Colorado Rockies: What happened to those 2012 Double-A All-Stars?

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DENVER, CO – MAY 7: Third baseman Nolan Arenado #28 of the Colorado Rockies in action against the New York Yankees at Coors Field on May 7, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /

I have been fortunate to cover many former and current Colorado Rockies players long before they actually made it to Coors Field. While living in Tulsa, Okla., I had the chance to help cover the Double-A Tulsa Drillers for the Tulsa World newspaper during their affiliation with the Rockies from 2003 through 2014.

While looking through some boxes in my basement recently, I came across the 2012 Texas League All-Star Game program. The game was played on June 28, 2012, at ONEOK Field in downtown Tulsa. It was the first All-Star Game hosted in Tulsa’s downtown venue (which opened on April 8, 2010) and proved memorable for a number of reasons.

Tulsa was well-represented on the North squad, meaning there were plenty of Rockies prospects on display. Among them was Nolan Arenado, who would play 134 games for the Drillers that season, putting together a .285/.337/.428 line with 12 home runs and 56 RBI.

That would be Arenado’s last full season in the minor leagues as he made his debut with the Rockies on April 28, 2013, at Arizona. That baby-faced picture at the top of this page was taken a couple of weeks later. And how about this young Nolan in this All-Star Game photo?

In the 2012 Texas League All-Star Game, it was reported that Arenado made the best defensive play of the game (no surprise there) and lined an RBI double to help the North to a 3-1 win. The player Arenado drove home with that double? Kolten Wong, who debuted with the St. Louis Cardinals during the 2013 season and still calls St. Louis home.

So we know about Arenado but what about those other Double-A All-Stars for the Drillers? Did they ever become Rockies or what happened? Let’s take a look.

PHOENIX, AZ – MAY 01: Ben Paulsen #10 of the Colorado Rockies catches a the ball while covering first base against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on May 01, 2016 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /

In all, there were nine Drillers selected to the team. Along with Arenado, there were two other Drillers from the infield in the game: Ben Paulsen and Josh Rutledge.

Paulsen would play three seasons with the Rockies (from 2014-2016), posting a cumulative .271 average and making one heck of a memorable catch in left field. Just check out the picture here as it seems no video of the leap exists now, despite being the top Play of the Day that day on SportsCenter.

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Rutledge, meanwhile, would quickly make the jump from Double-A to MLB, debuting for the Rockies on July 13, just 15 days after being in the Texas League All-Star Game as he filled in for an injured Troy Tulowitzki. He made quite the immediate splash, hitting .345 in his first 145 bats.

In the 2014 offseason, he was traded to the Los Angeles Angels for current Rockies reliever Jairo Diaz.

Behind the plate, Tulsa had Lars Davis as an All-Star. He would make it to Triple-A Colorado Springs in 2013 before electing free agency that offseason. He would play in 112 games in Double-A and Triple-A the following season before leaving baseball.

What about those potential Rockies pitchers? There were five of them for the Drillers. Let’s take a look.

PHOENIX, AZ – JULY 24: Edwar Cabrera #46 of the Colorado Rockies delivers a pitch against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on July 24, 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /

Tulsa pitcher Dan Houston started the All-Star Game and faced the minimum number of batters over his two innings of work. He would reach Triple-A Colorado Springs in both 2013 and 2014 (seeing action in 33 games during that span) but never make it to the Majors.

Nick Schmidt earned the All-Star Game win by pitching a flawless fourth. However, like Houston, the southpaw would reach Triple-A in two different seasons but advance no higher.

Drillers closer Coty Woods entered the All-Star Game with a 0.56 ERA and picked up the save in the game. Shortly after that save, he was sent to Triple-A where he struggled. He was returned to Tulsa and then picked up by the Texas Rangers off waivers in the offseason. Texas returned him to Colorado and Woods developed elbow soreness as he would be on and off the injured list before stepping away from the game at the end of the 2013 campaign.

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