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3 players who won't make the Rockies Opening Day roster

With a number of talented youngsters fighting for an opening day roster spot, we take a look at 3 players that will have to prove they are ready, before getting called back up.

By Tanner Vogt |
Colorado Rockies v Baltimore Orioles
Colorado Rockies v Baltimore Orioles / G Fiume/GettyImages
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With pitchers and catchers set to report today, we are officially in baseball mode. If you are in Arizona, you will see the veterans that have roamed Coors Field for a while like Kyle Freeland and Justin Lawrence. You will also be excited to see some young and very interesting prospects like Carson Palmquist, Joe Rock, and one of personal favorites, Jaden Hill. You will also see former MLB-All Star game MVP, Elias Diaz, as well as top catching prospect, Drew Romo. It's an exciting time of year, but these prospects will be relegated back to the minor leagues after spring, this is just to acclimate them to the big-league environment and to get them in camp.

For many others, this spring represents a lot more; it represents a battle. The goal is always to win the game at the end of the day, but for these players, making the major league roster is a goal that they have had since they were kids and now is the time to prove they are ready. Though a number of the young players like Nolan Jones and Brenton Doyle started in the minor leagues, not too long afterwards, they were some of the most exciting players in the purple pinstripes. They figure to be a mainstay in this lineup for a while, but the following three players will be battling for a roster spot, and in the end, will end up starting the 2024 season in the minor leagues.

Peter Lambert will get sent to Triple-A to stay stretch out as pitching depth

The Rockies rotation is not above average (or even good for that matter), but what they do have is a number of options to fill out the back half of the rotation. The first three or four seem to be locks, with Freeland, Gomber, Quantrill and Hudson making up the top four spots, but after that there will be a battle for the fifth spot. Ryan Feltner looked very good last year, with some serious potential to become a mid-rotation arm before getting hurt and I look for him to lock up the final spot in the rotation.

Peter Lambert was sort of a swing man last year, making 25 appearances, with 11 of them coming as starts and he had a solid year. He threw 87.1 innings and had pretty solid ratios (7.32 K/9 with 2.89 BB/9). It's Coors Field, so I get it, but Lambert surrendered a very high home run rate of 1.89 home runs per nine innings, something that he will have to work on to become a regular in the rotation. Lambert will make some appearances and starts in 2024, but I would expect the Rockies to send Lambert to Triple-A Albuquerque to stay stretched out as a starter.

Noah Davis will be sent to Albuquerque to stay stretched out as well

Noah Davis has given the Rockies good value as a former 11th round draft pick. A long shot to even remain a starter as a mid-round college pick, Davis has done a good job being just a solid option at each level. He has shown an ability to eat innings and could be a future swingman or organization depth to make spot starts.

Davis only threw one inning in 2022, but made eight appearances with six starts in 2023, throwing 30 innings. His numbers both in the minor leagues in the major leagues took a dip in 2023, with his strike out rate going from 10 K/9 in 2022, to just 7.3 per nine in the minor leagues and 7.8 per nine in Colorado. His walk rate also went up from four walks per nine in the minor leagues in 2022, to five per nine in the minor leagues and 4.5 per nine in the major leagues.

Davis is one of a few pitchers that will need to go back to Triple-A and prove himself to get called back up and get an opportunity on the major league roster. He could see some action as a spot starter or possible swingman reliever later in the year.

Michael Toglia will lose out to another top prospect infielder

Let me get this out there, I really like Toglia and think he is going to be a very good hitter for the Rockies, and I think that could happen this year. However, he has some work that needs to be done as he ran a strikeout rate over 32% in the major leagues last year. His strikeout rate in Albuquerque was a lot better at just 22.34%, but in 2022, it was 30.1%. Toglia does walk at a solid rate, but we need to see some improvements before he is given an everyday opportunity. He put up solid numbers in Triple-A last year, but it is a very hitter friendly environment, and he has some tough competition for a bench role as a sort of utility player.

Ultimately, Toglia will be sent to Triple-A to continue to refine his approach and will surely get an opportunity later in the year. Elehuris Montero, another former top prospect, will get the roster spot over Toglia. It might seem hypocritical to say that Toglia needs to go to Triple-A and work on his approach when Montero ran a 36% strikeout rate.

Montero has absolutely dominated Triple-A with an average batting over .300, with 30 home runs in 100 games. In those 100 games, his strikeout rate was just 19.8%, showing that he had a pretty good handle on the strike zone. Plus, Montero ended the season on an absolute tear in September for the Rockies. Over 94 at-bats, he slashed .298/.368/.553 with six home runs. His strikeout rate was slightly lower than previous months at 29.1%, but you will take that for someone that was on pace for 30+ home runs and a .298 average. Montero should get quite a bit of at-bats playing both corner infield spots and some DH and will look to prove that he will be a main part of this rebuild.

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