Here are the 11 prospects who didn’t quite make the Honorable Mention cut
After revealing the players who appeared on a single ballot and then those who appeared on two or three ballots, it’s time to talk about 11 players who were just outside Honorable Mention status as voted by the Purple Row electorate in the mid-season 2024 Purple Row Prospects (PuRPs) voting.
For each player, I’ll include a link to individual stats and contract status (via Baseball-Reference), as well as notes on their 2024 season to date. For the sake of full disclosure, I’ll also include where I put each player on my personal ballot. All ages are as of the day the article is posted.
Multi-Ballot Players
46. Connor Van Scoyoc (6.0 points, 4 ballots) — the 24-year-old righty starter, a 2018 11th-round pick of the Angels, was acquired in late June 2023 for Mike Moustakas. After spending the rest of 2023 between High-A Spokane and Double-A Hartford, Van Scoyoc (who was Rule 5 eligible but not selected) returned to Hartford this season and was about 0.5 years younger than league average.
The 6’6” pitcher has 91 1⁄3 innings pitched over 18 starts this year, producing a 4.53 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 5.5 K/9 rate, and 3.4 BB/9 rate. Those numbers aren’t bad, but Van Scoyoc isn’t exactly overpowering Double-A hitters either.
Van Scoyoc was listed in the “Potential Depth/Spot Starters” section of Eric Longenhagen’s Fangraphs 2023 mid-season system write-up:
[Van Scoyoc] sits 91-93 with a very strange angle that helps his fastball play in the zone as a bat-misser. He can cut or sink his heater and has an above-average curveball, but he isn’t a typical athletic fit on the mound and his arm action is so long that it has an intermission.
45. Oscar Pujols (8.0 points, 4 ballots) — the 17-year-old righty starter was Colorado’s top international free agent pitcher signing in the 2024 period, receiving a $600k bonus out of the Dominican Republic. The 6’3”, 155-pound starter is in the upper 80s/low 90s now and boasts a promising curveball.
MLB.com ranked Pujols 35th among their international free agent prospects from 2024 (and second among pitching prospects) as a 50 FV player:
Pujols has an easy, repeatable delivery and a three-pitch repertoire that features a fastball, curveball and changeup. The advanced teen uses the same arm action and delivery on all his pitches, which will serve him well as he progresses through the Minor Leagues. Scouts have also noted Pujols’ aggressiveness and strike-throwing ability.
His fastball hovers in the 88-92 mph range, and more velocity could be on the way as he matures and his body develops. His secondary pitches also have plus potential. Scouts rave about his composure and mound presence. He doesn’t get rattled or deviate from his plan when he’s on the mound. Like most prospects his age, Pujols lacks some polish but that should come with daily instruction at a team’s academy.
This year with one of Colorado’s Dominican Summer League affiliates, Pujols has adjusted well to the professional game against hitters who are on average 1.6 years older than him. In 22 2⁄3 innings across six games (Pujols didn’t pitch at all in July, so there was possibly an injury in there), he’s posted a 2.78 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 11.1 K/9 rate, and 2.0 BB/9 rate.
I consider Pujols a 40 FV prospect and he just missed my top 30.
44. Bryant Betancourt (9.0 points, 4 ballots) — the 20-year-old is a lefty hitting, bat-first catcher/first base prospect from Venezuela who laid waste to the Dominican Summer League with a 190 wRC+ in 2022, his second season at the level. In 2023 he played for Low-A Fresno, where he had an 83 wRC+ as a teenager while playing more first base than catcher with some DH as well.
The Rockies promoted Betancourt to High-A Spokane this year, where he is 2.5 years younger than league average. The 5’11” slugger has responded to the challenge with a better offensive showing and has even caught more games (55) than he’s played at first base (32). In 373 PA, Betancourt has a .247/.319/.402 line with 12 HR among 25 XBH, good for a 103 wRC+ as a 20-year-old playing a premium defensive position. About that defense — Betancourt has thrown out 32% of baserunners, committed 10 errors, and allowed eight passed balls in those 55 games behind the plate. OK, so there’s some work to do there.
Longenhagen ranks Betancourt 51st in the system as a 35+ FV player with a 55 future hit tool grade:
Betancourt isn’t a lock to catch, with his ball-blocking currently the most undercooked aspect of his defense. He’s close to physically maxed-out and likely won’t have the raw power to profile at first base if it turns out he can’t stay behind the plate. Betancourt can hit, though. He has a compact lefty stroke with a simple toe tap that keeps him on time. His front foot is down super early and he just shifts his momentum forward without a lot of moving parts. He could be a contact-oriented part-time C/1B but is unlikely to be an impact player.
Playing catcher in High-A as a 20-year-old and hitting above averagely is a good sign, but Betancourt will have to hit far more than he has if he doesn’t stay behind the plate as he moves up the ladder. Right now he is staying behind the plate, so I consider him a 40 FV player who just missed my top 30 list.
43. Jake Madden (9.6 points, 5 ballots) — the preseason 2024 number 24 PuRP was at the time, in my opinion, the best player acquired in all of Colorado’s 2023 trades — he was received as part of the deal that sent C.J. Cron and Randal Grichuk to the Los Angeles Angels. The 22-year-old 6’6” right-hander has the arm strength and athleticism for prospect watchers to dream of a big league starter or late inning reliever.
Madden’s fastball sits in the mid-90s, but the frame and arm strength will support and likely develop gains in that category. The 2022 fourth-round pick, who got an over-slot $1 million bonus, also shows advanced feel for a change-up and also has a potential plus slider as well. However, he hasn’t shown the same kind of polish and strike-throwing aptitude that fellow Angels trade acquisition (and PuRP) Mason Albright has, so his floor is lower.
This year, the Rockies committed to Madden as a full-time reliever, hoping to unlock another gear in his stuff. He started the year in Low-A Fresno, where he is league average age. Madden made 12 appearances with Fresno before getting shelved with an injury in late May. He was back in late June on a rehab stint in the ACL, then returned to Fresno in mid-July. All told, Madden has appeared in 25 games between Low-A and the ACL, throwing 35 1⁄3 innings with a 3.31 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 6.4 K/9 rate, and 5.1 BB/9 rate. It seems likely the Rockies and Madden are tinkering with his pitch repertoire as he adjusts to the new role, which is possibly inhibiting his strikeout stuff.
Fangraphs listed Madden as a pitcher with a hittable fastball shape back in April, a big step back from the 40+ FV grade they had on him the previous year:
Madden, acquired from the Angels in the C.J. Cron/Randal Grichuk deal last year, has a prototypical pitcher’s build at lanky 6-foot-6. He also has mid-90s arm strength, but it tails into barrels and Madden’s secondary stuff has not progressed as hoped when he was drafted out of Northwest Florida State.Keith Law of the Athletic ranked Madden 12th in the Angels system pre-season 2023:
[Madden is] 92-97 mph with a slider and change that both project to plus, which gives him a fairly high ceiling, but he’s got a long arm swing that he has a hard time repeating. He also needs to get stronger, coming in at 6-6 and a listed 185 pounds, although that’s already on the Angels’ agenda for him.
The change in role for Madden and his lack of strong performance so far led me to drop him down to a 35+ FV grade as a reliever. If he figures it out in that role, he’s a late-inning arm. It’s early days with Madden and the potential pay-off is worth some patience for him to figure it out.
42. Seth Halvorsen (10.8 points, 5 ballots) — the Rockies took the 24-year-old righty reliever in the seventh round last year out of Tennessee to join his college teammate Chase Dollander and gave him an under-slot $200k bonus. Since that point, Halvorsen has been on a rocket path up the minor league ladder, reaching Triple-A barely a year after getting drafted.
Atypically for most pitching draftees of late, Halvorsen threw 13 1⁄3 innings in his draft year, making appearances in the ACL, High-A, and Double-A. This year, the 6’2” pitcher was assigned to Hartford to begin the year at a slightly below league average age. In 33 appearances with Hartford, Halvorsen had a 4.84 ERA with a 1.50 WHIP, 10.4 K/9 rate, and 4.8 BB/9 rate. The Rockies promoted him to Albuquerque a couple weeks ago, where in his first three appearances Halvorsen has allowed a run on three hits with two walks and six strikeouts in four innings.
Fangraphs gives Halvorsen a 40+ FV grade and currently ranks him 16th in the system with a 60 grade fastball and a 55 grade slider and changeup:
Halvorsen was a pretty serious two-way high school prospect (at least to play both at a high level in college — he was seen as probably just a pitcher in pro ball) who began his college career at Missouri, where he had Tommy John as a freshman early in 2019. During the early part of his return from TJ as a sophomore, Halvorsen played center field for the few weeks before the pandemic shutdown. He was exclusively a starting pitcher in 2021, then transferred from Missouri to Tennessee and transitioned to a multi-inning relief role in 2022. There have been a few key adjustments to Halvorsen’s pitch mix along the way. He was fastball/curveball guy at Mizzou, threw more of a new splitter at Tennessee, and now with the Rockies he’s throwing a few ticks harder than in college. Both during spring training and in Hartford early in 2024, Halvorsen has been parked in the 97-99 mph range.
All three of his pitches can be nasty. Because he lacks precise command, both of Halvorsen’s secondary pitches have a tendency to finish all over the place. His slider (84-87 mph) is hard enough to miss the barrel even when it backs up, and some of his mis-released splitters act like a two-seamer running off the front hip of lefties and catch the corner. Fernando Cruz, Scott McGough and Erik Swanson are fair present comps for the way Halvorsen is likely to operate, with his pitch usage spread across his whole mix so that unpredictability can help him get away with his mistake locations. He profiles as the third- or fourth-best reliever in a good bullpen, one who has experience getting more than just three outs and who has the pitch mix to do that. Halvorsen has become muscular to the point of being bulky, and his delivery is quite violent. I don’t know that this means he’s subject to elevated injury risk (the graceful guys get hurt too), but I do wince watching him throw. That hasn’t impacted his grade here, but if I were a team, it would make me more open to an express lane trajectory to the big league club.
It’s a late-inning relief profile on the doorstep of Coors Field — indeed, it wouldn’t be surprising for Halvorsen to get a taste of the Show as soon as next month. I think Halvorsen is a 40 FV prospect, one of several in that area in the system.
41. Tanner Gordon (11.3 points, 5 ballots) — the 26-year-old 6’5” righthander was the second prospect acquired from Atlanta (along with Victor Vodnik) in the Pierce Johnson trade near the 2023 trade deadline. Longenhagen ranked Gordon 44th out of 55 players traded at the deadline as a 35 FV player. More recently, Longenhagen grouped Gordon in the “Depth Starters” section of the system:
Gordon was as part of the Pierce Johnson trade with Atlanta, and could have reasonably been projected as a spot starter at the time of the swap. The Rockies left him off the 40-man roster during the offseason. He’s a five-pitch righty with a good slider. He touched 96 during his lone Cactus League start and then began the year on the IL.
This year, Gordon rehabbed from the previously mentioned IL stint in the ACL, then was assigned to Triple-A Albuquerque in late May. With Albuquerque, Gordon has made eight starts, throwing 38 2⁄3 innings with a 4.89 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 8.1 K/9 rate, and 2.3 BB/9 rate. In early July, Gordon was added to the Rockies roster for a couple turns in the rotation when injuries opened up a spot. A couple weeks later, he was recalled and has made four straight starts in the big league rotation (though technically he was sent down for a few days in the middle).
With the Rockies, Gordon’s six starts have included a six inning quality start (one run on four hits) and a 2⁄3 inning struggle earlier this week that have left his ERA at 7.00 with a 1.48 WHIP, 7.7 K/9 rate, and 1.7 BB/9 rate in 27 innings pitched. Just this week, our own Renee Dechert posted an interview with Gordon on his first few weeks in the big leagues, which is well worth a read.
At this point, Gordon appears to be filling the spot/depth starter role envisioned for him at the time of the trade last year (worthy of a 35+ FV grade). Could he become more than that?
40. Victor Juarez (14.2 points, 5 ballots) — when considering the preseason 2024 number 30 PuRP, it’s important to remember that he has already played almost three years of full-season ball and only just turned 21 in June. The 6’0” right-handed starter didn’t have too much fanfare entering 2022 despite a $500k signing bonus in January 2021 out of Mexico, but he turned some heads as one of the youngest pitchers in Low-A in 2022 (2.8 years younger than league average) and then in High-A last year (3.1 years younger than average).
This year, Juarez repeated at High-A but is still 2.2 years younger than league average. In 92 2⁄3 innings across 19 games, Juarez has a 4.76 ERA (3.89 xFIP), 1.38 WHIP, 9.1 K/9 rate, and a 2.8 BB/9 rate. Those are quite respectable numbers given the context, including three consecutive quality starts in his most recent games (he has nine of those this year).
Juarez is another member of the Fangraphs “Depth Starter” crew, where Longenhagen notes that “Juarez is a stout, advanced little righty with 40-grade stuff at High-A.”
The question here is if Juarez’s polish and advanced arsenal/command will allow him to overcome lower-end raw stuff and velocity? Or will that take a step forward as well (so far, no)? Those are relevant queries when valuing a player with Juarez’s skillset, but we should also enjoy what he is now: a precocious pitching talent who held his own as a 20-year-old in High-A.
With Juarez, the path to the big leagues and a spot in the starting rotation once he gets there are easier to envision for me than a player with better stuff but worse command. He’s still a 35+ FV player for me, but the system’s improvement has left him behind somewhat.
39. Luis Peralta (14.7 points, 8 ballots) — the 23-year-old lefty reliever is indeed Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Freddy’s brother. He was acquired in the Jalen Beeks trade last month near the trade deadline in the midst of a breakout season. Longenhagen ranked Peralta 47th of the 92 prospects exchanged at the deadline as a 40 FV player, and in June Fangraphs ranked him 25th in the Pirates system (he’s 35th for the Rockies) with 55 grades on his fastball and slider:
Peralta looks like your standard, steady lefty middle reliever. His fastball has average velocity, but he hides the ball well and creates upshot angle on the pitch. His low-80s slider lacks raw spin, but it’s still the grim reaper for lefties, who are hitting .180 against Peralta as of list publication. It’s feasible he’ll be added to the 40-man after the season and debut in 2025.
In writing up the trade six weeks later, Longenhagen had this to say about Peralta:
In exchange for Beeks the Rockies acquired Peralta, a 5-foot-11, 23-year-old lefty with a really great slider. He was moved to the bullpen this season and was averaging 15 strikeouts per nine innings at Pittsburgh’s High-A affiliate during the first half of the season before he was promoted to Double-A Altoona a few weeks ago. Peralta has a loose delivery and three-quarters arm slot that imparts rise/run movement on his 94 mph fastball. His low-80s slider is really nasty despite lacking spin (we’re talking 2,100 rpm, way below average) and it plays as a strike-getter and finishing pitch. Peralta will probably be added to the 40-man during the offseason and is likely to debut in Colorado at some point next season in a middle-inning lefty role.
Peralta’s numbers this year in Pittsburgh’s High-A affiliate are cartoonish: 0.60 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 15.0 K/9 rate, 4.5 BB/9 rate in 30 innings. He was more human at Pittsburgh’s Double-A affiliate (1.86 ERA, 13.0 K/9 rate), and now with Hartford he has thrown five scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and one walk with six strikeouts.
Combined, Peralta has thrown 44 2⁄3 innings in 30 games this year across the three levels with a 0.81 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 14.1 K/9 rate, and 3.8 BB/9 rate. He’s Rule 5 eligible this off-season, and with results like this, he seems like a 40-man roster add for the Rockies. Peralta also fits into that 40 FV reliever group just outside my top 30.
38. Juan Mejia (15.0 points, 5 ballots) — the 24-year-old righty reliever was one of the players the Rockies added to the 40-man roster this past off-season. The 6’3” pitcher signed way back in 2017 and it took him six years to make it Double-A, but he now stands out as a potential MLB player in 2024 and beyond.
This year in Hartford, Mejia has a 5.73 ERA, 1.77 WHIP, 11.0 K/9 rate, and 4.9 BB/9 rate in 44 innings across 37 games — though his 3.60 xFIP would indicate he’s been a bit unfortunate with his results this year. From those lines, you can tell Mejia had electric stuff and a bit of a problem commanding it.
Commenting on Mejia after the 40-man roster placement, Longenhagen said:
I was criminally light on Mejia in my last Rockies write-up. His slider consistency is middling, but some of them are really nasty and his body and mechanical fluidity portend even more velocity as he ages into his mid-to-late 20; I think he could eventually sit 100.
In April, Longenhagen jumped Mejia all the way up to a 45 FV player, which is 11th in the system, thanks to a 70 slider and 60 fastball grade:
Mejia has one of the more beautiful and athletic deliveries in the minors, as well as an ideal pitcher’s frame at a lanky, broad-shouldered 6-foot-3. Mejia’s velocity has climbed into the upper 90s across the last couple of seasons and he tends to coast in the 95-97 mph range with peaks around 100. His slider is arguably a better pitch, as it has massive two-planed wipe in the 83-87 mph band. That pitch has enough movement to freeze hitters when Mejia wants to throw it for a strike, and enough to miss a bat when he locates it for a chase, which he does pretty consistently even though his fastball command is poor. When you include Synergy’s 2023 and 2024 samples, Mejia’s slider is generating chase and miss at an elite rate, approaching 50%, though a huge chunk of that sample is from High-A. He’ll show you the odd changeup now and again, and I think you can actually project on that pitch over the long haul because of Mejia’s delivery and athleticism. I think he’s going to be a late-inning reliever, and how good he becomes will be determined by whether or not Mejia can improve the quality of his fastball locations.
Those are some strong words in Mejia’s favor, though it must be noted that he’s still in Double-A posting middling numbers while a number of other relievers in the system are showing quite well. Nonetheless, he’s clearly a 40 FV player for me in that bullpen mob.
37. Yeiker Reyes (45.8 points, 10 ballots) — the 18-year-old Venezuelan outfielder was signed by the Rockies in 2023 for $500k as a 17-year-old. The 6’0” lefty hitting, righty throwing Reyes spent 2023 in the DSL, where across two affiliates he was excellent. In 206 PA, he hit .301/.431/.368 with 33 steals in 35 attempts, good for a 124 wRC+.
The Rockies assigned Reyes to the stateside ACL this year, where he is 1.8 years younger than league average. He’s posting a 99 wRC+ line in the ACL, hitting .266/.392/.328 with 23 steals and 10 XBH, though he’s yet to hit his first professional homer. The trend is the same as last year for the batting line — lots of walks (15.5%) and speed, but not a whole lot of game power yet. Defensively, Reyes has spent more time in center field than left.
Longenhagen is bullish on Reyes, giving him a 45 FV grade and ranking him 10th in the system with a 55 future grade on his hit tool:
While some of the spreadsheet darlings who exit velo’d the DSL into oblivion last year are more famous, Reyes looks like the most complete and well-rounded prospect at Rockies extended spring camp in Scottsdale. He’s a potential everyday center fielder who does a little bit of everything, and I currently have him FV’d in line with a typical mid-to-late first round teenage draft prospect.
Twitchy, sinewy, and relatively projectable, Reyes is a converted amateur infielder (per a scout) who has a promising early-career look in center field. He ran right around 4.2 during my week of looks, which is a tick above average for a lefty batter, and he should add some speed as he matures athletically. His reads and routes out there are fine — he nearly made one sensational play on a ball hit directly over his head, but he couldn’t keep the ball in his glove as he leapt and crashed onto the warning track. Reyes is a skilled hitter who tracks pitches and moves the baseball all over the field. I watched him hit a pull-side homer and a single on a drag bunt in the same game the week prior to list publication, and make in-flight adjustments to breaking stuff that he lined over the infielder’s heads. On paper in 2023 he performed right there with the big league average in center field, with a 75% overall contact rate and 85% rate in the zone. I don’t think we’re talking about a star here, but Reyes has a shot to be an everyday player and his floor isn’t all that far beneath that outcome.
Per that report, Reyes seems like a high floor player due to his hit tool and defensive utility, though not necessarily a star. I ranked Reyes 19th on my list as a 40+ FV player because I’m a believer in his potential and floor.
36. Willie MacIver (48.0 points, 9 ballots) — the 27-year-old righty catcher had a bit of a prospect moment three years ago, when he was one of Colorado’s representatives to the Futures Game held in Denver that year. Since then, the 2018 ninth rounder has receded a bit into the background. That is, until this year while serving as catcher 1b (50 games caught) to Drew Romo’s catcher 1a (60 games behind the plate) in Albuquerque.
In 295 PA this year (including 19 games at DH) with Albuquerque, MacIver has hit .304/.386/.581 in the offense-friendly Pacific Coast League, including 15 HR among his 36 XBH — good for a 134 wRC+. Defensively, MacIver has thrown out 20% of baserunners while committing two errors and allowing three passed balls.
That’s been enough to make MacIver a potential big league call-up very soon as Elias Díaz was waived on Tuesday and Jacob Stallings is a free agent after this season. MacIver is a 35+ FV prospect for me, but he could be a valuable big leaguer if he seizes the opportunity.
★ ★ ★
Next time, we’ll reveal the Honorable Mention PuRPs for mid-season 2024!