Hunter Goodman named Rockies 2023 Baseball America Minor Leaguer of the Year

An announcement that should not come as a surprise for Rockies fans due to his incredible start since he was called up at the end of August, Hunter Goodman has been selected as the Rockies Baseball America 2023 Minor League player of the year.

Goodman, 23, was originally drafted by the Rockies in the fourth round of the 2021 MLB draft and quickly climbed his way through the Rockies farm system just after playing two years of professional baseball.

Last year, Goodman was assigned to the Rockies low-A ball team, the Fresno Grizzlies, and came all the way up to AA ball for the Hartford Yard Goats. After starting this year with the Yard Goats in 2023. Despite struggling early on for the Yard Goats with a slashing .239/.325/.523 with 98 strikeouts, Goodman made his way up to AAA with the Albuquerque Isotopes after playing in just 93 games in AA. Aside from a terrible slash line, it was his ability to hit the long ball and pile up extra-base hits that earned him the call-up.

While in AAA, Goodman immediately turned it around and was on fire during August hitting .371 with a 1.321 OPS, nine home runs, six doubles, and 33 RBI's in only 15 games played giving him his final promotion to the Majors.

In his MLB debut, Goodman shined right away for the Rockies going 2-4 at the plate with an RBI, a go-ahead run in the ninth inning to give the Rockies the lead, and a diving catch at first base to give the Rockies a win over the Baltimore Orioles.

Over his first 15 games, Goodman held a .265 batting average and had a total of 13 RBI's. He also has started to strikeout less in the majors then he did in the minors as he has struck out 18 times in 19 games. Which might not be an amazing number for most players, but is a sign of improvement for Goodman and his development.

With Nolan Jones arguably being the Rockies most exciting rookie this year, it's without a doubt Goodman will claim that title next year and could be a favorite to win the 2024 NL Rookie of the Year.