Colorado Rockies: Ezequiel Tovar to make his debut today

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 22: Ezequiel Tovar #14 of the Colorado Rockies poses during Photo Day at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on March 22, 2022 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Kelsey Grant/Getty Images)
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 22: Ezequiel Tovar #14 of the Colorado Rockies poses during Photo Day at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on March 22, 2022 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Kelsey Grant/Getty Images)

The Colorado Rockies are starting a new series against the San Diego Padres at Coors Field this weekend to wrap up their home slate in the 2022 season and Rockies fans will have a glimpse into the future. Rockies’ No. 2 prospect Ezequiel Tovar will make his MLB debut and five other rookies (including the starting pitcher Ryan Feltner) will be in the starting lineup for the club on Friday.

Colorado Rockies: Ezequiel Tovar to make his MLB debut against the Padres on Friday

The Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres will face each other at Coors Field at 6:10 PM M.T. tonight (a different start time than usual) and fans will be able to see the MLB debut of shortstop Ezequiel Tovar. Tovar, 21, will hit eighth in the Rockies lineup.

Here is what the rest of their batting lineup looks like. Bold indicates that the player is a rookie.

  1. Yonathan Daza, CF
  2. Randal Grichuk, RF
  3. Elehuris Montero, 3B
  4. Elias Díaz, C
  5. Michael Toglia, 1B
  6. Connor Joe, DH
  7. Alan Trejo, 2B
  8. Ezequiel Tovar, SS
  9. Sean Bouchard, LF

At the end of the 2021 season, Montero, Toglia, and Tovar were all among MLB.com’s Top 10 Rockies prospects. On their current 28-man roster, three more pitching prospects in the top 30 at the end of last season are on the roster, including tonight’s starting pitcher Ryan Feltner.

Tovar was called up from Triple-A Albuquerque yesterday after the club placed infielder Brendan Rodgers on the 10-day IL with a hamstring injury. Tovar himself has missed some time this year as he has only played in 71 minor league games this season due to a groin injury.

However, in those 71 games (five in Triple-A), he has hit .319/.387/.540 with 14 home runs, 49 RBI, and 17 stolen bases. Because of that, Tovar has skyrocketed up the MLB prospect charts. Entering the 2022 season, he was not even on MLB.com’s Top 100 overall prospect list.

Now, Tovar is listed as the No. 27 overall prospect in the sport. He is No. 18 on Baseball America’s list.

Regardless of his ranking, it is great for Rockies fans to see what the future holds with Tovar and these other rookies and it’s great for them to see some playing time in the majors this season and get used to the changes that they will have to make in the majors.