peter Lambert

The 22-year-old, 2nd round pick in 2015, out of San Dimas High School (California) has the best chance of getting a call up this season.  The right-handed starter has been somewhat up and down this season in Triple-A Albuquerque going 2-2 with a 5.80 ERA in 40.1 innings over 8 starts.

However, he has been solid in his previous minor league seasons including running roughshod last season in Double-A Hartford going 8-2 with a 2.23 ERA in 15 starts.

The Rockies will likely add Jeff Hoffman to the rotation to fill the injured Tyler Anderson‘s spot next week.  If Hoffman is ineffective, it could open up a spot for Lambert to make his debut.

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Ryan Castellani

Along the same lines as Lambert, right-handed starter, Ryan Castellani could see the Majors if Hoffman struggles.  The Rockies could bypass Lambert and go with Castellani who has a little more professional experience.  He doesn’t have the accolades as Lambert, but has put up decent numbers throughout his minor league career.

Brian Mundell

Due to the health concerns of Daniel Murphy‘s finger, the Rockies could find themselves a little thin at first base.  The 25-year-old righty, Brian Mundell has been one of the Isotopes’ best hitters, besides Rodgers, early in the season slashing .360/.421/.570 with 3 HR, 18 RBI, and 16 runs, in 95 at-bats.  He also has the added luxury of having experience playing in the outfield.

Jesus Tinoco

Since Albuquerque’s best reliever, Jairo Diaz, already has MLB experience, Tinoco is most likely candidate to be called up who has never been to the big leagues.  Acquired in the Troy Tulowitzki trade with Toronto, the 24-year-old Venezuelan native is an imposing presence on the mound at 6’4″, 265 lbs and is already on the Rockies’ 40-man roster.  So far this season, he is 3-0 with 9 earned runs and 12 strikeouts over 19 innings of work.

Again, since there are players who have already spent some time in the majors, there are other prospects who could see a call up before this list of players.

However, with the added excitement of the MLB debut of Brendan Rodgers, it always fun to look at the future for the next crop of Rockies’ prospects.