Colorado Rockies: Handing out the rookie report cards

The Colorado Rockies have had a lot of rookies play for them in 2019 so, as the season is officially completed, we have our report cards out for them.

The 2019 season for the Colorado Rockies has been one that has seen a lot more rookies play than most people would have suspected heading into the season since the club has struggled for most of the campaign. In fact, nine Rockies players have made their debut in 2019 (Josh Fuentes, Yonathan Daza, Brendan Rodgers, Jesus Tinoco, Peter Lambert, Phillip Diehl, Dom Nuñez, Rico Garcia and Sam Hilliard). That marked the most debuts since the 2016 Rockies had 12 players make their Major League debut.

With that, some of the rookies have really rose to the occasion while some have not. With that in mind, let’s take an in-depth look at them, as well as a few new faces for the Rockies this season who had limited time in the Majors before joining Colorado.

Peter Lambert

There is a kind of battered nobility to Peter Lambert’s year. Called into service at the major league level despite middling numbers at AAA, Lambert managed to give the Rockies something they desperately needed: innings.

They weren’t always great innings, as his 7.25 ERA, 1.735 WHIP, and 18 homers allowed will attest, but still he managed 89.1 innings over 19 total starts. This is good for a -0.4 pitching WAR, but his surprising effectiveness with the bat (.321 BA!) pushed him to 0.1 WAR overall – just barely above replacement level.

In other circumstances, Lambert probably would have been given more time to develop in the minors, but things being what they were in Denver this year, MLB’s #3 team prospect was rushed to the big stage. He’ll probably start there next year, and hopefully all this abuse has been a positive learning experience that leads to greater success down the line.

GRADE: C

Brendan Rodgers

One of the most intriguing storylines for the Rockies coming into this season was the potential debut of the long-awaited Rodgers. Coming into this year, he was a consensus top prospects in baseball and one of the most long-anticipated Rockies since maybe even Nolan Arenado.

Thing looked great for a while as Rodgers hit .350/.413/.622 at AAA. This was good enough to get him called up halfway through May, where he looked like he was primed to take over regular second base duties from the struggling duo of Garret Hampson and Ryan McMahon.

But then he just couldn’t hit, posting a brutal .224/.272/.250 line with nary a homer. He was sent back to the minors for a time, recalled… and then got hurt. Rodgers injured his shoulder in July and had season-ending surgery after only 81 plate appearances. All we can do is hope that he comes back better next year.

GRADE: INCOMPLETE

Sam Hilliard

Perhaps no Rockies rookie boosted his stock with the organization this season than Hilliard. He spent all of 2018 in AA and didn’t impress particularly, managing only nine homers and a .262/.327/.389 over 121 games. This was good enough for the #9 rank among Rockies prospects and a promotion to AAA to start the season.

Then something clicked in for Hilliard. The 25-year-old mashed in AAA, hitting .262/.335/.558 with 35 homers and even 22 stolen bases just for good measure. This earned him a well-deserved call-up and the chance to show that he could handle big league pitching and the spacious Coors outfield.

Hilliard has certainly made the most out of the opportunity, hitting .273/.356/.649 (136 OPS+) with seven homers in only 27 games (77 at-bats). He’s even held his own in center field, fighting his way to just above league average at the position.

All this means that Hilliard will most likely start 2020 – his true rookie season – as a regular member of the outfield rotation. Maybe he’ll even top this list again next season.

GRADE: A

Yonathan Daza

Daza started the year ranked just behind Hilliard at #10 on MLB.com’s team prospect rankings. He had performed adequately at Double-A Hartford in 2018, establishing a reputation as a line-drive hitter with the defensive tools needed to handle center field.

Daza earned brief call-ups in both April and May. However, he failed to impress in that time. He managed only one hit in his 18 at-bats, striking out five times to only one walk. Daza was sent back to Albuquerque until August when his .364/.404/.548 batting line (and the gaping hole in center field) convinced the team to give him another look.

Unfortunately, Daza again failed to make the same kind of contact at the major league level that he had in the minors. For the season, he hit .206/.257/.237, which equates to an OPS+ of just 22.

Daza’s rookie status will be intact for 2020, though it remains to be seen if he’ll make the team. Hilliard’s emergence, plus the return of David Dahl would seem to limit his potential at-bats, though maybe there’s some space for him as a right-handed hitting fifth outfielder.

GRADE: C

Garrett Hampson

Garrett Hampson came into this year with a golden opportunity: he was being given the chance to compete for the second base job left vacant by DJ LeMahieu’s departure. He started six of the first eight games of the season at second base but managed only a single hit in all those games combined.

Things got only marginally better from there as Hampson hobbled to a dreadful .194/.224/.269 with one homer and one steal before getting sent down to AAA Albuquerque. There he picked it up enough that he got called back up again, only to continue stinking, getting sent down, etc.

Then somewhere around the end of August, things clicked for the 24-year old and he started hitting. He’s boosted his slash line from .208/.265/.317 on August 27 to a respectable .247/.302/.385 to end the season.

He hit a solid .318/.368/.534 with five homers and nine stolen bases in this last month. If he plays at that level all season, Hampson is an MVP candidate. If he plays like he did the rest of the year, he’ll keep doing the I-25 shuffle indefinitely.

The real Hampson is undoubtedly somewhere in the middle, but that covers a lot of territory. At the very least, this September has bought him the chance to prove that he belongs as a regular in 2020.

GRADE: B-

Josh Fuentes

Fuentes is a 26-year old corner infielder that won the Pacific Coast League MVP in 2018 after posting an impressive .327/.354/.517 batting line with 65 total extra based hits. This success led to Fuentes getting an early call up to help out at first, but sadly Fuentes struggled with the transition.

Fuentes posted a bleak .111/.111/.111 line in April – that’s right, no walks, no extra base hits, just two singles in 18 total plate appearances. When Fuentes was returned to AAA he never managed to recover his stroke from last year, hitting only .254/.298/.448 overall, despite playing in the offense-friendly PCL.

Despite this regression, Fuentes was brought back to the big club once rosters expanded, where he’s performed slightly better. He hit .270/.289/.541 in September with three homers in only 37 at-bats. Still though, he lacks a clear place to play in the Rockies’ crowded infield and will either have to function as a righty bench bat or repeat AAA yet again.

GRADE: C

Jesus Tinoco

Coors Field is a rough place to learn how to be a big league pitcher, but the 24-year-old Tinoco acquainted himself fairly well in 2019. His 4.75 ERA is good for a 110 ERA+ and an above-replacement 0.2 WAR.

A starter for most of his minor league career, Tinoco was shifted to the bullpen to start this season in a move that has payed positive dividends for both the player and the organization. Tinoco had a 3.97 ERA for Albuquerque over 29 games, showing mid-90’s velocity and a sluvey breaking pitch with some pretty decent spin on it.

On the other hand, his 8.05 FIP and .245 BABIP against are signs that Tinoco may be a candidate for regression. This is particularly true if he doesn’t improve his control, as his 5.66 BB/9 leaves a lot to be desired.

That aside, the former throw-in in the Troy Tulowitzki deal has pitched himself into consideration for a bullpen role next season. Heck, he’s already provided more value for the team than Jose Reyes (-.2 WAR) ever did.

GRADE: B-

DJ Johnson

Johnson made the major league team out of spring training but then struggled out of the gate. He was ultimately demoted following a disastrous outing against the Giants where he allowed five runs in only one inning of work.

Johnson returned from his Albuquerque exile on August 20, and since then it’s been a different story entirely. In his second stint in Denver, Johnson was solid in September, holding batters to a 1.67 ERA and finishing the season by striking out four in two innings of work in Sunday’s finale.

This late-season surge has put DJ on the map for the 2020 bullpen, though that’s not a guarantee. The 30-year-old rookie will have to prove that this recent success is real and not simply a small-sample mirage.

GRADE: C+

Phillip Diehl

You’ll be forgiven if you don’t know the name Phillip Diehl, as the former Yankees farmhand has managed only 6.1 big league innings this year. Aside from a brief, brutal two-game stint in June (18.00 ERA), all of the lefty’s action has come after the September roster expansion.

Diehl, whose rookie status will be well intact for 2020, has managed to string together seven straight scoreless outings, lowering his ERA from an unreal 27.00 to a just plain ugly 7.36. Positive indicators include the fact that he’s had strong K rates in the minors and has held lefties to a reasonable .200/.333/.333 batting line.

It’s possible that with a strong spring Diehl could earn a spot as situational reliever against left handed batters, though the smart money is probably on a repeat of AAA – at least for a little while.

GRADE: D+

Dom Nunez

Catcher has been one of the Rockies weak spots for several seasons now, so there was some hope that the lefty-hitting Nunez may be able to establish himself as the strong-side half of a platoon. While the converted infielder’s glove has looked big league ready so far, his bat has not.

After putting together a solid .244/.362/.559 line in AAA, Nunez has slipped to .179/.233/.410 in his 43 big league PAs. This performance means that Nunez has no guaranteed job coming into next season, but barring any significant free-agent additions, he will probably be given the opportunity to earn at least a share of the catching duties with a good spring training.

GRADE: C-

Rico Garcia

Garcia has made a steady climb through the minors the last few years, including graduations from AA to AAA earlier this year, before earning a big league call up once the rosters expanded in September. He pitched in two games for the Rockies and the results were not particularly pretty (10.50 ERA, 2.33 WHIP).

If you focus more on the impressive climb than the limited results in this small sample and Garcia’s 2019 was encouraging. The 25-year-old righty will probably begin the year as a starter in Albuquerque, but don’t be surprised if you see him in black and purple again soon.

GRADE: B-

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?

Joe Harvey

Harvey came to the Rockies via the Yankees in one of the least-heralded deals at the trading deadline. The 27-year-old righty had pitched a grand total of nine innings for the Yankees and had been toiling in AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre since May when the Rockies traded 19-year-old lefty Alfredo Garcia to the Yanks for his services.

Harvey had been putting up some eye-popping numbers in the minors but the crowded (and expensive) Yankees bullpen didn’t have any room for the oft-injured former prospect. The Rockies – who always have space for a live arm – gave Harvey a chance with a September call-up and he’s performed fairly well in his limited time with the team.

In 8.0 innings, opponents have a .241/.389/.448 batting line while Harvey has accumulated a 5.63 ERA. It remains to be seen if this is enough to earn Harvey a bullpen spot next year, though he seems to have little left to prove in the minors.

GRADE: C+

Sam Howard

Howard had a solid year in AAA, earning a short call up in late July, followed by a longer stint in August and September. This has been the former starter’s first year as a full-time reliever, and he’s shown some promise in that role.

Despite his relatively high 6.63 ERA, Howard has managed 10.89 K/9, a continuation of his 11.01 K/9 in AAA. Howard will have to improve on his 4.74 BB/9 if he wants to stick around in the big leagues, but he’ll probably end up seeing at least some time in Denver next season.

GRADE: C

Wes Parsons

Parsons began 2019 with the Atlanta Braves, however he was demoted and eventually waived, despite a decent 3.52 ERA. At that time, only Scott Oberg had a lower ERA for the Rox, so Colorado quickly snatched up the 25-year-old righty.

Suffice it to say that Parsons has not gotten the same results with Denver, compiling a 6.98 ERA and a 14/16 K/BB ratio in 19.1 innings of work. Parsons will probably get a shot at filling out the pen in 2020, and here’s hoping his results look more like they did in the first half of the season.

GRADE: C-