Colorado Rockies prospect rankings, pre-season 2025: single-ballot players

Here are all the players who received just one vote in this edition of PuRP voting

Now that the pre-season Purple Row Prospects (PuRPs) balloting period has concluded, it’s time to reveal the community’s top 30 prospects in the Colorado system. These prospects will be revealed over the next few weeks to give fans an overview of players who could make an impact on the Colorado Rockies soon.

First up: an introduction to the list and then a rundown of every single-ballot player to get votes (ranking from T-67 to T-50). Later this week, I will reveal the multi-ballot players who landed outside the top 35 (including two who landed in the 67-50 range), then I’ll reveal the five honorable mention PuRPs and move to the top 30 after that, one at a time. I’ll conclude the series with a voting summary and a state of the system post.

There were fewer ballots (28) than last summer’s surge in interest (35), but this was still an above average response compared with the last few years. There were 69 players named at least once on a ballot (down from 72 in the mid-season 2024 list). There were 51 players named on multiple ballots (down from 58), while 32 were listed on at least 10 ballots (up from 31) and therefore had unmodified point totals. There were 21 different prospects receiving a top 10 placement on at least one list (up from 20). The top 21 made it on over 75% of ballots, so the top group was more or less a consensus. Here is a link to this list’s polling thread.

30 points were granted for a first place vote, 29 for second, etc. Until a player was named on 10 ballots, his vote totals were modified on a sliding scale to avoid an individual ballot having too much say over the community forecast. If necessary, the first tiebreaker went to the player who was ranked on the most ballots, then to the one who ranked highest on an individual PuRPs ballot, the third tiebreaker was the mode ballot — multiple ties were broken in the top 30 this time around.

All prospects in the system who retained their Rookie of the Year eligibility (fewer than 130 ABs, 50 IP, and 45 days on the active roster — IL time is not included) were eligible for selection on this list. Since the mid-season 2024 balloting, three PuRPs lost eligibility.

For each player on the PuRPs list, I’ll include a link to individual stats and contract status (via Baseball-Reference) and notes on their scouting reports, if applicable. For the sake of full disclosure, I’ll also include where I put each player on my personal ballot. With players receiving votes, I’ll provide the B-Ref link and voting stats, plus a short blurb. All ages will be as of the day the article is posted.

Remember, statistics are not the end-all, be-all when evaluating these players. Context is hugely important (notably, the player’s age relative to the league’s average, the league’s average offensive numbers, or the player’s 40-man roster calendar), as is the fact that injuries to prospects can affect both their tools and their stats. I’ll try to make mention of instances where this is the case as we go on.

Without further ado, here are the single ballot players in 2025 pre-season PuRPs voting:

Single Ballot Players

T-67. Jhon Medina (0.1 points, 1 ballot) — the just-turned 19-year-old Dominican lefty pitcher, listed at 6’0”, signed in 2023 and has spent the last two seasons in the Dominican Summer League (DSL). In 2024, Medina threw 42 innings across 10 games (eight starts) with a 2.36 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 8.1 K/9 rate, and 2.6 BB/9 rate against hitters who were on average 0.6 years older. We’ll see if he maintains that level of performance when he (presumably) comes stateside this year, likely in the Arizona Complex League (ACL)

T-67. Lebarron Johnson Jr (0.1 points, 1 ballot) — the 22-year-old right-hander was Colorado’s fifth rounder in 2024 out of Texas, receiving a $500k bonus. The 6’5” hurler threw 72 ¹⁄₃ innings at UT in 2024 across 17 appearances (15 starts) and posted a 5.60 ERA, 1.70 WHIP, 10.5 K/9 rate, and 5.5 BB/9 rate in the Longhorns’ final year in the Big 12. After signing, Johnson was not assigned to an affiliate in 2024 but should be in either Fresno or Spokane to start 2025.

Johnson was ranked 40th in the system by Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs earlier this month as a 35+ FV player with a 60 slider and 55 fastball grade:

A two-year member of the Longhorns’ starting rotation, Johnson is perhaps better suited for the bullpen in pro ball. He has a heavy mid-90s sinker with extreme downhill plane — he has a vertical release height just shy of seven feet tall. He’ll bump 98-99, but tends to live in the 93-96 mph range. Johnson’s upper-80s slider runs downhill with even more vertical finish, and is as hard as 90-91 mph. As his fastball is more of a grounder-getter, Johnson’s slider is his lone realistic bat-misser, and he barely throws a changeup. He walked 4.8 per 9 IP in college, another indication that Johnson is headed for a relief role.

T-67. Roynier Hernandez (0.1 points, 1 ballot) — the 20-year-old lefty hitting, righty throwing Venezuelan has played roughly evenly at second and third base. The 5’10” infielder, a 2022 signee, spent two years in the DSL before coming stateside to Colorado’s ACL team in 2024, where he was 0.8 years younger than league average. Hernandez hit .305/.417/.360 (113 wRC+) in 243 PA with the ACL team, swiping 11 bags. Though he had 10 extra base hits last year, Hernandez is still looking for his first professional homer after 703 PA.

Despite the lack of power, Hernandez is a 40 FV player for me and was one of my final cuts from my personal ballot due to strong defensive utility and good contact ability/plate discipline (he walked more than he struck out last year). Longenhagen at Fangraphs ranked him 29th in the system as a 40 FV player:

Hernandez is a stocky, low-to-the-ground athlete with plus defensive hands and terrific feel for the barrel. After two years in the DSL, he slashed .305/.417/.360 and managed a 93% in-zone contact rate on the complex in 2024, but he’s still looking for his first pro homer. Hernandez’s style of hitting is geared more for opposite field line drive and groundball contact, but he squares the ball up in that direction and is incredibly difficult to make swing and miss. Roynier is compact and strong, but his frame lacks typical strength projection; he has a Yonny Hernández or Neifi Perez type of build. The Rockies have been deploying him all over the infield, and he is slick and sound at every spot. Hernandez’s size will limit his impact, but his defense gives him a sort of floor as a low-impact utilityman.

T-64. Juan Guerrero (0.2 points, 1 ballot) — the 23-year-old Dominican righty slugger, who signed for $650k in 2018, was a notable prospect who has now been exposed to Rule 5 three times but has gone unselected each time. Guerrero mostly stands out for the potential of his hit tool, which didn’t truly manifested itself in full season until (arguably) 2024. After a year of struggles in High-A in 2023 (87 wRC+), Guerrero was assigned back to Spokane to start 2024, where he was still slightly below league average age.

In 385 PA, Guerrero posted a .302/.341/.399 line (109 wRC+) with four homers and 23 steals, earning a promotion to Double-A Hartford, where he was 1.6 years younger than league average. Guerrero hit .313/.350/.383 in Hartford (112 wRC+) in 124 PA, continuing his high average, low slugging trend from Spokane. He was assigned to the Arizona Fall League, where Guerrero showed more power but lower average in a .208/.241/.472 line over 79 PA, including four homers and seven doubles.

Guerrero was a prospect of interest for Longenhagen:

Guerrero is a skinny 23-year-old Dominican outfielder with a .287/.343/.411 career line through Double-A and a 7% career walk rate. He has an aesthetically pleasing opposite field approach to contact and can move the barrel around the zone, but he lacks the pop of a left fielder and he is apt to chase a lot.

T-64. Jose Cordova (0.2 points, 1 ballot) — the just-turned 25-year-old Venezuelan first baseman and catcher is another member of Colorado’s 2018 international free agent class. After a 2023 where he saw action from A+ to AAA, Cordova spent 2024 with High A Spokane (1.6 years older than league average), where 63 of 84 games were at first base. The veteran minor leaguer hit .286/.358/.400 with 24 extra base hits in 321 PA (115 wRC+) with a putrid 11/22 SB rate, then in the AFL he tacked on 53 more PA of .265/.321/.347 offense, splitting his time more evenly on defense.

T-64. Derek Bernard (0.2 points, 1 ballot) — the 19-year-old Dominican outfielder signed for a $185k bonus in 2022, even though he was largely raised in Brooklyn. After two strong years in the DSL, Bernard returned stateside in 2024 to the ACL team, where the lefty hitter/righty thrower was about two years younger than league average. Bernard’s .296/.360/.440 ACL line in 175 PA was slightly above league average (104 wRC+). Bernard has strong power projection, but there might be too much swing and miss in the profile to make the defensive utility play.

FanGraphs ranked Bernard as a 40 FV player, 39th in the system, highlighted by a plus future raw power grade:

Bernard is a hard-swinging corner outfield prospect who leveled the 2023 DSL (his second year in the league) because of his physicality and bat speed. He slashed .296/.360/.440 in Arizona in 2024 but K’d a terrifying 32% of the time. Of fullback build, Bernard has a rare combination of short levers and big strength, and he’s going to get to power in games by virtue of this. However, he lacks traditional physical projection and has exhibited some strikeout red flags so far. He swings with big time effort and can lose track of the baseball during the process. After playing mostly second base in his first pro season, Bernard largely shifted to left field in year two and played exclusively in the outfield corners in 2024. Bernard’s ability to punish the baseball makes him a notable young prospect, but he’ll need to cut the strikeouts to profile toward the bottom of the defensive spectrum.

T-61. Jace Kaminska (0.3 points, 1 ballot) — the 23-year-old right-hander was Colorado’s 10th rounder in the 2023 draft ($150k bonus) out of the University of Nebraska. Here was Keith Law of the Athletic writing about Kaminska after the draft:

Nebraska right-hander Jace Kaminska (10) transferred last winter from Wichita State and cut his walk rate by about 40 percent. He pounds the zone with a four-pitch mix, nothing plus, and his low-90s fastball gets hit a little hard, but the command/control are enough to roll him out to A-ball as a starter and see if you can improve the stuff.

The Rockies assigned Kaminska to Low-A Fresno, where he was league average age. The 6’2” pitcher had a 2.78 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP in 87 1⁄3 innings over 17 games with a 10.7 K/9 rate and a 1.2 BB/9 rate with Fresno, which should be enough to get him moved to Spokane (and maybe higher) for 2025. It’s a great sign the Rockies are getting such a good performance from a lower-round pick, especially one so likely to stick in the rotation.

T-61. Eriel Dihigo (0.3 points, 1 ballot) — the 18-year-old Cuban third baseman was a 2024 signee for about $500k. In his first tour of the DSL, the 6’2” righty hitter looked very comfortable, hitting .306/.413/.394 with 12 extra base hits and 21 steals in 23 attempts (125 wRC+) while walking almost as often (28 times) as he struck out (33). It’s possible that Dihigo could repeat in the DSL this year, but an ACL assignment is also in the cards.

Longenhagen ranked Dihigo as a prospect of note:

Dihigo is the most projectable Rockies DSL hitter from 2024 (non-Andujar edition). The 18-year-old Cuban slashed .306/.413/.394 and has a ton of room on his frame for strength.

T-61. Gregory Sanchez (0.3 points, 1 ballot) — the just turned 18-year-old Dominican right-hander was one of the two top pitching signees for the Rockies in the 2024 international free agent class. In his first professional season, Sanchez threw 33 ¹⁄₃ innings for the DSL team (he was 1.6 years younger than league average) with a 5.40 ERA and 1.68 WHIP with a 42:19 K:BB ratio. He seems like a prime candidate for a repeat DSL season as he grows into what could be a big arsenal. If he continues to develop well, he’ll be on my PuRPs list soon.

Per this article by Thomas Harding from last January:

Sanchez, who was also born in Santo Domingo and trained at Chapita Baseball Academy, has “easy” power on his fastball, according to [Rockies VP of International Scouting Rolando] Fernandez, along with a slider as his second-best pitch and a changeup.

“I’m excited about Gregory Sanchez — 17 and up to 96 already,” Fernandez said. “I believe he’s going to start, and he has the ability to throw a strike with all his pitches.”

Longenhagen ranked Sanchez as a 35+ FV player, 42nd in the system:

Sanchez was Colorado’s hardest-throwing DSL pitcher in 2024, a big-framed, high-waisted, long-armed 6-foot-4 righty who works in the mid-90s with sink and tail. He made 13 starts and worked just 33.1 innings, so whether he can maintain that velo across a starter’s share of innings remains to be seen. His release is fairly inconsistent (as is his breaking ball quality) and he is a tad more filled out than the typical teenage pitcher. Both those things add to the relief risk here, but from a stuff standpoint, Sanchez has the foundation of a good young starter prospect. In addition to his sometimes 96-97 mph fastball, he has an average, bullet-style slider in the 82-85 mph range and an impressive power changeup in the 88-90 mph band. He’s a developmental name to know with a great arm.

Baseball America was similarly complimentary in October:

59. Sandy Ozuna (0.5 points, 1 ballot) — unlike Sanchez, the 18-year-old Dominican pitcher had less fanfare upon his arrival in the system in 2023, signing for only $45k late in the signing period (in June). The 6’3” right-hander did well enough in the DSL that year to earn a promotion to the ACL club entering 2024, where he was 3.1 years younger than league average. Ozuna threw 37 innings across 10 games, posting a respectable 4.14 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 10.9 K/9 rate, and 2.7 BB/9 rate. Sanchez will still be young for full season ball in 2025, but he could sneak into the Fresno rotation before the year is out.

Longenhagen ranked Ozuna 41st in the system as a 35+ FV player with plus future grades on his mid 90s fastball and slider:

Ozuna had among the best stuff of Colorado’s complex-level group in 2024 but his ultra-long, inconsistent arm action creates a lot of relief risk. He worked 37 innings in 10 games (half of them starts), striking out 45 and allowing 48 baserunners. Ozuna’s control is worse than it performed on paper, but he has a lightning-quick arm and a shot to develop a nasty fastball/slider combo despite his slider’s lack of raw spin. For now, he’s a developmental starter prospect with arm strength and not a lot else.

58. Collin Baumgartner (0.6 points, 1 ballot) — the 26-year-old righty reliever was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2023 out of Southern Illinois. He started 2024 in the Low-A Fresno pen, where he was 3.1 years older than league average, and threw a dominant 19 innings in 14 appearances (he posted a 1.42 ERA and 0.68 WHIP with 30 strikeouts and six walks). The Rockies jumped Baumgartner over High-A entirely to Double-A Hartford in May, where he was still 0.5 years older than league average.

Baumgartner made another 31 appearances for Hartford, throwing 37 ¹⁄₃ innings with a stellar 2.17 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 10.8 BB/9 rate, and 4.1 BB/9 rate. The upper minors wall didn’t seem too steep for Baumgartner, whose aggregate 2024 pitching line was 56 ¹⁄₃ innings with a 1.92 ERA. He’ll be a factor in Colorado’s increasingly crowded upper minors relief situation in 2025 as a number of high octane arms jockey for a place in Colorado’s new few bullpens.

56. Blake Wright (0.7 points, 1 ballot) — the 22-year-old third baseman was Colorado’s 4th round pick in 2024 as a senior out of Clemson, signing for an under-slot $250k. In his platform draft year in the ACC, the 6’0” slugger hit a strong .340/.383/.652 with 22 homers among his 34 extra base hits in 285 PA.

After signing, the Rockies sent Wright directly to Low-A Fresno, where he was 0.9 years older than league average. In his 73 PA cameo there, Wright hit .270/.343/.460 with two homers and six doubles, striking out nine times and walking six times (110 wRC+). Given his age and experience, I’d expect Wright to start this season in High-A Spokane in a time-share with Braylen Wimmer and Andy Perez.

T-54. GJ Hill (0.8 points, 1 ballot) — the 24-year-old, who is indeed the son of former big leaguer (and Rockies coach) Glenallen Hill, split his time between second base and the outfield with the Rockies in 2024 after signing with them out of an Independent league in Spring Training. Hill, who was a fourth-round pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2019, was assigned to Low-A Fresno, where he was 1.9 years older than league average.

Hill performed well for Fresno, hitting .248/.351/.448 with six homers in 149 PA (112 wRC+), before getting the promotion to Spokane, where he was still 0.6 years older than league average. Despite the jump in level, Hill’s bat heated up with Spokane. His .282/.364/.589 spurt with 14 HR and 10 SB in 187 PA (160 wRC+) helped Spokane with the Northwest League title. He’ll slot into the Double-A outfield playing time picture in 2025.

T-54. Sam Weatherly (0.8 points, 1 ballot) — the 25-year-old lefty reliever, Colorado’s third rounder in 2020 and a former PuRP, has wipeout stuff but injuries (he threw only 11 ²⁄₃ innings between 2022-23) have hindered his progress thus far. In 2024, Weatherly appeared only in relief after getting developed as a starter the previous few years. He started out in Low-A Fresno to get his feet wet after two years away, where he was 3.1 years older than league average.

Weatherly threw 41 innings across 30 appearances for Fresno — recording eight saves with a 2.85 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 11.2 K/9 rate, and 4.2 BB/9 rate — before earning an August promotion to Spokane (where he was still 1.9 years older than league average). In Spokane, Weatherly was spectacular — he pitched 11 ²⁄₃ scoreless innings across 10 games (five saves), allowing only four hits and four walks while striking out 18 batters.

Weatherly has always struck guys out as a pro (his 11.8 K/9 rate this year was his lowest) and it was encouraging to see him be healthy and effective in 2024. Even with the stiff competition the Rockies have in their upper minors for relievers, someone with Weatherly’s pedigree and stuff could get a 40-man roster spot this year (he’ll probably start out in Double-A Hartford).

T-52. Chris McMahon (0.9 points, 1 ballot) — the 25-year-old right-hander has been bit by the injury bug. The 6’2” 2020 second rounder (who signed for $1.6 million) threw only 28 2⁄3 innings in 2022, was limited to 67 innings in 2023, and was lost for the season in 2024. McMahon’s low fastball (four- and two-seam), change-up, and slider mix is enticing, but if he can’t show it off in the high minors, it’s hard to rank McMahon anymore.

T-52. Jake Madden (0.9 points, 1 ballot) — the preseason 2024 number 24 PuRP was received as part of the 2023 deal that sent C.J. Cron and Randal Grichuk to the Los Angeles Angels. The 23-year-old 6’6” right-hander has the arm strength and athleticism for prospect watchers to dream on. Madden’s fastball sits in the mid-90s, but the frame and arm strength will support and likely develop gains in that category. He also shows advanced feel for a change-up and also has a potential plus slider as well. However, Madden hasn’t shown the same kind of polish and strike-throwing aptitude that fellow Angels trade acquisition Mason Albright has, so his floor is lower.

The Rockies committed to Madden as a full-time reliever in 2024, hoping to unlock another gear in his stuff. He started the year in Low-A Fresno, where he was 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 appeared in 33 games between Low-A and the ACL, throwing 51 innings with a 3.71 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 7.6 K/9 rate, and 4.6 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.

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. If he figures it out in that role, he could be a late-inning arm, so the potential pay-off is worth some patience for him to figure it out.

T-50. Alessander De La Cruz (1.0 points, 1 ballot) — the just-turned 19-year-old right-handed hitting outfielder, who was born in Germany and raised in the Dominican Republic, signed in 2023 for $650k (the second highest bonus the Rockies gave in that period). After a decent debut year in the DSL (101 wRC+), the 6’1” right-fielder repeated there in 2024 at 0.3 years older than league average.

In 212 PA, De La Cruz laid waste to the DSL with a .318/.406/.542 line that included seven homers among his 24 extra base hits with 13 steals in 13 attempts, good for a 148 wRC+. Most notably, De La Cruz nearly cut his strikeout rate in half (from 34% to 19%). He added six outfield assists (and two errors) in 43 games defensively. De La Cruz will likely start 2025 in the ACL, where we’ll see if his DSL breakout can continue.

T-50. Braiden Ward (1.0 points, 1 ballot) — the nearly 26-year-old lefty hitting, righty throwing outfielder has for most of his minor league career been a speedy utility outfielder, caught behind some of the PuRPs that now litter the top 20 of the system. Drafted in 2021 as a college senior out of Washington in the 16th round, the 5’9” outfielder has consistently been old for his level, but he’s put up good numbers when given a chance to play and even picked up some second base utility.

The outfield prospect crush above him led to Ward getting sent back to High-A Spokane in 2024 for a third time (where he was 2.5 years older than league average). This time, Ward made it impossible to ignore him, hitting .340/.426/.550 with 13 XBH and 18 steals in 22 attempts in 115 PA (174 wRC+) to start the season while mostly playing second base.

Wardwas promoted to Double-A Hartford in late May (where he was 1.4 years older than league average) and he mostly played center field to fill the void created by Benny Montgomery’s injury. In 323 PA with Hartford, Ward hit .243/.353/.358 line with 17 XBH and 32 steals in 37 attempts, good for a 112 wRC+.

Ward’s speed (he has 154 steals in 177 attempts as a pro) and positional versatility will serve him well in the future, as Colorado remains stuffed with high profile outfield prospects. He could carve out a role at the big league level as a utility player, a profile that is a 35+ FV player for me.

★ ★ ★

Thanks to all who voted this time around! Next time I’ll reveal the nine multi-ballot players who rank between 60 and 43, all of whom were on 2-3 ballots.